Glenn Close Talks Film "Back in Action" and 50 Years of Acting

Summary

Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist: An In-Depth Conversation with Glenn Close

Podcast Information:

• Title: Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist
• Host: Willie Geist, Sunday TODAY
• Episode: Glenn Close Talks Film "Back in Action" and 50 Years of Acting
• Release Date: January 19, 2025

---

Introduction

In this engaging episode of Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist, the host sits down with the illustrious actress Glenn Close to discuss her latest project, "Back in Action," and reflect on her remarkable 50-year career in acting. The conversation delves into her transition from theater to film, her iconic roles, and her perspectives on the evolving landscape of storytelling in the entertainment industry.

---

Early Career and Breakthrough

Glenn Close began her illustrious career in New York City in 1974 after graduating from the College of William and Mary, where she studied theater. Surrounded by rising stars like Meryl Streep, Close quickly made a name for herself on Broadway.

Willie Geist highlights her early success:

"By 1980, Glenn Close had been nominated for a Tony Award. She was spotted in the show called Barnum by the director of an upcoming movie called The World According to Garp, starring Robin Williams. It's her first movie. She co-stars in it and immediately is nominated for an Academy Award, beginning an incredible run through the 1980s for her."
[01:24]

Close recounts her initiation into professional acting:

"It just. I've always carried that with me because she didn’t say, 'break a leg.' She didn’t say, 'have a ball.' She said, 'be strong and brave.'"
[25:25]

---

Transition from Theater to Film

The leap from stage to screen was a significant milestone in Close's career. Initially nervous about the differences between theater and film acting, she found her stride with experience.

"I was very nervous. And I remember going up to George Roy Hill saying, 'I've heard that it's very hard to make to go from theater to film.' And he said, 'Yeah, that was it.'"
[27:03]

Her breakthrough in film began with "The World According to Garp," where despite a rough audition, she secured the role, leading to an Academy Award nomination. This momentum carried her through iconic films like "The Big Chill," "The Natural," and "Fatal Attraction."

---

Memorable Roles: "Fatal Attraction" and Beyond

One of Close's most celebrated roles was in "Fatal Attraction," which significantly elevated her fame.

"I think it was the first time people realized I could be sexy. I mean, frankly, I've always felt like I'm a bit of an outsider."
[31:25]

This role showcased her versatility and cemented her status as a leading actress capable of profound emotional depth.

---

Approach to Acting and Storytelling

Glenn Close emphasizes the importance of storytelling and human connection in acting. She believes that despite the proliferation of streaming platforms, the essence of creating communal experiences through film remains vital.

"It's sad that there's not as many movies in theaters because I think actually, theater movies should be a community experience. And, you know, you all come in as individuals. You all see a story you experience together, and you go out a community."
[20:40]

Willie Geist adds his perspective on the power of visual storytelling:

"How powerful thought is on film, that it's just as powerful as the spoken word because it's all in your eyes. How powerful thought in a close-up is."
[28:00]

---

Recent Projects and "Back in Action"

In the latest episode, Close discusses her new Netflix film, "Back in Action," co-starring Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz. The film marks Diaz's return to the screen after a decade-long hiatus dedicated to her family and personal pursuits.

"My partner in the movie is Jamie Demetriou, who's hilarious. So we developed this thing together that we were making ourselves laugh. So hopefully other people will laugh as well."
[05:32]

Close describes her character as a retired MI6 agent with a tough exterior and a complex relationship with her daughter, portrayed by Diaz.

"She is not being allowed to meet because Cameron Diaz's character and my character have fallen out. And in many ways, the movie's theme is mother-daughter relationships."
[06:01]

The collaboration with Jamie Foxx was serendipitous, though their initial scenes were cut short due to Foxx's health issues, delaying the finalization of his performance.

"We had one day in Atlanta and that was. I was only on for that day. And I left, and when I got to the plane, he had gone. I think the next day he had a stroke. We didn't go back to finish that scene for a year."
[09:09]

---

Reflections on a 50-Year Career

Marking half a century in the acting industry, Close reflects on the challenges and triumphs of her extensive career.

"I can't believe that I still feel as enthusiastic about my craft as I ever have."
[37:12]

She shares poignant memories, such as her time understudying for a Broadway role and the profound support from fellow actors like Mary Yore.

"What an act of grace... She didn’t say, 'break a leg.' She didn’t say, 'have a ball.' She said, 'Be strong and brave.'"
[25:25]

Further, Close discusses the importance of resilience in the face of criticism and the evolving dynamics of the entertainment industry.

