Meryl Streep, Jessica Chastain Respond To Russell Crowe’s Comments
Published on January 8, 2015.Photo by Broadimage/REX
Actor Russell Crowe, 50, caused quite a stir after comments that he made in December to The Australian’s Women Weekly about roles for older actresses came out.
“To be honest, I think you’ll find that the woman who is saying that [roles have dried up] is the woman who at 40, 45, 48, still wants to play the ingénue, and can’t understand why she’s not being cast as the 21-year old. Meryl Streep will give you 10,000 examples and arguments as to why that’s bulls–t, so will Helen Mirren, or whoever it happens to be. If you are willing to live in your own skin, you can work as an actor. If you are trying to pretend that you’re still the young buck when you’re my age, it just doesn’t work. The point is, you do have to be prepared to accept that there are stages in life. So I can’t be the gladiator forever.”
While he has received tons of criticism for the remarks, Meryl Streep, 65, defended him during a press conference for Into the Woods saying everyone wasn’t focusing on everything he said.
“I read what he said — all of what he said. It’s been misappropriated, what he was talking about. He was talking about himself […] He said, ‘I’m too old. I can’t be playing the gladiator anymore. I’m playing parts that are more appropriate to my age. Then the conversation went on to actresses. So that was proving a point, he was talking about himself, as most actors do. That aside, I agree with him. It’s good to live in the place where you are. You can put old age on; it’s a lot harder to take it off.”
Meanwhile actress Jessica Chastain, 37, had very different thoughts on the matter.
“I think he’s getting his foot stuck in his mouth,” she said at the National Film Board of Review award gala on Tuesday January 6.
“I think there are some incredible actresses in their 50s and 60s that are not getting opportunities in films. And for someone to say there are plenty of roles for women that age — they’re not going to the movies enough.”
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