Jane Seymour doesn't need to act anymore. In addition to her film and television roles, she's a writer, a painter, a designer and a film producer, and she's the mother of twin 8-year-old boys, John and Kristopher Keach.

Jane Seymour came to Salt Lake City to promote her new film, "Touching Wild Horses."

Keith Johnson, Deseret Morning News
She's successful with each endeavor, and she and her husband, filmmaker James Keach, aren't exactly hurting for money. So according to Seymour, the only roles she takes are for projects she believes in, not ones that will garner her a big paycheck.

Take, for example, "Touching Wild Horses." This low-budget family drama cost less than $5 million to make, which meant Seymour took far less than her usual salary. "I actually had to pay them to be in this one," she said with a laugh.

In the film, she plays Fiona, a reclusive wildlife researcher who finds herself thrust reluctantly into the role of mother to her nephew (Mark Rendall) after a tragic car crash.
"He comes to live with me in a wildlife preserve, and I'm terrible to him at first. He can't do anything right as far as I'm concerned," Seymour said, noting that her performance was inspired by the gruff but lovable characterizations of the late Katharine Hepburn.
"It's a very different role for me," she continued. "But I'm not interested in playing the same part every time. That gets very old."

The 53-year-old actress was in Salt Lake City promoting the new film, which is being test-marketed locally by distributor First Look Media. The movie has already been shown in film festivals around the world, including the Heartland Film Festival, where it took home the Crystal Heart Award in 2002.

"I think the idea is to take this film to Middle America and see how well it will do there. Utah plays a big part in that, because you have so many young families. It's the perfect place to test a film like ours," she said.

"Touching Wild Horses" has some factual elements in it. There is a real Sable Island (off the coast of Nova Scotia), there is a wild horse preserve and humans are prohibited by law from touching or feeding the island's untamed wildlife.

"We've had to dress it up in fiction to get our point across. After all, it is a film about two characters, basically," Seymour said. "But a lot of the horses in the film are wild, which was very exciting. You never knew if they were going to charge the camera or charge you if you got in their way."

Seymour especially enjoyed working with a considerably more domesticated foal, which features prominently in the film's plot.
"He was the only performer I've ever worked with who always got it right on the first take," she said.

All kidding aside, she had nothing but praise for her young co-star, Rendall, whom she's already anointed as the Next Big Thing. "He has so much poise for his age. When the camera's not on him, he's all smiles and mischief. But as soon as it's his scene, he's in character and is so professional. I've sort of taken him under my wing, as you can tell."

Seymour foresees big things for Rendall. And she thinks of herself as a good judge of talent and possible success, having had a 35-year-plus showbiz career. In addition to her film work, she starred in the long-running television series "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," as well as the television movies "East of Eden" and "War and Remembrance."
She attributes that longevity to being "a character actress with leading-lady looks."

"That has meant that I've always had my choice of parts and the offers have always come rolling in," Seymour said. "I haven't even had to have a manager or audition for parts until recently. I know that probably sounds ridiculous, but it's true."

She prefers taking parts in films with a message. "I don't know about anyone else, but I prefer to see something that actually has characters, that makes you feel something inside. Life isn't all car crashes and $150 million special effects."

That's meant she's sometimes had to sacrifice her salary or put up some of her own money to see those projects get made. For example, in addition to starring in the drama "Calvin's Dream," she and her husband are producing it (Keach is doing double-duty, too — he's directing). And the two are producing "I Walk the Line," a biographical drama about their late friend, country legend Johnny Cash.

"That's a project we both feel very passionate about," she said.

But before all that is something very different, "The Wedding Crashers," a comedy in which she plays the randy mother of a bride (Rachel McAdams) being wooed by two men (Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn) who aren't her fiance.

"My character is this horrible neglected wife," Seymour explained. "Christopher Walken plays my husband, and we're just horrible to each other. So my eye starts wandering toward these young men. I suppose it's a bit like 'The Graduate' in that regard."

She concedes that the film is something of a departure, considering all the family-friendly projects she's been associated with. "Sometimes it's fun to get a little naughty — especially when you're working with people who are this much fun."