"You have to trust that they will find you somehow, too."
[32:52]

---

Future Endeavors and Upcoming Projects

Looking ahead, Close expresses excitement about potential projects, including the possibility of adapting her successful Broadway play "Rosie Byrne" into a film.

"There's probably some energy around it to get it done."
[41:41]

She also highlights her current work on the Ryan Murphy show "All's Fair," where she portrays the matriarch of an all-woman divorce firm.

"It's a Ryan Murphy show. Home run. Already?"
[40:33]

---

Closing Thoughts

Throughout the conversation, both Willie Geist and Glenn Close emphasize the significance of passion, community, and the relentless pursuit of storytelling. Close's journey from a young theater enthusiast to an award-winning actress serves as an inspiring testament to dedication and adaptability in the ever-changing landscape of the entertainment world.

"We're lucky to do what we do. I hope that everything is changing so fast in this world and stories are so important to our humanity."
[20:40]

---

Notable Quotes:

• Willie Geist [01:24]: "By 1980, Glenn Close had been nominated for a Tony Award... her first movie. She co-stars in it and immediately is nominated for an Academy Award..."

• Glenn Close [25:25]: "She didn’t say, 'break a leg.' She didn’t say, 'have a ball.' She said, 'Be strong and brave.'"

• Willie Geist [28:00]: "How powerful thought is on film, that it's just as powerful as the spoken word because it's all in your eyes."

• Glenn Close [37:12]: "I can't believe that I still feel as enthusiastic about my craft as I ever have."

• Willie Geist [32:52]: "You just have to trust that they will find you somehow, too."

---

Conclusion

This episode of Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist offers a profound look into Glenn Close's enduring legacy in the acting world. Her insights into the craft, the industry's evolution, and her personal experiences provide listeners with a rich and comprehensive understanding of what it takes to sustain a successful and fulfilling career in the arts.

---

For more conversations with esteemed guests like Glenn Close, be sure to follow the Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist podcast and tune in to Sunday TODAY on NBC.

Transcript

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[Willie Geist]

If you've been on this heightened life.

[Questlove]

And you stop, where's that energy go? Sly Lives, aka the Burden of Black Genius premieres February 13, streaming on Hulu.

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[Glenn Close]

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with.

[Willie Geist]

Another episode of the Sunday Sit down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listen along. Got a great conversation for you today with a bonafide movie icon. She is Glenn Close. My gosh, if I began to list her movies, TV shows, performances on Broadway, we'd be here all day. So I won't bore you with them because you know all of them. Suffice it to say this is a woman who came more than 50 years ago in 1974 to New York City after graduating from the College of William and Mary, studying theater and and just started a career with a group of young actresses who all kind of grew up to be somebody. Meryl Streep was among her young friends. They were 20 somethings running around the city doing auditions together. By 1980, Glenn Close had been nominated for a Tony Award. She was spotted in the show called Barnum by the director of an upcoming movie called the World According to Garp, starring Robin Williams. It's her first movie. She co stars in it and immediately is nominated for an Academy Award, beginning an incredible run through the 1980s for her. The next year, 1983 the Big Chill. Then the list goes into the Natural, Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons, all of which earn her Oscar nominations. Just an incredible run 101 Dalmatians. I mean, like I say, on and on and on. A career more than 50 years, eight Oscar nominations. She's won three Tony Awards, three Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards. Let's not forget about her work in television on Damages. So we talk about how she's maintained this longevity, done such great work for so long. Also interesting to hear about her backstory. She grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, and then her father, who was a doctor, kind of took the family into this, I don't know, a spiritual movement that Glenn Gloss now calls a cult that she was in for like 15 years as a child into her early 20s, before she went away to college and put herself on this path to becoming an actor.

[Glenn Close]

Just a.

[Willie Geist]

A woman who's lived a lot of life, a woman who is very smart and wise in addition to the talent she brings to the screen and the stage. I think you'll really enjoy our conversation. She's now out with this new Netflix movie that co stars Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz. Marking Cameron Diaz's return to movies after 10 years away to raise children, to work on things outside of the movie. She's now back and Glenn Close plays just an awesome role as an 6 agent, British accent and all in this new film called Back in Action on Netflix. So I've said enough. You know Glenn Close. You love Glenn Close. So sit back, relax now and enjoy a conversation with Glenn Close on the Sunday sit down podcast.

[Glenn Close]

Glenn, it's so nice to see you. Thanks for doing this.

[Willie Geist]

Thank you. Lovely to see you.

[Glenn Close]

I have so much to talk to you about. Usually when I sit down to study for one of these interviews, it's easy to focus in on a couple of areas. But as we were just discussing, the scope of your career is mind bending. So I feel, I promise I won't sit through this is your life. But there's so much to talk to you about. So thank you for doing it. Let's start in the present with this Netflix film, Back in Action.

