INSTINCT: It really is an honor to speak with you. Let us just say congratulations on the show’s success!
PATRICIA ARQUETTE: Thanks a lot!

Were you surprised, or did you “see” it happening?
I was kind of surprised, because I guess it’s really weird for TV. I thought it was interesting subject matter, so I wasn’t surprised a lot of other people thought it was interesting, too.

What was it about the role of Allison DuBois that really attracted you?
What I liked about her was the conflict she was in. The way it was written, she was very conflicted about having this ability and trying to be this great mom and wife and having this normal family, and having to balance that with having all this death and gore and nightmares all around her.

And being a working mom.
Being a working mom for sure. I also really liked the marriage, them both having a good sense of humor. He’s really turned on by her even though she’s not some supermodel, just a normal person. I liked that. Her husband digs her. They just have this chemistry.

You and Jake Weber do a great job with that on the show.
They’re good partners. It’s not some sort of male where you have to go, “Please watch the kids, and can you take them to school?” It’s like, “Of course I will; they’re my kids.” It’s nice to have a relationship be a true partnership.

When it comes to choosing roles, you seem to focus more on challenging yourself artistically than on what’s more commercial. Why?
I’m interested in sociology and in the human experience. I’m interested in the story of this species. I’m interested in the survival mechanisms of both sexes, but particularly the female. I guess I just respond to new lessons, things that I haven’t seen before. I’ve always been attracted to people who are smart and who look at things or interpret them in a different way. That’s the kind of material I respond to, too.

Let’s go back to 1987.
Okay.

That’s the first time you played a psychic character, right, in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3?
That’s right. I was a dream warrior!

I loved that movie. I think that was when I first fell in love with you.
[Laughs] Woo hoo! [Quoting her character] “In my dreams, I’m a gymnast!” I’m like, what’s wrong with me? If I can be anything in my dreams, I’m a gymnast? It’s squandering a great opportunity. Come on, I’d be the president of the world! I’d boss everyone around. [Laughs]

That movie was right at the beginning of your career. Now, 18 years later, you’re playing another psychic character. How have you grown and changed since then?
Oh my god, I’m four people away from that person. I’m four lifetimes away from whoever that little girl-child is. I’ve changed so much. Some ways I never wanted to. Some life experiences I had, I wished I never had, but they were growth experiences. It’s hard. Looking back on that, I can remember that time and that age in my life almost like my own child or something. It doesn’t feel like me anymore. That’s how different I feel like I am.

You must feel proud to be where you are now. Is your success more satisfying because you’re coming from a place of wisdom, with an impressive body of work, as well as many life experiences?
Only very recently have I said I’m proud. For a long time, I just felt lucky. I just felt like, oh, somehow I happened to fall into all this good luck. Now I feel like, Wait a minute. I did say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to those movies. Those were things I wanted to do or didn’t want to do. I had some say in that, and I do feel proud of the body of work that I’ve done and the people I’ve chosen to work with and that I’ve had the opportunity to work with. So yeah, I guess that’s a new thing for me: accepting some responsibility for things going well.

You have a lot of gay fans…
Yay! I am a fan of the gay person. I am a fan of many gay people.

Do you want to say anything to all your gay fans?
I love you! I love you, and I am a big believer in equal rights. They’re going to look back on this time like they look back on the South right before civil rights and say, “I can’t believe it used to be this way.”

And you should know when it comes to predicting the future.
Well, the world’s going to change. It can’t not. Because this is the truth, and there’s nothing wrong with it, and it’s beautiful and it’s pure.

What do you see when you look at your future?
I’m looking forward to watching my kids get old and getting some grandkids out of the deal. I’m looking forward to traveling, to having some time in nature. I’m looking forward…I don’t know…to all the great surprises life has.

There aren’t many surprises for psychics. So would you want to be psychic if you had the choice?
No, I wouldn’t. I kind of feel like I know everything I need to know, and everything else just reveals itself. I’m kind of an optimist in every way I look at each thing.