Meryl Streep looked back on her career during a meeting in front of the audience at the Cannes Film Festival, this Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Report.
“I’m so grateful that you haven’t grown tired of me.” It is with these words that Meryl Streep concluded his acceptance speech by receiving the honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday evening. But how could we tire of this actress with a thousand faces? That of a mother fighting for custody of her son (Kramer vs. Kramer), that of this forty-year-old who experiences a passion as dazzling as it is ephemeral (On the road to Madison), that of a ruthless editor-in-chief (The devil wears Prada)a British Prime Minister in decline (Iron Woman) or that of a mother on the verge of bankruptcy who reconnects with the love of her youth in Greece, while singing the entire Abba repertoire (Mamma Mia!).
The public, in any case, did not tire of her, as proved by the numerous laughter and applause which punctuated her reflections during the meeting hosted by the journalist Didier Allouch, this Wednesday, May 15, with the festival-goers.
For an hour and a half, Meryl Streep spoke about several aspects of her career and especially the evolution of her profession, she who has become an essential actress while she herself claims to have “a very quiet life without as much of respect” at home.
“I’m not normally a rockstar, I have a very boring life!”
This is the first time she has returned to the Croisette in 35 years, having received an acting prize at Cannes for A cry in the night. However, it is not the award that is her main memory: She was “terrified” by the fervor and attention paid to her at the time. “I needed a dozen bodyguards, and I normally didn’t have any. There weren’t as many barriers and the cameras were in your face. I’m not normally a rockstar , I have a very boring life!”
A meeting punctuated with anecdotes
However, his career is so impressive that it could be compared to that of a rockstar. Meryl Streep received three Oscars and numerous other awards and has established herself as a major figure in Hollywood since the 1960s. During this meeting with the Croisette, the actress displayed all her mischief and humor legendary by looking back on the great films of his career.
Clint Eastwood: “a fantastic author who never got angry, except once.”
For each of them, Meryl Streep has an anecdote. She remembered her memorable monologue in Kramer vs. Kramer, which she wrote herself and which was preferred to those of Dustin Hoffman and Robert Benton. She delved into the impact of Journey to the end of hell, she who comes from a small town in New Jersey and who saw people leave for Vietnam without returning, or return with trauma. She doesn’t like to think about the “upsetting” scene at Sophie’s Choice, which she did in just two takes. She has delicious memories of the massages provided by Robert Redford in the iconic shampoo scene from Out of Africaafter the advice of his hairdresser, in front of the hippos.
Meryl Streep went back in time and even talked about her acting techniques. Admired for the intensity and accuracy of her performances, she nevertheless did not use any technique to play the most difficult scenes of her career, preferring to return to something “raw” in the intense scenes. Conversely, acting methods are necessary to shoot small everyday scenes that are repeated several times in the same day.
She remembered her collaborations with the greatest and some of her career favorites, Spielberg (“a genius”), Clint Eastwood (“a fantastic author who never got angry, except once because “there was noise”), or Carrie Fischer (“I miss her a lot”). But what is a good director? “A confident, passionate, trust-building filmmaker with a story to tell.” What if she can’t find all that in a director? “I’m going home to cook.” New hilarity in the audience and loud applause.
Advice for young actors
“The biggest stars in the world are women now! Except for Tom Cruise, maybe…”
Meryl Streep is also a personality committed to gender equality in the film industry. She was part of the Times Up movement in 2017, for example. Today, she believes that there has “been progress” in terms of equality between actors and actresses : “The biggest stars in the world are women now ! With the exception of Tom Cruise, perhaps (laughs).” Conversely, when she started her career, the salary difference was greater and the female roles less varied. “VS“It was difficult for men to identify with female protagonists, whereas women are able to identify with male characters.”
“The first film where men came to me to say: ‘I understand how your character feels’, it was for The devil wears Prada“, where she plays a tyrannical editor-in-chief who has several codes of masculinity. “The roles for women are wonderful now,” she notes during this meeting. “So many women are producing today their own films, I admire.” But if she didn’t side with the production itself, it’s because “[sa] family life takes everything [son] free time”.
The meeting with Meryl Streep concluded with the valuable advice she could give to young actors, who are going through slumps at the start of their careers: “Keep hope. Everything can change after just one film. Don’t give up. Don’t give up. New fiery applause. It’s certain, the public is far from getting tired of Meryl Streep.