The actor Diane Keaton calls a “genius”
In addition to starring in a string of smash hits and stone-cold classics, Diane Keaton has won an Academy Award from four ‘Best Actress’ nominations and scooped a pair of Golden Globes from nine nods. That’s precisely why she is well-placed to pass judgement on which of her peers deserves to be labelled a “genius”.
Her own career has spanned over half a century and encompassed film, television, and the stage, with her effervescent off-screen personality ensuring that she isn’t going to simply dish out that term to anyone. Fittingly, then, she bestowed it upon one of the greatest actors of all time who can’t seem to turn around without having their contemporaries laud them as one of the finest to ever step foot on the silver screen.
Meryl Streep must be used to the second-hand embarrassment that comes from being so widely praised by multiple generations of talents from both sides of the camera, but that comes with the territory when somebody has become a byword for greatness. It’s right there in the accolades stacked up over her own lengthy stint in the spotlight. However, it still can’t be something anyone can ever find themselves getting used to.
During a tribute to her hosted by the American Film Institute, Keaton took the stage and couldn’t have been more gushing with her appraisal: “To be in Meryl’s presence is to be on the receiving end of how far she goes in her exploration of the human experience,” she said. “By putting life before art, Meryl Streep has made the choice of a true trailblazing pioneer, and in the process become my generation’s genius.”
Strangely, though, that doesn’t necessarily make them friends. When she appeared on Jimmy Kimmel after paying tribute to Streep, the host referred to the attendees of the honorific ceremony as friends, which Keaton shut down: “Well, they’ve worked with me, yeah. Some are important, you know? Like Meryl Streep! That’s an important person.”
When Kimmel asked outright whether or not they were actually friends, Keaton again danced around it, saying, “I love her, but I don’t see her very often.” Streep might disagree, seeing as she referred to Keaton as her “sister” when they co-starred as siblings in Jerry Zaks’ 1996 drama Marvin’s Room.
On The Oprah Winfrey Show, Streep laid her cards on the table: “She’s my sister. I never had a sister. Sure, I got to pick my part, but what I got to do is I got to pick my sister.” Obviously, people can – and do – drift apart over time, but it’s clear that regardless of how close they may be today, the two powerhouse performers are fully cognisant and appreciative of their respective status as modern greats.
Watch the tribute below.
