'It’s one of the great myths that you lose your sexuality as you get older,' the actress shares.
Glenn Close gave her performance in The Wife her all, though it turns out the film's opening sequence -- a sex scene between her and Jonathan Pryce -- didn't require much preparation.
As the 71-year-old actress, who earned her seventh Oscar nomination for her role on Tuesday, told The Guardian, she feels "as sexual and as eager as I ever have."
“It’s one of the great myths that you lose your sexuality as you get older,” she shared, revealing that both she and Pryce showed up to set in their “jammies” before shooting the sex scene. “We were both thinking the same thing: ‘We’re pros, we’ve been doing this a long time. Let’s just get down to it.'"
In The Wife, Close stars as a woman living in the shadow of her Nobel prize-winning husband, played by Pryce, 71. And though the actress doesn't feel like her sex drive has slowed down, she's aware of her age -- and its unexpected advantages.
“I feel as free and as creative, as sexual and as eager, as I ever have. And it’s ironic because I’m thinking: ‘How much time do I have left now?’ There are so many things I’m interested in doing. It’s one of those ironies, I suppose, that we sometimes start feeling comfortable in our own skin only late in our lives, but hopefully with enough time to benefit from it," she said.
"I’m so glad to do what I do because even though I’m not a method actor and I don’t use my life in my acting, my work is still a progression. So what comes after this I’m excited to see," Close continued. "Right now, I’m just enjoying feeling …Chuffed. Isn’t that what you all say? I’m feeling very chuffed.”
Close's interview with The Guardian occurred before her Oscar nomination was announced on Tuesday. When asked what she thought her chances of a nomination were, she said, "Oh, I daren't even go there."
"I’ve survived all this time just being at the party, and I’ve loved it. Most people sweat over whether they’ll actually win, but I’ve never felt that," she insisted. "I think I’ll be incredibly nervous when they open the envelope, but only because so many people will be disappointed if I don’t win. A lot of them already think I’ve got an Oscar. If I do lose, I want to look at the camera and reassure everyone: ‘I’m OK.’”
Close spoke more about her Oscar chances with ET in August, admitting that finally winning "would be nice."
"I would be nice after 42 years! But, you know, I'm very sanguine about it," she said. "If it happens, great. It's not going to change my passion for what I do. But to be recognized with your peers is a very... It's pretty great."
"It feels really wonderful, I have to say," Close added of recognition that The Wife has received. "I mean, it really is about the role, I think. I never thought that this would be that kind of a role."
See more in the video below.
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