[Willie Geist]

Back in Action.

[Glenn Close]

You've done so much. You've done Broadway, of course, serious roles, comedy. You can do anything. What was it about this script or this pitch that that grabbed your ear?

[Willie Geist]

It was a really fun character. A retired MI6 mother of Cameron Diaz, who was a tough woman, you know, and I was amused by the script. I thought it was kind of almost a throwback to those great spy romp movies. And I ended up having a great time. My partner in the movie is Jamie Demetriou, who's hilarious. So we we developed this thing together that we. We. We were making ourselves laugh. So hopefully other people will laugh as well.

[Glenn Close]

So you're described sort of as a gangster. Grandma is one way I heard it put. And your director said it was actually you that sort of infused his word, the character with badassery. Like you decided who this woman was gonna be. So how did you shape this character?

[Willie Geist]

Well, the first time you see her, she's shooting birds, and she obviously knows how to. How to use a ripe.

[Glenn Close]

You know, she drops one quickly.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, she drops one really quick. It's a very good shot. And also just her no bullshitness, you know, the way she approaches her grandchildren. But she is not been allowed to meet because Cameron Diaz's character and my character have fallen out. And in many ways, the movie is a theme through it is mother daughter's relationships. It just was a lot of fun. And then when, of course, the bad guys invade the house, I got to do my own, you know, fighting. And she has this secret thing where she has all her weapons. And of course, it's lovely to not miss, not ever miss.

[Glenn Close]

Right, of course. I don't want to give away too much because sort of your relationship with Cameron is revealed over time and there are different elements to it. But working with Cameron in the first movie she's done in a long time, almost a decade, that must have been really special for both of you.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, I mean, she's so lovely and we had some good chats and her husband and her little girl were there as well. So that was always fun. And I mean, she just has an ease about her. It's like, you know, well, you haven't forgotten how to ride a bicycle, you know, and, you know, you could understand why at one point she was, you know, at the peak of. Of Hollywood. And I just had. I have huge respect for somebody who kind of can walk away, create a life, and then when ready, come back, you know, and it'll be interesting to see if she stays back in or if she, you know, goes back to more of a private life. But it was. The atmosphere on the set was wonderful. Jamie loves to have music, you know, in between setups. So there's always some kind of jive going on. It was a great experience, and I felt it was creative. You know, you weren't just slotted into preconceived ideas.

[Glenn Close]

I have to say, I agree it was nice as a viewer. When Cameron first came on the screen, you kind of go, oh, yeah, Cameron Diaz, I love her. So happy to see her. You Know, are you the kind of person who will give advice to an actor like Cameron Diaz? If I'm her and I have Glenn Close on set with me, we have some down downtime. Not maybe for how to play the scene, but having the longevity you've had, the career you've had. Do you guys talk about that kind of stuff?

[Willie Geist]

No.

[Glenn Close]

Just shooting the breeze, mostly.

[Willie Geist]

Just shooting the breeze, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

[Glenn Close]

And in some ways it was to see Jamie Foxx was great too, given all he's been through.

[Willie Geist]

Oh, I know.

[Glenn Close]

I mean, he looked great.

[Willie Geist]

We shot that scene at the very end of the soccer game.

[Glenn Close]

Yes.

[Willie Geist]

We had one day in Atlanta and that was. I was only on for that day. And I left, and when I got to the plane, he had gone. You know, he had. I think the next day he had a stroke. We didn't go back to finish that scene for a year.

[Glenn Close]

Is that right?

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Glenn Close]

Oh, so that scene was filmed afterward?

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Glenn Close]

Wow.

[Willie Geist]

The last part of that scene.

[Glenn Close]

Yeah. I don't know, there's just so much about the movie, even beyond the action of it, that you're just like. You want to embrace it. You know, these are two beloved people, and then here you come and there's another beloved person. It's just. It's a great cast. And I have to imagine for you, it just looked like fun, right? Sometimes you want to just have fun on a movie.

[Willie Geist]

I. All the time I want to have fun, Yeah. I mean, even if you're doing something, you know, serious and scary, you should be ultimately having fun. Because if you're not, you should be doing something else because it's hard. It's a hard profession. So hopefully you have enough chance to kind of grow yourself into it. And it's very important who you spend your time with. You know, it's just as important as what's written on the page as who you leave home for. That's the way I look at it.

[Glenn Close]

I remember interviewing your old friend Michael Douglas, and he said he had a sign. Maybe it was literal, maybe figurative. No, you said, I'm just not doing it.

