Marisa tomai : Single mom in 'Cyrus' movie

Marisa Tomei, who received an Oscar for her performance as a brash, Brooklyn-based car expert in the 1992 comedy My Cousin Vinny, says she specifically shied away from comedies after winning the Academy Award — even though she was offered several choice roles.
"I knew that I was most interested in a variety of characters," she tells Fresh Air contributor Dave Davies. "It wasn't in contrast to, 'Oh, I don't want to play this, because I want to get away from this image.' It was more: What else is out there? I'm curious."

After starring in movies such as Slums of Beverly Hills, Alfie and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Tomei was again nominated for Oscars: in 2001, for her portrayal of a domestic abuse victim in Todd Field's emotional family drama In the Bedroom,  and her memorable portrayal of a washed up stripper opposite Mickey Rourke in 2007's The Wrestler.
Her latest film, Cyrus, again deals with the intricacies of family life. She plays a single woman with an unusually close relationship with her 21-year-old son Cyrus, played by Jonah Hill. When she falls in love, she must balance the relationship she has with her new boyfriend, played by John C. Reilly, and the one she has with Cyrus.
Tomei says though the relationship between mother and son is unusual, she didn't judge her character ahead of time.
"I wasn't reading it going, 'Oh, this is really unhealthy. How am I going to play this unhealthy person?' " she says. "And so I approached it in the sense that they're great friends. They have a great relationship. They truly enjoy each others company, and they've lived a very artsy and more bohemian kind of life. And they laugh well together. So I just saw it as more really great friends. And that part of it is really healthy."