Glenn Close Says Her Acting Success Is Due to Taking Her ‘Craft Very Seriously’ (Exclusive)

Lady of wisdom! It’s been a monumental year so far for actress Glenn Close, who most recently took home another award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for The Wife at the 2019 SAG Awards on Sunday, January 27. And, following her big win, the 71-year-old gushed about the secret to her success in an exclusive interview with Closer Weekly.

When asked to share one of the biggest life lessons she’s learned through her impressive career, Glenn replied, “That’s daunting. Isn’t it?” She continued, “In a very compelling way. I’ve always taken my craft very seriously and have always felt that I had to make choices for very personal reasons, very subjective reasons.”

Glenn also shared that she doesn’t just take every role that is offered to her. “If I ever chose something because I thought it would win me an award or make me a lot of money, I was going off track,” she explained. “Ultimately, what we have as individuals is what makes us an individual. I think to be able to approach something personal and to learn a craft of getting into someone else’s skin I guess that’s the biggest actor rule that I live by. If I think it’s good, I just hope other people think it’s good enough to go see it.”

The Fatal Attraction star even revealed where her acting inspiration comes from. “This here is my grandmother’s wedding ring,” she told People as she showed off the stunning diamond on the red carpet ahead of the awards show.  “She wanted to be an actress and I only knew that after she died. She never would have been allowed to do that. I feel like I’m carrying the women in my family who were wonderful mothers and wives, but could have had more personal expression probably.”

And even though she now has more than 40 years of Hollywood success to her name, there are some things that Glenn isn’t afraid to admit she regrets. While making an appearance at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards in early January, the star exclusively told Closer Weekly the advice she’d give her younger self today.

“Well, you see I started in theater, I was theater for six years before I did my first movie, and movie auditions are much worse than theater auditions, it’s just different,” she shared. “And I went to one audition … I guess the question is what would I say to my younger self? It’s hard because we’ve talked a lot in the ‘Me Too’ movement how you go.”

She added, “Well, I know it’s not about abusive, and you get on this mind thing to keep your mind there, to get it right, to get the audition right and if anything interferes with that, it’s not good technique but it can just, your whole … it goes out the window and you’re terrible.”