“I’ll see if I still can do it”: the role that healed Glenn Close twice over
The healing power of theatre and cinema is no foreign feeling to those who have felt its effect, and for Glenn Close, the ability to process real-life feelings and experiences through her craft was hugely beneficial on a personal and professional level.
The storied actor found escapism and catharsis through her work, and one role in particular helped her to find peace twice. An esteemed veteran of film, television, and the stage, Close has amassed plenty of recognition throughout her career to indicate that she needn’t be too concerned about her talents.
The winner of three Primetime Emmys, three Tony Awards and a trio of Golden Globes, Close has also been the recipient of three Grammy nominations and two Bafta nods, in addition to being shortlisted eight times for an Academy Award, making her one of the most-nominated performers in history to never win an Oscar.
Equally comfortable treading the boards as she is on the silver screen, one of her most famous roles was that of Norma Desmond in the Broadway adaptation of Sunset Boulevard, the musical created by Andrew Lloyd Webber inspired by Billy Wilder’s classic 1950 noir of the same name. The production launched in 1993, and Close revealed it had a significant impact on her personal life.
Almost two decades later, Sunset Boulevard was revived, and Close was back as Desmond. The full-circle moment allowed the actor to process two very difficult moments in her life, separated by nearly 20 years, which were both assisted by playing the same character in the same stage show.
“I realized that twice in my life Sunset Boulevard helped me to heal,” she explained to the Los Angeles Times. “The first time, I was going through a difficult time with my partner, and I took the job basically because it was 3,000 miles away. The second time, I had gone through a very painful divorce, and I didn’t know where my creative soul was anymore. When I got the offer to do Sunset in London, I thought, ‘Well, that will help me find where my creative muscle and soul are again. I’ll see if I still can do it.'”
The opportunity to reclaim a role is not something that happens often, but Close saw it as a chance at rediscovery and reinvention, a way to completely detach from something familiar and use it as a way to rebuild her creative identity.
Close didn’t want her second performance to mirror the first one in any way, and she was able to unlock a whole new side of the character and elevate Desmond to fresh heights. “For some incredible reason, I was singing better, the best singing I’d ever sung,” she reflected. “I guess it was just maturity.”
People often say that space and time are the best healers, but sometimes revisiting something from the past can be equally instrumental in moving forward and finding happiness in the present.
