Aubrey Plaza picks her favourite Meryl Streep movie
Hollywood icon Meryl Streep didn’t find herself drawn to acting straight away. As a teenager, she tried her hand at opera, only acting in school productions as a casual hobby. Yet, as she began to receive high praise for her performances, Streep realised that she had what it takes to pursue acting seriously, subsequently studying the craft at college.
According to Streep, acting is still “an art that I find in its deepest essence to be completely mysterious”. She told an audience of eager listeners at Princeton University, “I have been smug and willfully ignorant. I’ve cultivated a deliberate reluctance to investigate my own method of working because I’m afraid of killing the goose. I’m afraid if I parse it, I won’t be able to do it anymore.”
Although she studied acting, Streep discovered that she performed best when she disregarded what she was being taught. “I decided to make it up as I went along,” she explained.
Streep started her career in the mid-1970s as a stage actor, appearing in Trelawny of the Wells. Initially set on remaining a theatre star, she eventually began auditioning for film roles, landing her first credit in Julia. Then, she appeared in The Deer Hunter, for which she earned an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’. Her career quickly progressed, and in 1979, she starred opposite Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs. Kramer, this time winning the prestigious ‘Best Supporting Actress’ award.
Through the 1980s and ’90s, Streep continued to establish herself as a star with films such as Sophie’s Choice, Out of Africa, Death Becomes Her, The Bridges of Madison County, Marvin’s Room and Music of the Heart.
Streep is one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed actors, inspiring generations of other aspiring stars due to her ability to master such a wide variety of characters. From the terrifying boss Miranda in The Devil Wears Prada to the musical Donna in Mamma Mia!, Streep has routinely demonstrated that she’s anything but a one-trick pony.
One actor who has expressed her admiration for Streep is Aubrey Plaza, best known for her roles in Parks and Recreation and The White Lotus. During an interview with Vanity Fair, she revealed that her favourite movie starring Streep is Adaptation. Released in 2002, the film was directed by Spike Jonze, coming three years after his feature debut, Being John Malkovich.
The movie was inspired by screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s difficulties with adapting the book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. Thus, in the movie, Nicolas Cage plays Kaufman in a bizarrely meta blend of reality and fantasy. Streep stars as Orlean, earning yet another Academy Award nomination (she has received 21 in total) for her performance.
Although Streep didn’t win, losing to Catherine Zeta-Jones for her performance in Chicago, she received plenty of critical praise for her portrayal of the writer, proving her status as one of the industry’s most talented stars.
