The legendary Meryl Streep chats winning – and losing – Oscars, breaking boundaries and crushing on Robert Redfordlol
At 74, Meryl Streep is simply one of the world’s best respected actresses, with three Oscars under her belt. Her incredible career has just been marked with an honorary Palme D’Or, which she was awarded at Cannes Film Festival. But despite being acting royalty, the star doesn’t take herself too seriously, and claims nor do her family!
Congratulations, Meryl! What was it like to get the award?
I felt just a wave of feeling coming from the audience. It was a lot. I live a very quiet life, a pretty boring life – I’m not a rock star – and really, I don’t get any respect at home so it was amazing!
Did you watch lots of films to prepare for Cannes?
Well, it used to be there were a certain number of films you had to see in order to do this with some authority. And also, I’m so old that I’ve worked with absolutely everyone and I’m going to run into them and if I haven’t seen their film, you know, I’m an asshole! So, I haven’t seen enough films, and I also have four children, who are grown, but it never ends. I also have five grandchildren. So I don’t sit and watch enough movies. It’s a crowded life – but I signed up for that.
You got your first Oscar for Kramer V Kramer – is it true you left it in the loo?
Yes I did. I was wearing a very big dress and I had to lift it up and put the thing down and then forgot it was underneath there. But someone found it – the next person in.
You sing in a lot of films, such as Mamma Mia. Is it something you enjoy?
I love to sing. And when I was a kid, I took opera lessons. And then in high school I started cheerleading and smoking. These two things kind of ruined it.
Out of Africa with Robert Redford has so many great scenes – including probably the most famous shampoo scene ever. Can you tell us about that?
So Redford is meant to wash my hair in this river. We had been warned about two things – lions, but they were imported from California and they were supposedly fine, tame – they were not. And the second thing we were told is the animal that kills the most people in Africa is the hippopotamus. If you get between a hippo and the water they will charge you. So, we were shooting in the river and the hippos were right above it. And Redford was washing my hair, but the way he was doing it wasn’t good. So Roy, my hair and make-up man comes up and he says, ‘Bob, go like this.’ So Redford took the lesson and he got into it and he was great. By take five I was so in love. It’s such a tender… it’s a sex scene, in a way, because it’s so intimate and we’ve seen so many
