Patricia Clarkson: "I’m Not Part of Hollywood. I am a Woman of a Certain Age Working a Lot"
Actress Patricia Clarkson on acting, confidence, and her beauty secrets. (Photo: Getty Images)
Emmy Award winner Patricia Clarkson doesn’t always admire the look of her character, but it definitely helps when she can relate to them. For her latest role in Learning to Drive, she plays Wendy, a book critic living in New York City, who is suddenly dumped by her husband for another women. Clarkson didn’t get dumped, she isn’t in publishing, and she didn’t learn to drive in the city from an Indian refugee Sikh (her father did the honors). But, the New Yorker certainly finds similarities with her character. “I can be angry and difficult and opinionated, which Wendy certainly is, but I hope in the end I’m kind and accepting and loving,” says Clarkson. "I think that’s who she is at the core. I’m a middle-aged woman, I’ve been through a lot, and had a life."
That life – growing up in New Orleans, attending Fordham and Yale universities, and being nominated for Tony and Golden Globe awards – has been a learning experience. She says her path was necessary in order to portray the part. “The stars align for a reason. I don’t know if it would have been the same film or performance at 45 [years old] that I gave at 54,” says Clarkson. “We shift as we age; physically, emotionally, personally. I’ve been in different places; some better, some worse, and just different places in my life when I shot the film.”
Throughout her career, she’s held leading and supporting roles in major movies like The Green Mile, Good Night and Good Luck, the TV show Six Feet Under, and onstage in The Elephant Man.
With her impressive resume, Clarkson explains what makes her feel empowered, how she improves herself, and how she really feels about certain beauty looks from past projects.
Yahoo Beauty: Your character is a woman who’s finding her better self.
Patricia Clarkson: Yes, she’s not finding a new life she’s finding a better self, which is what I love about this film. My generation of women, we have it all, in essence. We’re lucky. We’re very, very lucky. We have great jobs. We have husbands and wives, partners and children. Wendy is at the top of her game. She’s a book critic, a New Yorker. It doesn’t get any bigger in her profession. It’s a beautiful story about appreciation, and taking the world in; taking in world you should have taken in long ago.
What things do you do on a regular basis to better your self?
Putting down the iPad. Putting down the iPhone. Being a good friend. Taking care of my dogs. Trying to be present in my life. I’m not a person who is good at getting massages and things, or going to yoga. That’s not me. I just need to look up during the day, and that’s sometimes very difficult in our world. I think I try to be a better friend, a better girlfriend, a better dog owner. [Laughs]
You are barefaced in a lot of the scenes. What was that experience like? Do you find it scary or do you find it liberating?
Scary! Liberating, schmiberating. It’s scary. [Laughs]
Why is it scary to be seen without makeup?
It’s real life, and it’s truth, and it’s what the character is. I’m never vain as a character. I am capable of letting go and I want to look — first and foremost — true to the part, true to the character. And that requires sometimes not absolutely looking your best — sometimes truly looking your worst. That’s just how it is sometimes.
Have you ever regretted a look from one of your films?
Oh, all the time! In the moment it seems fine, and you’re caught up in the emotion in the scene. It’s a long day, and you’re like, “Oh, I really needed to brush my hair.” Yeah, you always have regrets. Sometimes it’s really fun, like how I wore my hair in Whatever Works, with Woody Allen. He had my hair in a full set of hot curlers everyday. I have my mother’s hair! It was the fashion to be a woman with big hair, and it was just dry. [Laughs]
How do you empower yourself in real life and cut out all the noise from Hollywood?
I’m not a part of Hollywood. I am a woman of a certain age working a lot. I remember how far I’ve come. I think of myself already having the power. Things are pretty good.
Who are your confidence role models?
I have many. Can we go all the way back to Lincoln? [Laughs] I have to say, my mother. Because in the process of having it all, in having an incredible life, a beautiful marriage and children, they never lost themselves.
What works for you and what doesn’t when it comes to your beauty routine?
Without a doubt, Dermalogica Age Smart cream is the best cream I’ve ever used. I live by Clé de Peau liquid foundation. It’s the best foundation I’ve worn it for years. I’ll never wear anything else. What’s essential for me is a hat. I have to have a hat on at all times. Keep the face out of the sun. And sleep.
Yes how many hours of sleep do you strive for?
I always strive for eight, and I sometimes I do eight. I try to sleep. It’s the best plastic surgery you’ll ever have.
Have you learned any beauty secrets from the women in your life?
I’ve had a great makeup artist tell me, “Never let anyone put eyebrows on you – never let anyone darken your eyebrows.” You learn things, in time, what works for you. Certain things about your face that you have to be aware of.
Patricia Clarkson’s latest role in Learning to Drive. (VIdeo: YouTube)
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