5 things you didn’t know about #JessicaLange : · On Bob Dylan: “Lange says she can “sing every lyric Dylan ever wrote. He was a transformative artist in my life.” · If she could change one thing: It would be her “absolute willfulness.” · On her experiences with the paranormal: “I’ve seen a presence. Most ghosts are easy, benevolent.” · On loneliness: “Where I grew up, it seeps into your bones. Seems I’ve spent my life trying to fill it up.” · Her tattoos: Lange got her first tattoo in Paris at age 19 – a crescent moon on her hip, the smallest one offered. She also has a Celtic knot on her wrist; her older daughter is similarly inked. On older women in Hollywood: “Ageism is pervasive in this industry. It’s not a level playing field. You don’t often see women in their 60s playing romantic leads, yet you will see men in their 60s playing romantic leads with costars who are decades younger.” On her staying power: Lange announced in 2013 that she was thinking of retiring, yet has shown no sign of slowing down. Her staying power isn’t just about the boom in meaty roles for older actresses on television. “It’s the desire to do something brave,” she says, “to be challenged.” On her ascent to happiness: “In recent years, I’ve tried to come to grips with the idea that you can actually choose to be happy. You can choose not to let things affect you negatively. I’ve always had such a quick temper. I realize now, it’s such a waste of energy. You can actually choose to let things roll off you.” On her first Academy Award: “I knew when I did Frances that it was something extraordinary. I love those kinds of parts, with huge emotional swings. But Tootsie turned out to be the best film I ever made. And to win my first Oscar for it was thrilling, not terrifying, the way it might be today. The awards were more casual then. You did your own hair, you did your own makeup. It wasn’t the fashion event of the season” #checkout #newestissue #aarp @aarpphoto