[Willie Geist]

Life's too short. It's so true.

[Glenn Close]

Yeah. You mentioned the weapons and doing some stunts. Is it true that you did the stunts in the movie here that you said, I'm doing most of this.

[Willie Geist]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, they're not terribly. I don't jump out of windows or anything. Hop onto a motorcycle.

[Glenn Close]

Combat.

[Willie Geist]

Little shooting hand to hand combat. Yes, I did that.

[Glenn Close]

Yes. Yes, you did. You do it very impressively. You're Also known, correct me if I'm wrong, Glenn, for taking home with you for movie sets, costumes. Yes, True.

[Willie Geist]

Yes.

[Glenn Close]

Did you bring some home from this?

[Willie Geist]

Yes.

[Glenn Close]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Yep, yep. I have. I am very proud of it. I have an incredibly extensive costume collection in the. At Indiana University. And they're there because they have a very, very impressive archive. Two archival buildings. So they're kept at a certain temperature. You know, it's all earthquake, hurricane, everything proof. And I decided, actually, after Garp, my first movie, that the life I had as the costumes are being created on me was so important to me that I couldn't stand the idea of them being given to a costume house and ripped apart and. And sold or rented and they disappear. And if you talk to some of the great costume designers, like Annie Roth, I have a lot of Annie Roth's things they mourn. Some of the things that they designed early on, their designs they could then see in a TV show. They might see something that they had designed for a movie. But she designed some great power suits, and I think she kind of defined the power suit in Jagged Edge. And she said, I wonder where that purple suit with the yellow buttons are? And I said, I have it. And she went, you know, so I mean, that's a work of art.

[Glenn Close]

It is, right?

[Willie Geist]

Yeah. Shouldn't be shredding character and costume.

[Glenn Close]

And you've had some real memorable ones, so that's really special.

[Willie Geist]

Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Glenn Close.

[Glenn Close]

Right after the break, Fly Stone became an icon.

[Questlove]

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[Willie Geist]

Open the portal like Come this way.

[Questlove]

Generations have been influenced by Sly. RogerEbert.com raves it's a sonic kick to the soul.

[Willie Geist]

If you've been on this heightened life and you stop, where's that energy go?

[Questlove]

Sly Lives, aka the Burden of Black Genius premieres February 13th. Streaming on Hulu.

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[Willie Geist]

Welcome back. Now more of my conversation with Glenn Close.

[Glenn Close]

If I could just go back to. We talked about the scope of your career, but even before you became a professional actor, your early life to me is so fascinating. Growing up in Connecticut, then making your way to the Congo, there's some up with people mixed in there somewhere. So how does an actor emerge from that rather eccentric upbringing?

[Willie Geist]

I think what kept me, I don't know, I'm still working it out. But from a very early age when we were running feral in the Connecticut countryside, I always had an incredibly active imagination and I think I could take myself out of situations sometimes with my imagination and not let it maybe get into me as deep as it might have. I think that's what literally kept me on course of doing what I wanted to do at a very early age, which was be an actress, actor.

[Glenn Close]

And was that stored away somewhere in your mind when your family goes to the Congo or when you're having all these experiences that maybe somehow, some way, I'll find my way to a stage?

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Glenn Close]

And it doesn't happen really until college, is that fair to say?

[Willie Geist]

William and Mary, I, I left up with people, which I don't talk about very much, but I left it and I went to William and Mary because when we were doing a college tour up with People, and it was during Watts Riots, Vietnam War, all that we were the kind of other side of things. And we'd run off our bus in our little, you know, outfits, girls bus, boys bus. And we set up our microphones and we'd sing. And I remember at William and Mary, the kids just going. And I thought, that's where I want to go to school. I liked the fact that they didn't swallow it.

[Glenn Close]

Right, right.

[Willie Geist]

And so when I went there, it was really the beginning of, I think of it as water on a desert. You don't know what's inside and you don't know what's going to bloom until you're watered. And I felt like I really, I felt ignorant. So I, you know, philosophy, anthropology, all these other things in, you know, that keep you curious for the rest of your life outside of what you've chosen to do, I think that's really important.

[Glenn Close]

And when did it click for you that this performance aspect of your life might be something that you want to pursue while you were drinking in everything college had to offer?

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, well, I was in my senior year, and I'd done some really cool things, kind of gotten to be known in the Williamsburg community. My wonderful mentor, Howard Scammon, came up to me one day, I think it was my senior year, and he said, just remember, you're a very big fish in a very small pond.

[Glenn Close]

Which you took to mean what? Go pursue it.

