Ten Questions with Julianne Moore
The Hollywood star on the challenges of motherhood, on and off screen, as she stars alongside Sydney Sweeney
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- James Mottram
Echo Valley is on Apple TV+ now. Add it to your watchlist
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There aren’t many actors with a powerhouse CV to rival that of Julianne Moore. From FBI agent (Hannibal) and porn star (Boogie Nights) to Alzheimer’s sufferer (Still Alice, which won her an Oscar) to future political leader (The Hunger Games), the 64-year-old redhead has done it all. And now she’s playing Kate, a mother who will do anything for her drug-addict daughter (Sydney Sweeney) in the new Apple TV+ thriller Echo Valley — even if that means hiding a dead body and taking on dangerous criminals…
Echo Valley is a cracking, old-fashioned thriller — was that part of the appeal?
Yes, it reminded me of movies from the 40s where an ordinary woman is thrust into an extraordinary situation. Kate isn’t someone you know at first glance. You have a lot of assumptions about who she is and what she’s capable of. You end up being very surprised.
Do you have a favourite thriller?
Don’t Look Now, which, is wonderfully human and complicated and maybe the scariest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Interestingly, it’s also about a domestic situation and a tragedy – and it’s also a love story.
Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney in Echo Valley.
The film deals with the trials of parenthood. As a mother-of-two yourself, did you feel prepared for motherhood?
I think there’s a lot in life that we don’t know about until we experience it. Often people say, “Oh, well, you’ll see when you have a baby.” And I find that even now as a parent of adult children, I’ll have people ask me what that’s like. The only thing that I’ve been able to offer people in terms of my experience is that I’ve really enjoyed every stage of motherhood and every stage has its own challenges, but that’s what life is.
Kate will do anything for her daughter — what does unconditional love mean to you?
I think it’s inherent in the phrase – to love without conditions. I think and hope that that’s the nature of parenthood. I think when something is conditional, it’s like “I love you if you wear a red shirt. If you’re not wearing a red shirt, I won’t love you any more!”. That’s a very basic explanation! But I think that the nature of parenthood is that you have a responsibility to a person that you gave life to, and that you want to share your life with that person, and that your love is a constant.
What’s your biggest family indulgence?
I’m a big believer in celebrating people’s birthdays. I like them because it’s saying to somebody that I’m really happy that you were born. I always make a deal of our family ones. I do think it’s important – not to say, “Look what you did” but “Look who you are!”
Julianne Moore in Echo Valley. Apple TV+
You’ve been acting for 40 years. How do you reflect on that?
One of the wonderful things that I experienced as a young actor, and now again as an older actor, is that you have these really extraordinary peer relationships with the people that you work with, regardless of their age. So I remember when I was first starting out, and I was in my early 20s, I’d suddenly find myself in a scene with someone who was twice my age, sometimes even three times my age. It was exhilarating.
How is it now that you’re on the older side of that relationship
As I’ve got older, I’ve met younger people the same way. Because this has been my career experience being an actor – I feel like there aren’t a lot of professions where you have that. It’s been quite wonderful for me, because it dissolves a lot of barriers between people, and you can have an authentic experience of who they are, as a person and as an actor in the world. And it’s been really gratifying.
Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney in Echo Valley Apple
Your co-star in this film is 27-year-old megastar Sydney Sweeney — what’s she like?
She really is such a dynamic actress – so very, very alive.
You’ve recently made a move into TV with shows like Mary & George and Sirens. What’s been the biggest culture shock?
Generally, I have been working in features where you have one director, but on TV shows you often have multiple. It’s difficult. It’s like any job. We work in our jobs, but we also work with our personalities, our teams and our cultures and everything… You become so used to that, but it really does completely change an atmosphere when you put another human being in the same position. That’s new for me.
What drives you now? Do you want to keep acting?
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I feel so lucky that this is work that I derive so much pleasure from. There was a point where I thought, “Maybe at some point I’ll get tired of this.” But I find that it’s endlessly fascinating. I really like relationships. I’m fascinated by behaviour. I like the collective of making films, so I hope I continue to be employed!
Authors
James Mottram
James Mottram is a London-based film critic, journalist, and author.
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