Some of Hollywood’s best reveal their acting inspirations
AUDRA MCDONALD
“Judy Garland in the film ‘A Star Is Born,’ singing ‘Lose That Long Face,’ and she’s still got to get back on set and finish that song. The way that’s shot and her performance in that—it’s everything.”
JULIA GARNER
“In terms of acting, ‘Kramer vs. Kramer.’ ‘The Deer Hunter’ has great acting. ‘Rosemary’s Baby.’ All of those movies from the 1970s—they’re inspiring! Watching those movies makes me want to act.”
PATRICIA ARQUETTE
“Two of the performances that were very pivotal to me as a young actress were Jessica Lange in ‘Frances’ and Gena Rowlands in ‘A Woman Under the Influence.’ ”
NATASHA LYONNE
“For me, it might be Giulietta Masina [in] ‘Nights of Cabiria.’ It’s honestly just impossible [to name one performance,] because there are so many styles, and it’s important to know them.”
LENA WAITHE
“I’m gonna pick an Angela Bassett performance, because I think she’s still very underrated…. I would say ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It.’ It’s such a harrowing performance [as Tina Turner], and she’s so transformative. You feel everything. You’re just with her the whole time. And it knocks you out every time you watch it because she just lays it all out.”
BACKSTAGE 12.06.21
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LYONNE: LEV RADIN/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; “NIGHTS OF CABIRIA”: AA FILM ARCHIVE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; WAITHE: DFREE/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; “WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT”: AF ARCHIVE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; ARQUETTE: KATHY HUTCHINS/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; “A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE”: PHOTO 12/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; GARNER: JAGUAR PS/ SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; “KRAMER VS. KRAMER”: PICTORIAL PRESS LTD./ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; MCDONALD: DFREE/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; “A STAR IS BORN”: MOVIESTORE COLLECTION LTD./ ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; CENTRAL IMAGE: KITZZEH/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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