When Glenn Close refused to cry on screen
Even though she’s widely acknowledged as one of the greatest actors to have never won an Academy Award, the lengthy and esteemed career of Glenn Close hasn’t exactly been without its fair share of acclaim and recognition.
Despite being tied with Peter O’Toole for the unwanted record-holding distinction of walking home from the Oscars empty-handed on no less than eight occasions, a trophy cabinet filled to bursting point with three Golden Globes, three Primetime Emmys, three Tony Awards, and countless others is a testament to her talents and the consistency displayed over a stage and screen legacy that began back in 1974.
Drama might be the arena in which she’s most comfortable, but a variety of different credits and stellar performances in movies that run the genre gamut from the psychological thrills of Fatal Attraction to the comic book shenanigans of Guardians of the Galaxy via the sci-fi lunacy of Mars Attacks! and the scenery-chewing of her two-film stint as the first live-action Cruella de Vil has left very few stones unturned.
That being said, her recent cameo appearance as the King of Diamonds in Netflix blockbuster Heart of Stone marked Close’s first outing in an action movie in over a quarter of a century since she played Kathryn Bennett – the first-ever female Vice President of the United States – in Wolfgang Petersen’s high-flying extravaganza Air Force One.
Taking control of the situation on the ground while Harrison Ford’s James Marshall is forced to contend with the threat of Russian terrorists in the skies above, it’s a commanding turn that exudes calm and authority. However, the writers sought to include a scene that would have undone a great deal of the character work Close had put in until she put her foot down.
Reflecting on her contributions to the Air Force One screenplay with Vanity Fair, the star revealed that an emotional outburst was initially present on the page: “One thing I remember, they had a scene around the table where she broke down crying.” Naturally, Close decided to challenge the necessity of having her strong-willed second-in-command crack under the pressure.
Not only did she refuse to cry on camera, but she even explained why it didn’t make sense within the context of the story: “I said, ‘I will not do that.’ I don’t think it would happen. Not my vice president,” she continued. “My vice president would not break down into tears. She would step up to the challenge. So they changed it.”
It would have definitely been very out of character for Close’s Bennett to be overwhelmed with the gravity of the situation to the point of being brought to tears, and her decision to refuse proved to be the right one in the end.
