Julianne Moore Turns Down Roles To Be With Her Kids
Julianne Moore is undoubtedly one of the most talented actresses living today. The 50-year-old star consistently shines in complex female roles where there is a lot more going on than simply being the pretty leading lady. I imagined that the Oscar nominee must turn down projects left and right for a whole slew of reasons, but it turns out one of the most prominent has to do with her kids.
Last night at the 92Y in New York City, Julianne said that she has turned down projects she has really wanted to do in an effort to stay near her two children, including a recent film offer in Australia. She admitted that at this point in her life, remote locations and long shoots are “not possible.” The actress currently lives in New York City and prefers to shoot in the area so as to not disrupt the lives of her kiddies. When the interviewer asked if Julianne subscribed to the Meryl Streep way of working (i.e. saving film shoots for the summer time), she agreed that approach can be conducive.
Regardless of Julianne’s efforts to be near her kids, she told the audience that she has come to accept that still “shortchanges” them from time to time. The actress shared details from earlier that evening where her nine-year-old daughter commented that Julianne had been “going out a lot,” a comment she didn’t like hearing as she prepared to head to uptown.
When asked if she sometimes brings her children onto set, Julianne mentioned that her children don’t really care about her career. She told the crowd, “kids have very little interest in what you do.” She elaborated that when conveying what she does for a living to her kids, she primarily communicates to them that she enjoys acting — not so much the fame and security.
“You have to like the actual doing of the work,” said Julianne when describing how she discusses her job with her little ones.
Julianne openly admitted that all of her films have adult themes, mentioning that she liked “the possibility of extreme behavior in real life.” When I asked the actress about her predilection for complex female roles, she declared that she identifies as a feminist and takes issue with the cultural suggestion that the term is somehow “a dirty word.”
“I want to give a voice to real women,” she concluded.
In June, Julianne finished shooting the HBO miniseries Game Change, based on the book, in which she plays Sarah Palin. To prepare for the role, Julianne told the audience that she wiped everything off her iPod except tracks of Palin speaking. She said she listened to the tracks on loop while doing everything from washing dishes to running to try and pick up the former governor’s accent which she described as “rhythmically very bizarre.”
Considering Julianne’s resume, I doubt Palin’s peculiar way of speaking will give the first-rate actress much trouble.
(photo: WENN)
