Juliette Lewis Still Has One Regret About 1991’s “Cape Fear”: ‘That Is a Very Sore Spot’ (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Juliette Lewis has a surprise role in the thriller series Cape Fear, 35 years after starring in the 1991 film

• The Oscar nominee tells PEOPLE her one regret about making the movie version, which also starred Robert De Niro

• New episodes of Cape Fear drop Fridays on Apple TV

Juliette Lewis still has one big regret from her time making 1991’s Cape Fear.

Thirty-five years after starring in the Martin Scorsese film, Lewis has a surprise role in Apple TV’s new limited series version of the revenge thriller.

For her performance as Danielle Bowden, the teenager targeted and tormented by vengeful ex-con Max Cady (Robert De Niro), Lewis landed an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

So what remains a “very sore spot” about her breakout role for the actress?

“I didn’t know I was part of something historical that would be so meaningful for my life, so I didn’t even keep my Cape Fear script. Can you believe this?” Lewis, 53, tells PEOPLE. “I had no idea. Anyway, I’ve thought about this many times in my life. … I didn’t know what it meant. You know what I mean? [At that age] you don’t even think past next week.”

Still, says Lewis, she holds onto the “experience and the memories” even if she didn’t keep any tangible mementos from set. She was 17 at the time, sharing scenes with De Niro and, as her onscreen parents, Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange.

“I look at people like Nick and De Niro as sort of father figures. I look at Jessica Lange as just one of a kind, the biggest teachers and leaders of my young life. And, especially, Scorsese; he did so much for me early on.”

Lewis admits she “never” expected Cape Fear would reenter her life. “Now I see that it’s a timeless story,” she says, calling the themes of vengeance “old as time.” In the newest take on the story she plays Crystal Cady, the sister of Max Cady (Javier Bardem) who gets entangled in a mystery with attorney Anna Bowden (Amy Adams).

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Part of what made the project even more exciting for Lewis is the “complicated, messy, troubled character” that showrunner Nick Antosca devised.

“I always like to create really visceral characters that you could almost smell through the screen,” says Lewis. “You can almost smell her trashy perfume.”

Antosca gave Lewis a “juicy” three-page backstory to build her character. He says he wanted her role to be more than a simple cameo.

“We didn’t want to make it a distracting thing. You don’t want to do just a cameo for one scene and it’s like, ‘Oh, there’s so-and-so.’ We wanted it to be meaningful and also not take too much attention away,” he explains. “I always knew that I wanted her to play a meaningful role in the series.”

The “full-circle” role has allowed Lewis to reflect on what she’s learned in life since making the 1991 film.

“How have I changed? Oh, I’m a little bit more lighthearted. I was very serious and now I’m a bit more serious about my peace of mind and my joyful outlook,” she says. “When you’re younger you can sit in the darkness because it’s all new to you. And now I don’t play with darkness in my own life.”

New episodes of Cape Fear drop Fridays on Apple TV.

Read the original article on People