The one actor Meryl Streep “idolised”
Few actors deserve their sparkling reputation more than Meryl Streep. Born in 1949, Streep burst onto the scene with 1977’s Julia. The following year, she recieved an Oscar nomination for her performance in The Deer Hunter. She continued to wow audiences throughout the late 1970s and early ’80s in films like Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie’s Choice, her perfectionist streak earning a string of acclaimed performances with Silkwood, Out of Africa, Ironweed and A Cry In The Dark. When interviewed for Silkweed in 1983 and A Cry In The Dark in ’88, Streep discussed some of the actors and directors she most “idolised”.
Streep was still in drama school when Taxi Driver hit cinemas in 1976. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the plot tells the story of Travis Bickle, a chronic insomniac who spends his nights crawling the streets of downtown New York. After falling for a young campaign worker, he hatches a plan to save the world, beginning with a 12-year-old prostitute called Iris. Robert De Niro’s grounded performance completely stunned Streep. “When I was in drama school, I idolised Robert De Niro,” she told the Hollywood Foreign Press. “After I saw Taxi Driver, I said to myself, ‘That’s the kind of actor I want to be when I grow up.'”
Streep continued: “So, it was a dream to work with him the first time in The Deer Hunter, after that we always wanted to do something else together, and we found the script of Falling in Love (1984), which was a very delicate story with a lot of interior emotion. I love working with him because he’s so meticulous and he’s very committed to the moment that happens, he can’t stand any kind of lie and he’ll go on and on in search of the take that feels absolutely truthful. It’s really very challenging to work with him, but great.”
Streep also confessed to loving Golden Age actresses like Lucille Ball, who made her name in films like Too Many Girls, Lured, and the 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy. “When I was a kid, I used to watch I Love Lucy all the time and liked Lucille Ball, I loved Carole Lombard too, although l didn’t know her name for a long time, I just knew that whenever that woman was on, I liked her. I also really admired Katharine Hepburn and Judy Holliday.”
