Golden Globe Winner Patricia Arquette Says Aging Is Easy

Patricia Arquette at the 2015 Golden Globes. Photo: Getty Images

Some actresses are so afraid of aging, they’d rather freeze their faces beyond recognition than reveal the passing of time. But Patricia Arquette doesn’t seem to care for plastic surgeons or “miracle cures,” and that’s for the best. Besides looking gorgeous (and actually human) at 46, the Hollywood vet now has a Best Supporting Actress statuette for Boyhood, the astonishing film that took 12 years of her life to make.

We spoke with the actress about the movie, the benefits of turning 40, and the problem of onscreen boyfriends.

Yahoo Style: Boyhood took 12 years to make. Did you watch a mini-movie every year, or did you wait until the end to see the whole thing?

Patricia Arquette: Rick [Linkater] would have shown me a cut every year if I wanted to see it, but I really didn’t. I said, “show me something when you have a few years of it done.” So the first time I saw Boyhood was five years after I started making it.

YS: What was it like seeing five years of yourself, all at once, on film?

PA: It was amazing. I was blown away—but also, you know, it was kind of what I thought it was going to look like, in my head. It was so incredible but it was also so close to what I remember it being, when we were filming it.  Anyway, I felt great about it, so I said, “okay, I don’t want to see any more until it’s done. Show me the movie when it’s finished, with an audience.” And that’s the next time I saw it, when everyone else saw it, at Sundance.

YS: Did you and Ethan Hawke watch the five-year version together?

PA: No, Ethan would watch the film—whatever we had of it—every single year. And the kids in the movie never saw any of it until it was finished, because he didn’t want them to be self-conscious!  He’s the most respectful director with people, and you could especially see that with the kids.

YS: How?

PA: Like, for instance, Rick always knew the boy in the movie would have a girlfriend. At a certain point in a boy’s life—I mean, it’s there!  But he waited until Ellar [Coltrane, who plays the lead] had an actual girlfriend before he introduced a romantic relationship into the plot. He wanted to make sure it felt comfortable, and real.

YS: Did he check to make sure you’d had a boyfriend before writing your scenes, too?

PA: No [Laughing], he must have sensed I’d already had my first boyfriend. I mean, he didn’t ask, but… [laughing] he’s very intuitive.

YS: You age 12 years—literally—in the film. Was that stressful to think about, or see?

PA: No. Once you hit 40, you stop worrying about that stuff. At least, I did. 40 is a tough year for people to hit, but once you’ve done it, you realize it’s actually a very cool age. It’s much easier, for me at least…