Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank will soon be taking to the skies as the world’s most famous aviatrix in Amelia (to be released on October 23). Directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding,Vanity Fair) and co-starring Richard Gere and Ewan McGreg, the film tells the story of Amelia Earhart’s boundary-busting life – and her mysterious disappearance – during the golden age of aviation.

Swank chats about the challenges of playing an icon, the responsibilities involved in bringing the lives of real people to the big screen, and the opportunities that fame can bring, after the jump.

What attracted you to a real-life character like Amelia Earhart? Why did you want to play such an iconic woman?

“It was a role I wanted to play, mainly, because I think that she was such an incredible woman, who was so ahead of her time. She was certainly a pioneer. She was a wonderful role model to women — both in her time and still to this day. She had such tremendous strength in a man’s world, especially in that era, which was nearly impossible for most women to have.”

Would it be fair to say that Amelia Earhart was one of the first female media darlings?

“You know, a lot of people have asked me, ‘Do you think that she used her publicity to further her cause?’ Of course she did. Flying was expensive, so the press and media recognition really helped her. She used it well to benefit her dream.”

I imagine there is probably a ton of Movie Tone news film shorts, filmed interviews and press conferences, radio reports and chats with Amelia, in addition to her personal correspondence. Did any or all of that help you understand who she was as a person?

“It proved to be incredibly beneficial to me, particularly the way the press really latched onto her. It was great that there was all this media for me to do my research from. So, from the moment this film was given the green light, I was really looking forward to diving into everything I could find out about her. I watched the old news reports and short films to see how she walked and talked, and I read everything she had written, and that had been written about her, so that I felt like I knew as much about her as anyone possibly could. Thank goodness she had became a media celebrity – it certainly made my job easier.”

Why do you think Earhart felt like she needed to take on such responsibility?

“I think she was willing to do things that were deemed not for women and did it just as well as men. I think that was a blessing and a curse. I think it was something that was difficult, it was a challenge certainly but also really helped with all the other women at that time.”

What are some of the biggest differences in playing a well-known celebrity like Amelia Earhart versus a normal, everyday person like Brandon Teena? [Swank's role in Boys Don’t Cry; Teena only became a cultural touchstone after dying as the victim of a horrible crime] As an actress, do you approach playing a real person differently than a fictional one?

“Any time that you play a character who was alive, I feel you have a responsibility to really — you just don’t have as much room to creating fictional parts of the person. You want to find as much as you can about the reality of the person and do justice to their story so you do feel an avid responsibility. Whether they’re famous or not, you still want to tell the story in a way that they would be proud of.”

A year or so ago, you cut your hair really short — several months before Amelia even started filming. Isn’t there a story behind why you did it?

“There is. Actually, I got it cut for children who are cancer patients, so that they could make them wigs out of real hair, like my hair, if they lose theirs during treatment, It’s something I really wanted to do, a way for me to help. My hair was long, anyway. You only need to give eight-inches, but I gave nine-and-three-fourths. It was worth it.”

What other charities are you involved with?

“For a long time, I was the spokesperson for the Hetrich Martin institute, which is a wonderful organization in New York City that helps gay, lesbian, transgendered and questioning youths. I got involved with them after doing Boys Don’t Cry. They are an incredible organization that gives after-school programs … A lot of these kids are abused either physically or emotionally every single day of their lives. So it feels good to be able to give them a safe environment …  I actually just found another organization that I’m working with called I Have a Dream Foundation. They’re all over the country but I’m working with the Los Angeles chapter now. They’re just amazing. They work primarily with inner city schools, underprivileged kids starting in first grade. They help them with finding tutors, after-school programs and just generally education, summer programs. A lot of these kids can’t afford to do after-school sports or art or music classes.”

Isn’t using your fame to push ahead an agenda, even if it’s for a charity, a slippery slope to be on? Don’t you ever worry about the criticism you might get for using your celebrity to forward the various charities you work with?

“No, not at all. I don’t think it’s a slippery slope. I think it’s wonderful to be able to use your voice for something you believe in. I do. That’s part of the beauty of being an American, too, is freedom of speech.