ift.tt/1tIVV4W Nearly 10 years after her last leading role, the beloved actress looks back at her career, her self-imposed acting hiatus, and why she’s back with the riveting Nightcrawler — for now. Chris Ritter for BuzzFeed It has been a startlingly long time since Rene Russo commanded a movie screen. The 60-year-old actor hasnt had a starring role since 2005s forgettable family comedy Yours, Mine & Ours, a self-imposed hiatus interrupted only by a small, supporting part as Thors mother Frigga in 2011s Thor and 2013s Thor: The Dark World. This is a woman who parlayed an early career as a model into a movie career in which she held her own against Pierce Brosnan, Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman, and Clint Eastwood when they were all in their leading-man prime. Put Russos place in cinematic history this way: You could easily draw a direct line from her natural talent, bawdy laugh, unfiltered frankness, and uncommon beauty to Jennifer Lawrences current blockbuster career. For the first time in at least a decade, Russo finally has a role worthy of her abilities and star power. In Nightcrawler, opening Oct. 31, she stars as Nina, a morally compromised local TV news director in Los Angeles who enters into a high-stakes partnership with dangerously ambitious freelance videographer Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal). Watching Russo verbally spar with Gyllenhaal is a reminder of just how much her presence has been missed, but when she was recently asked if she knew just how much audiences are happy to see her take on a major role again, she looked genuinely thrown off guard. Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo in Nightcrawler. Chuck Zlotnick / Open Road Films You know, no, I didnt really think about that, Russo told BuzzFeed News during an interview earlier this month. After reflecting for a moment, however, she recognized the impact that her fans have had on her decision to return to acting. There were times that people came off the street and said, God, would you please work? I really miss you. You know what, I think that may have been one of the reasons that I thought, Well, you know what, Rene? Maybe you should appreciate your job. I dont love getting up at the crack of dawn and having makeup put on my face for three hours — like, I really dont like it — and then having a part thats just not that challenging. But it is amazing to be able to use all the things that Ive learned in my life, or all the colors that I have, and mix them up, and let people see themselves through it and go, Oh, I feel that way, or, Ive been there before. I love that. Part of Russos ambivalent attitude about her acting career stems from the fact that it was never her lifelong ambition. I remember at the time [growing up] in the 60s, you were given a little form to fill out, she said. If you were female, it was like, What would you like be when you grow up? Nurse? Stewardess? Secretary? Of course the male [choices] were doctor, astronaut, scientist. Just as things were getting somewhat heavy, Russo threw her head back in a full-throated laugh, determined, it seemed, not to take herself too seriously. So thats where I lived. I chose nurse. I kind of wanted to choose stewardess, but I thought, Well, they need to be really, really pretty. I remember this going through my head. View Entire List ›
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 21:28:06 +0000