Julia Ormond: ‘I’m lucky to still be working’
ACTOR Julia Ormond may have kissed Brad Pitt and set her own trends in the 90s, but it’s her ‘mature roles’ she’s cherishing the most.
Stellar
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YOU’RE part of a very exclusive club: women who have kissed Brad Pitt and had it immortalised onscreen. What are your memories of 1994 film Legends Of The Fall?
I feel really lucky. It was an amazing time. But I’ve also really enjoyed the stuff that’s come through later and, in a funny way, I think there’s something about the mature supporting roles I’ve really enjoyed. I just feel really lucky to still be working.
Stories like Legends Of The Fall and First Knight seem to have migrated from film to television. Are you a small-screen binge-watcher?
I have a kid, and we’re huge fans of Doctor Who. We love Modern Family and silly comedies. But I tend to still watch more films than TV.
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The ’90s, the era in which you became a star, is a huge influence on the fashion world right now. At age 53, are there any fashion trends you’d like to see return? Or ones you never again want to see rear their heads?
It’s not so much a fashion thing as a hairstyle: I never want to see that straight, forward fringe with the roll out. It looked atrocious on me and I fiercely defended it — I wish I hadn’t. I didn’t have it long, but it was long enough. And those big shoulder pads. That would be my go-to “please can we not go there again”.
You stepped into Audrey Hepburn’s shoes for the remake of Sabrina.
I don’t believe that anyone can step into her shoes. It was very intimidating and I just felt like I’d do a good job of the ugly duckling.
I underestimated it — as a Brit who’d grown up in the world of theatre, where we redo classics again and again, and we’re quite excited and welcoming to see someone’s new performance.
I think I somewhat misguidedly went, “That’s OK then.” It’s only once I got there and talked to people and they’d say, “That’s my favourite movie,” and I’d think, “Oh god.”
What was being in Mad Men like? It seemed like you had a lot of fun as Megan Draper’s mother, Marie.
I loved it; that was my first grandmother role. It’s one of the first times for me that I’ve gone and worked on a show I was completely crazy about and really admired and loved.
It was an adult version of a kid going to Disneyland and discovering that Pluto and Goofy are real.
It was a bit bizarre, but I loved it. It holds such a high bar in terms of the writing and the execution and period detail, but I just totally, totally loved it. I think [co-star] John Slattery can barely open his mouth without making people laugh.
Was it hard not to fangirl and just keep touching Jon Hamm?
Yes, he told me to stop doing that.
In your new film, Ladies In Black, you’re something of a mentor figure. Did you have anyone like that in your life when you were young?
There was a woman called Anne at one of my first jobs, which was in a florist shop. She was very independent and she knew a great deal about taking care of flowers.
I remember how kind she was to people, and for some reason I thought a lot about her when I was playing Magda.
Did the old-school department store setting bring back any memories for you?
It reminded me of going to get my school uniform as a kid, and I also worked in a department store when I was young, 12 or 13. I think I got fired for wearing too short a skirt.
Magda is a fashion queen. Does her look reflect your style in real life?
No [laughs]. She’s very put together and very much in love with fashion, and I’m just missing the fashion gene. I’m quite a tomboy in reality and most stylists, when I say, “Well, what if I did this?”, there’s usually a chorus of, “No, no, no. Put that down. Put that away!
It was your first time shooting in Australia. Did we measure up?
I loved it. My god, I loved Sydney. It’s amazing. It was one of those jammy roles. I mean, I was sitting on that ferry going under the Harbour Bridge, thinking this is just ridiculous.
I brought my daughter back to Sydney quite soon after we wrapped and we did the Bridge Climb. I thought I was going to vomit, and all I could think was, “Why are we doing this? Why on earth did I agree to this?”
Ladies In Black is in cinemas on Thursday.
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Originally published as Julia Ormond: ‘I’m lucky to still be working’
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