Best known for her Academy Award-winning performance in Boys Don't Cry, 29-year-old Hilary Swank (right) plays Alice Paul in Iron Jawed Angels. A native of Washington State, Swank appeared in her first play when she was nine. As a teenager, she swam competitively in the Junior Olympics and Washington State championships; she ranked fifth in the state in all-around gymnastics. Swank spoke with inTIME about Alice Paul, the suffrage movement and the making of Iron Jawed Angels, which premieres Sunday, February 15, 2004 on HBO.

inTIME: How much did you know about Alice Paul before you got involved in this project?
HILARY SWANK: Sadly, I didn't know much about Alice Paul. I knew that there was a suffrage movement, but I didn't really understand what the women who were part of it had gone through. When I read the script, I was riveted. Here was a true story about a group of remarkable women who paved the way for me and for all women living in 21st-century America. For a very long time—as the film makes clear—women were third-class citizens in this country. I can't imagine not being able to have a voice within my government. But 100 years ago, women did not have the right to vote in America. That is absolutely amazing to me.

inTIME: What aspects of Alice Paul do you admire most?
SWANK: She was someone who believed very strongly in the right of all human beings, of all citizens, to have a voice. She found something that she believed in, and she followed it with every cell of her body and every cell of her brain. Everyone in this world knows what it's like to have a passion or to have a dream, and to face tremendous odds against realizing that dream. Alice Paul's diligence and her unyielding determination were a real inspiration to me.

inTIME: Can you talk about the sacrifices that Alice Paul made?
SWANK: I don't know if I could sacrifice as much as she did. She sacrificed having a husband, and having children, because she felt that every piece of her had to be devoted to this cause. The sacrifices that Alice Paul made were huge. I don't know if I could do that.

InTIME: What are your thoughts on the film's style, and in particular on the mix of historical and contemporary elements?
SWANK: All along, Katja von Garnier, our director, was very intent on staying true to the historical facts. She felt the importance of that; this is, after all, a true story. But it was also Katja's intent to make a movie where you weren't sitting back and watching a history lesson. She wanted viewers to feel, "Wow. That could have been me." Even though these women were living in the early 1900s, they had the same desires and passions and needs as we do now. So she took the liberty of using contemporary music, including songs by Sarah McLachlan. It's really fresh, really entertaining. This is a movie about history, but there's nothing dry about it.

inTIME: What message do you hope high school students take away from this film?
SWANK: No matter how old you are or how young you are, there will be obstacles all the way along in life. We all have our doubts; there were times when Alice Paul doubted herself. And there were certainly times during the filming when I said, "Oh, God, this is so hard." But I think if people really believe in themselves, they can bring about change. I hope students will be inspired to listen to themselves, and to believe that every one of us has the power to make a difference.