Why didn’t you insist on a “must kiss Denzel” scene in your two Equalizer films? nivlek47
Well, if you go back to the first Equalizer, he comes to my character seeking permission to do his “equalizing”. I’d been his boss and trained him, so kissing him would be highly inappropriate. However, if somebody is looking to see me kiss Mr Washington, please whisper that into his ear.
I hear you’re a big fan of knitting. What’s been your greatest knitted creation? TopTramp
The knitting has been eclipsed by pottery the past three years. I go to a local pottery studio, do what I can on a wheel, and get my creativity out there. The knitting was a wonderful thing. I’d make simple squares without having to count stitches, then sew them all together. I must have made about a dozen blankets, most of which are still in a trunk upstairs. If I get another job in television – which I hope I do – that has you sitting around quite a bit, so knitting is a good mobile craft.
You’re brilliant as both goodies and baddies – how do you choose? Jolafer
My work chooses me. The mark of a really good actor is one that has a range and doesn’t just show up in the same role again and again. I’m happy to play what I’m offered – apart from after The Fighter, when all I was offered was older, nasty women. I don’t want to do that any more.
You’ve played lots of blue-collar characters. Do you get the urge to play somebody really posh and rich? PeteTheBeat
Absolutely! I am dying to do that kind of work. I’ve been asking for years: “Please, may I play the princess? The glorious, kind, benevolent queen?” I want lovely fancy costumes, maybe from another period. Years ago, I made a film called A Time of Destiny, which was set in the 40s. Not all actors can fit in period pieces because they feel too modern, but I can play goodies and baddies – past, present and future.
What was it like filming police drama Homicide: Life on the Street [the series ran from 1993 to 1999], and did you get to hang out with the cast afterwards? Oberursel67
The cast was almost all male, so that perhaps answers that question. Did they invite me to the bars with them – the single mother of a seven-year-old? No. It was a lot of years together, so I held a lot of those guys really close. But I don’t do what I do for the party afterwards. I’m more interested in the process.
How did you get into the role of Alice Eklund-Ward in The Fighter? Leobatch
I accepted because David [O Russell, director] really, really wanted me to be his Alice. Then I met the real Alice Ward, who came from a very different socioeconomic background than my mother’s mother, but there was something of my mother’s mother in her, so that’s where I found a path towards becoming her. I was no more than 10 years older than the majority of the nine people who played Alice’s children, but that’s movies for you.
What goes through your mind when you stand up to receive an Oscar? MrSOBaldrick
One loses one’s mind. I had won a lot of prestigious awards for The Fighter that season, and sat in that great gigantic theatre thinking: “Well, it certainly is possible.” Kirk Douglas came out to present [for best supporting actress], opened the envelope and called my name. I was so delighted to meet him – that was all I was thinking about. I turned to the house, which in most theatres, you can see by looking a little above your own eyesight. In the Dolby theatre, you have to raise your chin like you’re about to scale Mount Everest. Every single actor, director and producer you recognise, is staring you in the face. I then cursed, and I’m still sorry I cursed. I fucking curse all the time, but you cannot curse on network television. Thank God for the 10-second delay, which was introduced for fucking idiots like me. Having said that, winning an Oscar has not been good for me or my career. I didn’t dream of it, I never wanted it, and I had a much better career before I won.
What are your memories of filming ABC Western series The Young Riders? I loved your character Emma – it was a shame she left early! Tahra_
I agree. It was a total shame. I loved being Emma. I loved being out in Arizona with the horses. I love that people still have such an adoration of that show, 35 years later. Emma was a goodhearted, hardworking woman. I don’t know why I’m not seen as that more often. I’d grown up reading Little House on the Prairie and other Laura Ingalls Wilder books, so I loved going to live in that new west world with the costumes, the long dresses, the corsets and the hairdos.
What are your memories of playing Holly in Prisoners? Sagarmatha1953
Holly is so misunderstood. These days, people leave or switch over before the end of a movie. I beg you to watch until the end, because Holly makes her entire history clear in a single speech. You might think she’s a bad person, but she’s just protecting her child, which is an admirable thing.
In Olympus Has Fallen, how do the North Koreans capture the White House, yet suddenly become so incompetent once Gerard Butler shows up? zerkalo
That’s exactly how it works. Gerry Butler doesn’t lose in the pictures.
Which of your films are you the most proud of? SkillWizard
I’ve made several films that nobody’s ever heard of which are very, very good. I cannot recommend seeing my new film The Knife more highly, in which I play a detective who is neither a goodie or a baddie. She’s a woman doing her job, which is of a lot of interest to me. I also have a smaller part in King Ivory, which is a fascinating, beautiful, painful and truthful portrait of the fentanyl crisis in the US. There’s a wonderful, fantastical small film I made many years ago called Racing Daylight, written and directed by Nicole Quinn, where I get to play a character from both present and past times. There’s another gentle, sweet, delicate film called Francine, where we meet a woman on the day that she’s been released from a long-term jail sentence and watch her try to integrate back in to society, which I’m very proud of.
You’ve said that your best pick-me-up is a good nap. Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever been caught sneaking in 40 winks? TurangaLeela2
Oh, it’s not sneaky at all. If somebody finds me napping, I’m proud of myself because I’ve been able to do the thing any doctor will tell you: get more rest. Just don’t let me miss lunch. And don’t let me miss when you need me on set!
