Naomi Watts on Her Role in Ryan Murphy’s ‘Feud’ Season 2: Babe Paley Was ‘So Perfect’

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read
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Naomi Watts is prime to play the “perfect” socialite, Babe Paley, whose husband William S. Paley founded CBS, for Ryan Murphy’s upcoming “Feud: Capote’s Women.”

The second installment of Murphy’s anthology series that debuted in 2017, “Capote’s Women” marks Watts’ follow-up to limited series “The Watcher,” also created by Emmy winner Murphy.

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“It’s such an iconic time and very interesting for women in particular. Babe Paley, what an incredible woman,” Watts told Entertainment Weekly of her latest role. “As Truman [Capote] described her, her only imperfection was that she was so perfect.”

Paley had a falling out with Capote after he released an excerpt titled “La Côte Basque 1965” from his novel “Answered Prayers” in which Capote incriminated his tight-knit circle.

“I’m learning so much about her,” Watts said of Paley. “I’m thrilled to be working with an incredible cast of wonderful women. It’s such a dynamic group.”

Demi Moore, Chloë Sevigny, Diane Lane, Molly Ringwald, and Calista Flockhart round out the cast of “Capote’s Women,” with Tom Hollander playing Capote himself. The socialite “swans” surrounding Capote’s inner circle included Ann Woodward (Moore), C.Z. Guest (Sevigny), Lee Radziwill (Flockhart), Slim Keith (Lane), and Joanne Carson (Ringwald). The series will be set in the 1970s, with Murphy and Plan B executive producing. Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant is directing.

Watts previously opened up about breaking out in her career at age 33 with David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive.”

“I was told, ‘You better get a lot done because it’s all over at 40 when you become unfuckable,'” Watts formerly told Entertainment Weekly. “And I’m like, ‘What? What does that mean exactly?’ Then you think about it, and you go, ‘Oh, right. When you are no longer reproductive, when those organs are no longer functioning, you are not sexy, so, therefore, you are not hirable.’ That just made me so mad.”

Watts continued, “We don’t talk about a man aging hardly ever. We don’t talk about his gray hair. In fact, if we do, it’s like, ‘Oh, he gets more handsome, more desirable, more powerful.’ And why is he powerful? Because he’s accumulated experiences. Well, it should be the same for women. We’ve got important and powerful experiences as well at this age that we should feel proud of.”

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