Academy Award winner Julianne Moore dismissed comments on “aging gracefully” and called them sexist. In a cover story from As If magazine, the actor talked at length on the subject.
“There’s so much judgment inherent in the term ‘aging gracefully,'” she said.
“Is there an ungraceful way to age? We don’t have an option of course. No one has an option about aging, so it’s not a positive or a negative thing, it just is.”
Moore added, “[aging is] part of the human condition, so why are we always talking about it as if it is something that we have control over?”
The actor is best known for playing troubled and quirky female characters in both independent and mainstream Hollywood films. She has earned four Academy Award nominations for acting.
Julianne Moore in "Far from Heaven"| Collected
Moore took a moment during the interview and quoted veteran actor Helen Mirren who once said, “Aging is a requirement of life: You either grow old or die young.”
“We are given a narrative as children that we keep growing through school, maybe go to college then, after school is finished, the idea of growth is done,” Moore continued. “But we have all this life left to live. How do we continue to challenge ourselves, to interest ourselves, learn new things, be more helpful to other people, be the person that your friends and family need or want? How do we continue to evolve? How do we navigate life to have even deeper experiences?”
Julianne Moore in “Lisey’s Story”| Collected
Moor has recently starred in the eight-episode limited series, “Lisey’s Story.” Directed by “Jackie” and “No” director Pablo Larraín, the series is based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name which bagged the 2006 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel.
Moore is next set to star opposite Natalie Portman in director Todd Haynes’ next film “May December.”
She has previous acted under Haynes’ direction in acclaimed films such as “Far from Heaven,” “Safe,” and “Wonderstruck.”