Role Recall: Susan Sarandon Nearly Froze on 'Rocky Horror,' More
She’s played everything from a crusading nun to a gun-toting road-tripper to a lusty vampire — and yet, even at 67 years old, Susan Sarandon is still finding new on-screen challenges. The Oscar-winner, who plays a booze-swilling grandma in the new Melissa McCarthy film Tammy, spoke with Yahoo Movies about her illustrious résumé, revealing behind-the-scenes stories about five of her most unforgettable roles.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Throngs of Janet wannabes likely have no idea how difficult it was for Sarandon to play the iconic part of Janet, the virgin-turned-vixen. During filming, Sarandon had walking pneumonia — a condition that certainly wasn’t helped by her barely-there costume, the frigid English weather, and a missing roof on the house where the campy horror musical was filmed. “It was actually snowing and raining in the house,” Sarandon recalls. “We never got warm.”
Bull Durham (1988)
The late Roger Ebert said no one else could have played the memorable minor league baseball groupie, though Sarandon is open about the fact that she was far from the first choice. “The studio thought anybody but me could have played Annie Savoy,” she recalls. “I was at the bottom of the list — but everybody else turned it down because they didn’t want to read.” Beyond making the baseball scenes look real, the chemistry between Kevin Costner and his leading lady was supremely important to Bull Durham filmmakers — and she proved she had just that right spark.
Thelma and Louise (1991)
Sarandon and Geena Davis both received Best Actress nominations for this now-classic road-trip drama — a situation Sarandon calls “very unusual.” It was the fifth time in Oscar history that two actresses from the same film got a dueling nod, starting with Anne Baxter and Bette Davis in All About Eve (1950). Thelma and Louise also marks Brad Pitt’s breakout role, and Sarandon has nothing but fond memories of the superstar-to-be: “He did a lot with a very tiny role. His attitude, his swagger, his inventiveness — everything was much more than just a pretty face and a great body.”
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Up until Dead Man Walking, for which she won her Oscar, Sarandon was known for earthier roles. But playing a nun, she says, wasn’t that much of a stretch. “I grew up with nuns,” she recalls.
The Hunger (1983)
Things got tense during the making of this sultry vampire movie: One intimate scene, which was filmed in a Brooklyn garage, was interrupted by the garage’s gun-toting owner. “Catherine [Deneuve] and I were kissing, then all of a sudden it was very bright,” Sarandon said. “It was like you were getting busted for some terrible sex act.” Off-camera, Sarandon told Yahoo Movies that the studio forcibly changed the original ending — something that irritates the veteran actress to this day. “The whole point was that I was supposed to die,” she says. “That’s why you’re not quite sure what’s going on in the ending… It’s a shame because it really is a stylish film.”
