Uma Thurman names her favourite actors of all time: “If I have to”
There are plenty of well-respected critics who would put Uma Thurman in their lists of the greatest movie stars of all time. Everything about her screams ‘star’, from her iconic looks to her effortless charisma to her choice of memorable roles. To a certain generation, she will always be Mia Wallace, the twist-loving mob wife at the centre of the first third of Pulp Fiction. Including The Bride in the two Kill Bill movies and some of her weirder films, her collaboration with Lars von Trier comes to mind; you get one of the most interesting careers of any major actor.
Thurman received an interesting upbringing, with a professor of Buddhist studies for a father and high-fashion model for a mother, but came to acting all on her own. To do this, she would have sought inspiration in the performers that came before her, some of whom she named in a 2006 interview with Glamour.
“I find it hard to make a list, but if I have to,” she said, reluctantly, before citing “Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, Jodie Foster, Katharine Hepburn, [and] Audrey Hepburn” as some of her favourites. There’s probably a reason why Streep was first on her list, as the two had appeared together in the romantic comedy Prime just one year earlier. Streep played Thurman’s character’s therapist and the mother of her love interest. She once referred to this as the culmination of a lifelong dream.
That’s it for Thurman in terms of collaborations with her idols, with the exception of a curious movie from 2009 called Motherhood. The Batman & Robin star plays Eliza, a former author who is crushed by the reality of giving up her career to raise children. The film was an infamous flop, failing to gross over $1million worldwide and only £100 in the UK. The country’s first screening was attended by just one person. At least Thurman got to work with Foster, who has a walk-on cameo as herself.
The list didn’t end there, however, as Thurman also went out of her way to highlight some of the young performers who were rising up the ranks at the time of her interview. “Of the new generation, I love Reese Witherspoon, Juliette Lewis and Scarlett Johansson,” she said. “There are tons of incredibly talented kids coming up. Wait, what am I saying – kids? Women.”
Once again, Thurman has very little experience working with the people she gave praise to. The only cinematic collaboration she’s had with any of the three aforementioned women is a 2002 TV movie called Hysterical Blindness. Thurman plays Debby Miller, a woman diagnosed with the titular condition, while Lewis plays her best friend Beth. Though the film is largely forgotten now, it did net Thurman a Golden Globe for ‘Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie’, so she was right to seek Lewis out. Why she hasn’t done this with any of her other favourites remains a mystery. You’re Uma Thurman, for goodness sake! Pull some strings!
It’s always interesting to see which actors other actors are fans of, especially when those lists are divided by the past and the present. Thurman’s picks not only included some of the most beloved classic stars of all time, whose legends have only increased since she mentioned them, but also names that have gone on to become just as famous as she is in the years since.
