Andie MacDowell: Why I did my first nude scene at age 59

ANDIE MacDowell has shut down those who doubted she would still have a career past her 40s in her most revealing role yet.

“WHEN I turned 40, people kept asking me what it felt like to get older and know I wasn’t going to work any longer,” says Andie MacDowell. Well, she showed them. Now 59, the longtime face of L’Oréal is enjoying the juiciest role of her career: a widow rediscovering romance, to the horror of her grown sons, in “Love After Love,” out March 30. She’ll discuss that and more at the 92nd Street Y on March 28, between clips from other films of hers, including “Groundhog Day,” which memorably paired the South Carolina native with Bill Murray.

She sat down with the NY Post to talk about him, her actress-and-singer-songwriter daughters, Margaret and Rainey Qualley, and her upcoming nude scene — her first — in “Love After Love.”

Why and how were you able to keep your clothes on all those years?

My agents and managers wanted me to have a body double. I found it comfortable [to do then] because I didn’t want to embarrass my children, for starters. But they’re grown up now.

How did you get through it?

The director [Russell Harbaugh] knew it wasn’t something I was dying to do, so the crew was cut back. And I practised! Right before we did the scene, he said, “How do you want to do this?” I said, “Should I just show you?” So I took my clothes off in front of him and said, “What do you think?” He kept saying, “You are so beautiful, oh that’s beautiful, that’s beautiful.” It made me calm.

MacDowell and her daughter Rainey Qualley at the 64th Berlinale International Film Festival. Picture: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

MacDowell and daughter Sarah Margaret Qualley at the Cannes Film Festival. Picture: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images.

What career advice, if any, have you given your daughters?

Basically, I tell them, “Terrible things can happen to you, but it doesn’t mean you won’t succeed. Obstacles are just opportunities to grow.” Now they give me advice.

Where did you last find Bill Murray?

I ran into him in an airport. We must have been at Sundance. I know he’s living in Charleston now and I’ve gone to Charleston and hoped I’d run into him by accident. It hasn’t happened. There’s only one Bill Murray. He’s a comic genius.

MacDowell with Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Picture: Groundhog Day

What’s next for you?

I did a movie for Netflix [airing this year] with Chevy Chase and Richard Dreyfuss, “The Last Laugh.” It’s a powerful story with a lot of comedy.

You seem to prefer comedy to drama.

I’m glad I get to do both, but I think dark comedies are my favourite … I watched a documentary on Cary Grant. He had a whole persona that he played non-stop — he was never truly himself. That’s not something I ever wanted to do. I play characters, but in real life, I’m me.

This story originally appeared on the NY Post and is republished with permission.

Originally published as Andie MacDowell: Why I did my first nude scene at age 59