Roles for Older Actresses--What Are Some of the Best? Would You Like to See More Roles for Them?
“Psychological problems, for one thing. "
Jeez, Matt, homosexuality is not a psychological problem. I thought better of you.
Leo is a great choice though.
Imelda Staunton didn’t get proper recognition until Vera Drake.
I would guess there are more good roles for older actresses today than there were in the past.
Dogville. Every single one of the older townswomen performances were brilliant, amazing, spectacular. Especially the late Lauren Bacall, and the ever sinister Patricia Clarkson!
“Jeez, Matt, homosexuality is not a psychological problem. I thought better of you.”
Is that a joke, Ari? Because that is absolutely not what I was referring to.
dude, lauren bacall isn’t dead. she’s 87 and lives in an apt in the dakota she’s had for like 50 years
Yeah, I was trying to make a funny.
@Matt
Hmm, I never heard of Spread. I’ll do a search. I’ve been wanting to see HBO’s Mildred Pierce. Hopefully, the local library will have it soon.
@Brentos
Not a fan of Bacall, but I do like Patricia Clarkson.
Anybody know what happened to Toni Collete? I thought she was really interesting and a solid actor. I’m not sure about her age, though.
Toni Collette is awesome. She’s not conventionally pretty either.
I meant late as in her career, not her life.
I forgot the colloquialism is generally applied to the deceased, oops! hahaha. i know she’s not dead, but her career kind of is.
Actually according to her IMDb she’s gonna be in a movie this year. Keep on keeping on Ms. Bacall
i wouldn’t necessarily consider Collette older, she’s not even 40 yet!!
“Toni Collette is awesome. She’s not conventionally pretty either.”
Yeah, I like her too (although she’s really not old, is she?). It’s too bad she got trapped on that terrible Diablo Cody show. Lots of good actresses though seem to do well with television once they get older – Laura Linney in the Big C, Mary-Louise Parker in Weeds (actually, I’m not sure she’s that good of an actress), Glenn Close in Damages, Kyra Sedgwick, etc,etc
Glenn Close, Laura Linney, Kyra Sedgwick — yes.
I loved Damages. It was so… TV.
they should get more of them to play cougars!
That is all
Nobody mentioned Susan Sarandon.
Michelle Pfeiffer has a lead role coming up in Dark Shadows.
^ Yes to both.
Cougars — come on, Joks!
Anne Bancroft and Elizabeth Taylor are my favorites no matter what their age.
On a side note, I don’t like radishes. One of the most unpleasant foods from nature. Bleh!
Soybean, your side notes are very non-sequitor, but ok… lol
It needed to be said. Radishes suck.
Elizabeth Taylor makes me goofy. And Anne Bancroft was absolutely stunning and a fine actress.
I agree on both. What I like about Elizabeth Taylor is that she was saucy and had a great sense of humor, esp. for such a beautiful woman (it seems most beautiful women these days have little if any sense of humor). She also stubbornly did life her own way, though I’d question her marrying a billion men, but that has nothing to do with her stage persona.
Anne Bancroft was married to Mel Brooks. Now that is awesome.
“Cougars — come on, Joks!”
Patricia Clarkson (52) is great, too. Would like to see her get more leads.
A question. For those of you interested in seeing more and better roles for older actresses, are you primarily interested in seeing stories about older woman or do you just want to see these good actresses in good roles? Or both?
For me, I mostly like these actors, so I want to see them in films. I don’t have anything against stories about older woman, dealing with issues related to older women, but the primary driving force is to see more of these good actors.
@Odi
You mentioning Glenn Close reminds me that I think you still should see some of Rodrigo Garcia’s films (e.g., Nine Lives, Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her, etc.). He features an all-star cast of actors—e.g., Glenn Close, Kathy Baker, Holly Hunter—she’s another one I really like. These are well-acted, character driven films that are worth watching—especially for those who want to see good roles for older actresses.
“do you just want to see these good actresses in good roles? "
This
Jazz, I’ve heard about the latter film you mentioned. Will need to take a look!
At Joks — that’s the biggest smiley face spitting out tongue I’ve ever seen!
Since seeing the picture Ruby Stevens posted, I think now I’d love to see a film with leading roles for Sean Young AND Linda Fiorentino.
And certainly I’d enjoy seeing Lena Olin and Diane Venora doing more these years.
Plenty of mileage left for these dames, no shortage on good looks and acting talent-
Joan Allen
Sandrine Bonnaire
Angela Bassett
Vera Farmiga
Maria Bello
Matt Parks
She was really good in Homicide: Life on the Street on TV years ago. She’s good in a supporting role in Todd Haynes adaptation of Mildred Pierce, too.