When Patty Hearst met John Waters in 1988, she was at the Cannes Film Festival promoting Paul Schraders biopic about her. Hearsts saga was infamous at the time and remains so, though her life is far quieter today. Heir to her media familys fortune, she had been kidnapped at gunpoint and held captive by a '70s left-wing terrorist cult. With them, Hearst robbed a San Francisco bank and helped to construct makeshift bombs, after which her trial became a national spectacle that still fascinates the public. A big-screen adaptation of Jeffrey Toobins 2016 book American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst was slated to star Elle Fanning, but Fox dropped the project after Hearst criticized Toobins account .

John Waters was also infamous in 1988, and Hearsts ordeal was the sort of curiosity on which the so-called pope of trash thrived. Waters best known for directing Hairspray and Pink Flamingos had long cast outsiders, has-beens and beatniks, extending as much dignity to them as he did to A-listers. Waters and Hearsts friendship grew, and she appeared in five of his films: the campy musical Cry-Baby (1990), the splendid suburban satire Serial Mom (1994), the art-scene parody Pecker (1998), the rowdy Hollywood sendup Cecil B. Demented (2000) and the lurid sex comedy A Dirty Shame (2004), some of which wink at her past. Along the way, Hearst also landed small parts in Frasier, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Veronica Mars and the Pauly Shore vehicle Bio-Dome.

The probably initial appeal was the incredible notoriety, Waters said of Hearst in 2001 . But now its not that at all. Because if it was that, I would have used her once.

Cry-Baby turned 30 last week , and to mark the anniversary, Hearst called me to discuss her second chapter as a minor movie star. By the time shed linked up with Waters, his career was more commercial than it had once been , even if the aforementioned titles didnt do huge business. The two are still close. In fact, Hearst asked for Waters blessing before agreeing to our interview. For close to an hour, we talked about those films, her TV cameos, watching O.J. Simpsons car chase with Waters and meeting Bill Clinton, who pardoned Hearst in one of his final acts as president .

At any point in your life, had you dreamed of becoming an actor?

Maybe in high school you know, when we would do the school shows and things. I really thought Id be working in magazines, but in any event, none of it happened. The rest is history. [John and I] had lunch. It was just kind of serendipitous. It was kind of silly, and John couldnt wait to tell me that he was just so anxious to meet me and that he wanted to put me in a movie. And I went, Yeah, right. I just thought he was being crazy. But he was serious. Well, hes crazy, but crazy in the best possible way.

John once said he was obsessed with you and had been collecting newspaper clippings about your life. When youre approached by somebody like that, are you a little hesitant to work with him?

No, because I knew who he was, and I just thought it was kind of funny. I wasnt hesitant or afraid of him. I was more afraid of trying something like acting.