The one thing Meryl Streep hates hearing on set: “Make sure that never happens again”
One of the most prolific and acclaimed actors of all time, Meryl Streep, would be forgiven for having a little bit of an ego. Especially considering that many male actors of her ilk have no problem with letting their egos run wild.
At this point, if you’re not aware of her, you may as well be living under a rock. But for a whistlestop tour of her career, she’s best known for her performances in the likes of The Devil Wears Prada, Sophie’s Choice, and Death Becomes Her, to name but a small, small few.
This isn’t even touching on her many, many awards and nominations. So yes, she would be well within her rights to have an air about her. But much like many of her lovable roles, the actor doesn’t have a reputation for any sort of bad behaviour or even a modicum of rudeness. For someone who is so famous and has been in the public eye for nearly 50 years, she has done a pretty good job of keeping her entire personal life under wraps.
Of course, something or the other does tend to slip through the cracks. You can’t work in an industry with such a renowned rumour mill and come away completely unscathed. Every once in a while, one of your famous colleagues is going to let the ball drop. So Kieran Culkin, someone who might be just as much of a household name now, even if there’s still slightly less weight to it, let the world in on one of Streep’s demands on set.
Culkin appeared alongside Streep in Wes Craven’s Music of the Heart when he was still a teenager. The film told the true story of Roberta Guaspari, a teacher who fought for music education funding in New York public schools. Streep played the lead role with Culkin appearing as her son. While it was a small part very early in his career, working with one of the best to ever do it isn’t a memory you’re likely to forget, and he never did.
Speaking to Marc Maron on his WTF podcast a few years ago, Culkin recalled the moment that Streep was offended at being called to set last, “In a very polite way, she turned to the AD and said, ‘Could you please make sure that never happens again? I don’t want anybody waiting for me. Call me when you call everybody else’.”
As it turns out, even her demands are made for the right reasons. Instead of demanding to receive special treatment, she’s more uncomfortable with being placed above anyone else in the hierarchy. For Culkin, this proved to be a lesson he’s taken with him all these years, despite being famous from pretty much the get-go.
He explained, “I remember I learned from that, like, ‘Okay cool, because she’s number one on the call sheet, she’s the whole reason this movie’s happening, and she does not want special treatment’”. Learning from the very best clearly works, too, as Culkin is beloved as much for his Emmy and Academy Award-winning performances as he is for his rogueish charisma.