[Willie Geist]

Don't let it go to your head. Yep. Keep, you know, stay the course. And then when I. He was the one. And then I. I mean, I guess a seminal moment was when I was backstage painting Seamu at Phi Beta Kappa hall, and the interview with Katharine Hepburn and Dick Cavett came on this little TV set. And it was like, you know, my paintbrush was suspended for however long that interview went on for. Because I always have identified with her. She's from Connecticut. Her father was a doctor. What she had that I never had was a sense of who she was. You know, you felt like she was standing on very solid ground. And I always have felt I'm kind of wavering, you know, but during the course of that, at the end, I said to myself, if you want to do that, do it. So something Scammon used to say on the backstage, just do it. And so it was the next day I asked him to nominate me for two series of national interviews. And from that, I got my first job on Broadway. Amazing.

[Glenn Close]

That fall, that interview happened to be on, and it lit something.

[Willie Geist]

It just. Yeah, that was like.

[Glenn Close]

And she didn't do interviews. I think that was like a two hour interview where she was.

[Willie Geist]

And it was spontaneous because she came to the studio just to kind of look it over, and she said, well, let's do it now. And it was like they had to kind of find people.

[Glenn Close]

And you just quoted her on stage at the Golden Globes. Perfectly.

[Willie Geist]

Yes.

[Glenn Close]

Summarizing what it means to do what you do.

[Willie Geist]

Yes, yes. She wrote me this wonderful letter after I had helped celebrate her at the Kennedy Center Honors. And she said, I'm so happy because I told her the story. So happy that I had something to do. When you were a mere child to get you into this terrible profession, this terrifying profession, and, let's face it, this delicious way to spend your life and to Me, I take that to heart because it is terrible, it is terrifying, and it is also delicious. And we're lucky to do what we do. I hope that everything is changing so fast in this world and stories are so important, too, our humanity. And I hope we keep, as an industry and as actors, searching for those stories that remind us of our connection and our humanity.

[Glenn Close]

Do you feel like the proliferation of streaming has given more space to do that? In other words, are we hearing more of those stories that we might not have heard in the previous conventional way of getting stories out?

[Willie Geist]

I think so. I mean, I remember when cable came in and all of a sudden that was a proliferation of the craft because the writer was king. Unlike in Hollywood, where the writer's there to be beaten up. I think now. And of course, there's so many places where you can tell your story. I think it's sad that there's not as many movies in theaters because I think actually, theater movies should be a community experience. And, you know, you all come in as individuals. You all see a story you experience together, and you go out a community. And that's important. All how you. How you laugh, how you cry, how you relate to each other. That's what it's all for, to bring us together in some way. And I think when people are now seeing it on their phones or at home, the stories are still powerful. But somehow, for now, we've lost that kind of constant possibility at forming a community.

[Glenn Close]

I've heard directors say, they make these big, beautiful movies that take years and these grand spectacles. And someone says, yeah, I watch it on my phone. They go, oh, my God. That's not what that was intended to be seen on. So we're here in New York, which makes me think about you in the 1970s as a young theater actor running around town with your friend Meryl Streep, perhaps. What were those early days? Scary. Exciting. What were they like?

[Willie Geist]

Thrilling. I remember going to an audition, I think it was for Barnum or something like that, and getting the part and going out of the stage door and literally thinking that the streets were paved with gold. I remember it almost. You feel like you've levitated in some way because you know that you're gonna have a chance. And, you know, the thing about acting? Nobody knows what you can do unless you have the chance to do it. And so it's always hard. Where do you get that opportunity? How do you get your card? You know, your union card? But I was lucky. I got my card. And my first director was Harold Prince. But I was the understudy. And that's a whole other thing. You know, your hunger. You're quivering with the desire to be up there, but you're made to watch and listen and see what the relationship is between director and actor. And it was a very, very good experience to go through. And then he. Hal. I was understudy for a beautiful English actress called Mary Yore. And she was having trouble, and we went out of town. We came back into town. We were at the old Helen Hayes Theatre. And Hal Prince, as I walked in for a matinee, took me out on stage, and he said, I'm making my decision during this performance as to whether to let Missy or go. If I do, can you do the show tonight? And I'd never had an understudy rehearsal, and I just said yes. For some reason, I'd learned all the lines. I mean, I didn't know that usually you have your understudy rehearsals after the show opens, Right. So this is another experience that fed me. So I was. She left empty hooks on her, all over her dressing room. I had to put on her costume, her wig. We only had one costume each. And at half hour, there was a knock on my door and I was handed a note, and it said, it's the tradition in the English theater for one leading lady to welcome the next. I welcome you. Be strong and brave, Mary. Your.

