Glenn Close on the real-life drama that helped prepare her to star in 'The Wife'
Relationship drama. We all hope to avoid it, but sometimes there’s just no way around it. Some might call Glenn Close the queen of romantic turmoil in film -- remember that boiled rabbit in "Fatal Attraction?" -- and she's back for more.
In Close's newest film, "The Wife," she gets fed up with her longtime hubby and decides to take a stand. The actress said finding the best way to play the role was as easy as channeling her own life.
"Not completely, but in a big way, [she] was the mother that I observed my whole life who basically deferred to my father for everything and was diminished," Close said in an interview on “Popcorn with Peter Travers. "He made her feel diminished. And she was not always happy. And we actually thought she’d be happier outside of the marriage. And she was married in 1945 and she said, ‘I made this vow and this is where I’m going to be.’ But she was not a fulfilled human being, it was sad.”
"I think any artist, and I consider myself an artist, I think we create from a whole panoply of experiences," Close, 71, told Travers. "I’ve never wanted to use the psychiatrist couch for the behavior of my characters."
She added: "I think I still feel like a blank slate when I’m confronted with a new character. I don’t presume that I’ll be able to truly inhabit them, so the exploration begins."
In the film, Close plays Joan Castleman, whose husband Joe Castleman, played by Jonathan Pryce, has just won the Nobel Prize for literature. Joan harbors some resentment for his recognition as she begins to look back on the compromises and betrayals in their 40-year marriage.
After six acting nominations without winning an Oscar, Travers said this could be the performance that ends Close’s drought.
"The Wife" is in theaters everywhere.
Be sure to watch the full interview with Peter Travers and Glenn Close in the video above.
