Laurence Fishburne names his movie heroes: “She’s right up there with Kate Hepburn”
Laurence Fishburne knows a thing or two about being a great movie star. He’s played some incredible roles in his time, including Mr Clean in Apocalypse Now, Furious in Boyz n the Hood, and Ike Turner in What’s Love Got to Do with It. That’s without mentioning his recurring contributions to the Ant-Man, John Wick, and Matrix franchises. As Morpheus, he will go down in history as one of the coolest movie actors to ever walk the planet.
As all good actors should, Fishburne has a healthy appreciation for his fellow board-tredders. In an interview with The Guardian, he listed a variety of actors that he considered his favourites, including Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Sidney Poitier. Fishburne also had some backhanded praise for Keanu Reeves, saying, “He plays stupid but he’s a bright boy.” However, he saved the peak of his adulation for Meryl Streep.
“Oh man, Meryl Streep! She’s up there with Kate Hepburn,” he said, likening the Out of Africa actor to record-breaking four-time Oscar winner Katharine Hepburn. “I call her the department of the interior because her interior shit is… oh man!” It’s not entirely clear what he was going to say next, but it’s safe to assume that it would have been a compliment.
Streep is just one ‘Best Actress’ win away from tying Hepburn’s record. She won her first award in 1980 for her role in the divorce drama Kramer vs Kramer, then her second three years later for playing the titular conflicted mother in Sophie’s Choice. She then made it a hat trick in 2012 when she won for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. As for Hepburn, her first win (Morning Glory) came at the sixth-ever Oscars ceremony in 1934. She followed this up with back-to-back wins in 1968 (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) and 1969 (The Lion in Winter) before cementing her legacy with a fourth victory for 1982’s On Golden Pond.
While many comparisons have been drawn between the two over the years, it seems as if Hepburn wasn’t a fan of her biggest competition. “Meryl Streep was [Hepburn’s] least favourite actress onscreen,” wrote author Scott A Berg in a biography of the star called Kate Remembered. Apparently, the Golden Age icon believed her modern counterpart focused too much on technique and not enough on pure emotion when acting. It’s entirely possible that she was just jealous, as Streep was the one to break her record for most Oscar nominations.
Fishburne never got the chance to work with Hepburn, who died in 2003, and, as of yet, he has yet to share the bill with Streep. He does, however, have a number of interesting coincidences with both. In 1999, he starred in the Broadway revival of The Lion of Winter, the play that helped deliver Hepburn’s Oscar number three. Stockard Channing of Grease fame played her role. As for Meryl Streep, they were competitors at the 2017 Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Narration category. Fishburne was nominated for lending his voice to Nat Geo’s ‘Year Million’, while Streep would eventually win the award for her role in Netflix’s Five Came Back.
In a business where male actors don’t always give their female colleagues the respect they deserve, Fishburne acknowledging Streep’s talents means that little bit more. Hopefully, the two can work together one day, and he can see her abilities up close.