[Glenn Close]

Wow. Yeah, wow.

[Willie Geist]

What an act of grace.

[Glenn Close]

Oh, my gosh.

[Willie Geist]

And it just. I've always carried that with me because she didn't say, break a leg. She didn't say, have a ball. She said, be strong and brave. Which goes back to this terrifying, this terrible.

[Glenn Close]

You know, how lovely, how classy. That's amazing.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah. Unbelievable.

[Glenn Close]

Amazing.

[Willie Geist]

Unbelievable.

[Glenn Close]

And you were on your way. You mentioned Barnum. You got your first Tony nomination for that one. And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that where you were first spotted.

[Willie Geist]

By George Roy Hill?

[Glenn Close]

Yeah, yeah, right.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Glenn Close]

And so now that that performance in Barnum gets you into the movies, effectively with the World According to Garp. Is that how it went?

[Willie Geist]

Yes. Yes. And they said they were looking for a young Katharine Hepburn. So I went on. So it's all kind of. I went on stage and I was talking like this. George told me that it was the worst audition he had ever seen.

[Glenn Close]

Did he tell you to drop the Hepburn routine?

[Willie Geist]

I think they asked me to come back and to put some makeup on.

[Glenn Close]

Well, you did something right. You got the part and an Oscar nomination. Right? I mean.

[Willie Geist]

Oh, yeah.

[Glenn Close]

For Garp in the first movie of your career, you get an Oscar nomination. How did movies. Because from there you go on that incredible run, starting with the Big Chill, all the way through the Natural, of course, Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons goes on and on. As a theater actor, how did you feel at first anyway, about movies?

[Willie Geist]

I was very nervous. And I remember going up to George Roy Hill saying, I've heard that it's very hard to make to go from theater to film. And he said, yeah, that was it.

[Glenn Close]

Thanks a lot. Not what I was looking for.

[Willie Geist]

And I said, I hope you take care of me. I thought that all my scenes would be over my shoulder onto somebody else's face or my voice. It was hard for me to even conceive of what I would look like on stage. I mean, on film. And the first scene I did was a long tracking shot, which means you have to talk and stop at different things. And it was with Robin Williams at night. And terror was like here. And he was so wonderful. I think he must have sensed it and somehow we got through it. But yeah, that was trial by fire.

[Glenn Close]

When did you start to feel comfortable? Was it a different movie down the line where you said, okay, well, I.

[Willie Geist]

Mean, I had a moment in the Big Chill. It was when I was telling Jobeth Williams character about having an affair with Alex who had died. And I realized I started to understand how powerful thought is on film, that it's just as powerful as the spoken word because it's all in your eyes. How powerful thought in a close up is. That's starting my learning experience about that, which has been, you know, over the last 50 years. You know, you just always are learning something.

[Glenn Close]

So it's almost the quiet of an expression.

[Willie Geist]

Let yourself have real thoughts.

[Glenn Close]

Yeah, right.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

Stick around for more of my conversation with Glenn Close. Right after a quick break. I won't let my moderate to severe.

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[Questlove]

Serious allergic reactions may occur. Tremphye may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of infection, including fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. Tell your doctor if you had a vaccine or plan to emerge.

[Tremphya Advertisement]

As you learn more about Tremphaya, including important safety [e-mail] or call 1-877-578-3527. See our ad in Food and Wine magazine for patients prescribed tremphy. Cost support may be available.

[Questlove]

Flystone became an icon. A Hulu original from Questlove, Sly and the Family Stone. It can't be overstated how popular they were. Variety calls Sly Lives the definitive funk pop documentary.

[Willie Geist]

We opened the portal like Come this way.

[Questlove]

Generations have been influenced by Sly, rogerebert.com raves. It's a sonic kick to the soul.

[Willie Geist]

If you've been on this heightened life.

[Questlove]

And you stop, where's that energy go? Sly Lives, aka the Burden of Black Genius premieres February 13th street streaming on Hulu.

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[Willie Geist]

Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Glenn Close.

[Glenn Close]

So when did was it Fatal Attraction? Glenn, that really changed your life in terms of the fame side of it and because it was such an unforgettable performance to this day, obviously, and it got so much attention and still does. Did you feel like that put you on some different plane after that movie?

[Willie Geist]

I think it was the first time people realized I could be sexy. I mean, frankly, I've always felt like I'm a bit of an outsider. I still feel like I'm an outsider. Yes. I still feel there's caverns of the unknown in me and I'm still waiting, you know, for the roles that demand everything because they're few and far between people.

[Glenn Close]

Be surprised to hear that given the fact that you've won just about every award you can win. You're so respected in Hollywood. So what still makes you feel that way?

[Willie Geist]

I've never felt that I could live in Hollywood. I think it would shred me just because that's me. I mean, obviously it's a wonderful place to live. So I'm not sure. I'm not sure. What was your question?

[Glenn Close]

Does that motivate you a little bit, though, feeling like, oh, I'm an outsider Here I want to keep pushing and keep pushing.

[Willie Geist]

Yes. Because I think there's still discoveries to be made. You just have to find the right team.

[Glenn Close]

Right?

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Glenn Close]

But you keep doing it. It seems to me you find the next thing that's different and fascinating.

[Willie Geist]

You just have to trust that they will find you somehow, too. Because I did last summer. I did the next Knives out movies called Wake Up Dead man as one of the most wonderful experiences of my career. And that was again, I mean, being with a seamlessly wonderful group of actors and doing things that I had basically never done before. And it's so incredibly satisfying. But it's just as satisfying for me to hang out with a group of actors. I call us the Alien Nation. You know, we have our own language. We have our own way to express to each other what we do. But sometimes it's not about that at all. It's just hanging out and getting to know somebody and having a lot of laughs when you're not on set, which.

[Glenn Close]

Goes back to the current project, which is you want to do it with a group of people you enjoy being around. Because that's so much of the experience, isn't it?

[Willie Geist]

Yeah. Well, I mean, exactly. You have to be with people that you can leave home for and not regret it.

[Glenn Close]

Right, right. I have to ask you about a role that was almost an accident, but that people online love, which is in Hook. When you showed up to say hello to Robin, I think.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Glenn Close]

And it turned into a Ms. Spielberg.

[Willie Geist]

Said, you want to be a pirate? I said, sure.

[Glenn Close]

So they gave you the beard? Oh, yeah, yeah. I think a lot of people at first didn't understand that that was you, and then there you were.

[Willie Geist]

No, I mean, the script girl tried to hit on me.

[Glenn Close]

You look good as a pirate, apparently.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I thought with my hat on, I looked a little bit like a young Charlton Heston.

[Glenn Close]

I love that. You were just wide open to that, too. Sure. Where do you need me go to the makeup trailer. Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

It was really fun.

[Glenn Close]

That's very funny. Damages. Amazing. Great show. You got so much acclaim for that. You won the awards that you won for it. That was still early in the golden age of television or whatever they call it, relatively so. And now it feels to me, anyway, like that line is sort of gone between TV or streaming and movies.

[Willie Geist]

Oh, definitely.

[Glenn Close]

Did that feel like a leap for you, though, to do a regular television.

[Willie Geist]

Series at the time? Yes, I. I had the big leap. The biggest leap, actually, was when I did a season on the Shield because nobody with my Experience had done something like that before. But I've always gone with the writing, and I've always gone with the fact that the English do it. Why can't we, you know, Dame Judi Dench and Helen Mirren and, you know, Maggie Smith, they all did television. And at a time when we weren't. You weren't. I was actually told early on that it would ruin my career if I did television. It would ruin my movie career. And I said, well, what if it's great writing, you know, has a bigger audience. Yeah, yeah. And so that's why I've always been open to it. And Damages, when I was handed the pilot of Damages, it was one of the best things I had ever read.

[Glenn Close]

Wow.

[Willie Geist]

It was incredible. And I actually called up Ann Roth and said, because she has the mind of a producer, I said, will you read this and give me advice? And she called back and said, if you don't do this, you're crazy. Yeah.

[Glenn Close]

Good instincts.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Glenn Close]

It was a great show.

[Willie Geist]

Great show.

[Glenn Close]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Great writers.

[Glenn Close]

You did five seasons of that, won a couple Emmys. You won the Golden Globe. Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Rosie Byrne.

[Glenn Close]

Yeah, that's right. Rosie Byrne. Yeah. So we were talking before, as you sat down, you said it was, I think you said, 51 years.

[Willie Geist]

50 years last year.

[Glenn Close]

Yeah, 50 years last year since you stepped on a stage somewhere around here.

[Willie Geist]

1974.

When you hear.

On stage in New York.

[Glenn Close]

On stage in New York, that's right, yeah. So when you hear that number 50 years, and you think about where you started and where you are now, is it overwhelming?

[Willie Geist]

No. I can't believe it. And I can't believe that I still feel as enthusiastic about my craft as I ever have. I honestly can't. Mary Beth Hurt, who was my best friend, and I understudied her in my first job. I remember saying to her, I can't wait till I can say, I've been in this for 10 years. Here we are, 50. I mean, it's been amazing. Yeah. I mean, you leave home most of the time. Most of the time. I think the only movie I didn't leave home for was working with Christopher Reeve. When we did that, he lived in Bedford and I lived in Bedford. So we found an area in Bedford, and from his wheelchair, he brilliantly directed in the Gloaming. He would have made a great director. Yeah. So leaving home has always been the hardest thing for me.

[Glenn Close]

You were lovely in the Superman documentary, by the way. It was really moving. Really moving. So what would you say to that young woman who arrived In New York with a bag in her hand, dreaming of just getting on a stage, let alone the career you've had. What would you tell her way back then?

[Willie Geist]

Well, I mean, she had the engine, she had the fire. I think sometimes you can, if you read reviews, sometimes you can say, you know, am I wrong about myself? Do people, you know is, am I fooling myself? When that engine of belief sometimes can be effective, when there's a buy, the reaction, you got to get through that. You really have to get through that. Because if you can't get through that, you might as well quit.

[Glenn Close]

And nowadays it comes at you from a hundred different directions too. It's not just a review.

[Willie Geist]

And I don't think people understand, understand how hurtful it can be. They think, oh, nobody. People are dispassionate about their work. Well, what we do, we have to involve not only our minds, but our emotions and our trust. And, you know, it can be hard. So I don't read reviews. That's probably why sometimes I read them by mistake.

[Glenn Close]

You stumble across them because you also.

[Willie Geist]

Don'T want to hear anything nasty about people you work with.

[Glenn Close]

Right?

[Willie Geist]

Right. You're all a team.

[Glenn Close]

And also the one negative thing can live somewhere in your head after a hundred positive things.

[Willie Geist]

Have you gone through that? Sure.

[Glenn Close]

I mean, on social media, people say, if you're like, oh, I did a good job, then that one little comment jumps out at you. You mentioned Knives out, which we cannot wait for. Those films are incredible. What else should we look forward to? It feels like you keep doing.

[Willie Geist]

I'm doing a show now called All's Fair and I play kind of the, the matriarch of an all woman divorce firm.

[Glenn Close]

Oh yeah, that's fun.

[Willie Geist]

And it's a Ryan Murphy show.

[Glenn Close]

Home Run. Already? Yes, already. And is there talk of a Sunset Boulevard movie there? Is that real?

[Willie Geist]

There is talk and people always bring it up, so. And I mean, I would like that to happen and I guess gotta go back to pounding the pavement about it because I think that character, I mean, you know, with the great success now on Broadway, that it's just a story, that it's like Hamlet, I mean, it's even more understandable. She's just a great character and there's something about her that people love and I would love to try to do her on film because it'd be a totally different exercise and it would be a whole new take on it.

[Glenn Close]

I think we're manifesting it right now, putting it out in the universe. Everyone wants this movie. Let's go.

[Willie Geist]

People always ask me about it, I'm sure.

[Glenn Close]

And you're right. It's so popular and doing so well right now on Broadway. There's probably some energy around it to get it done.

[Willie Geist]

Andrew Lloyd Webber is a great friend of mine and he just amazes me. Just amazes me.

[Glenn Close]

Incredible.

[Willie Geist]

He's so full of creativity.

[Glenn Close]

Never stops.

[Willie Geist]

Never stops.

[Glenn Close]

Yeah. Clen, this has been a pleasure. Thank you so much for walking through your career a bit with me. It was a joy. Thank you.

[Willie Geist]

Thank you, Willy, so much.

[Glenn Close]

Pleasure.

[Willie Geist]

My big thanks to Glenn for a great conversation. You can watch Back in Action streaming now on Netflix. And my thanks to all of you for listening again this week. If you want to hear more of these conversations with our guests every week, be sure to click follow so you.

[Glenn Close]

Never miss an episode.

[Willie Geist]

And don't forget to tune in to Sunday Today every weekend on NBC to see these interviews with your very own eyes. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down Podcast. I won't let my moderate to severe.

[Tremphya Advertisement]

Plaque psoriasis symptoms define me emerge as you in two clinical studies, Trimfya gusoquumab, taken by injection provided 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks in 7 out of 10 adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. In a study, nearly 7 out of 10 patients with 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks were still clearer at 5 years. At 1 year and thereafter, patients and healthcare providers knew that Tremphya was being used. This may have increased results. Results may vary.

[Questlove]

Serious allergic reactions may occur. Tremphya may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of infection, including fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. Tell your doctor if you had a vaccine or plan to emerge.

[Tremphya Advertisement]

As you learn more about Tremphya, including important safety [e-mail] or call 1-877-578-3527. See our ad in Food and Wine magazine for patients prescribed Tremphaya, cost support may be available.