Andie MacDowell Talks Going Gray & How She Felt Taking Her Clothes Off on Camera at Age 65

SheKnows

"The Way Home" star Andie MacDowell looks back on her long and successful career as a model and actress. She remembers what it was like to get her first taste of success as she started to have children, as well as getting big movie roles like "Four Weddings and a Funeral" across Hugh Grant. Watch the video above to reminisce with Andie about "Groundhog Day," "Sex Lies & Videotape," and hear about what it was like working with her incredibly talented daughter, Margaret Qualley, in Netflix's "Maid." MacDowell also reveals what she wished she knew when she was filming "Groundhog’s Day" & "Four Weddings & A Funeral." Finally, she confesses she is not comfortable taking her clothes off on camera. Read more at: https://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/videos/2950574/andie-macdowell-then-now/  Video Credits: VP, Video: Reshma Gopaldas Editor/Producer/Videographer: Allie O'Connell Videographer/Producer: Sarah Wallace

Transcript

00:00 I am Andi McTarvel and this is Then and Now.

00:04 Everyone's looking for that miracle cream.

00:07 For me, it's My Hair Color.

00:09 New Excellence cream from L'Oreal.

00:11 My non-drip cream just got better.

00:13 Now it protects my hair non-stop.

00:15 During coloring and afterward with lots of extra conditioner.

00:19 So whenever I color, my hair just looks richer, healthier.

00:23 New Excellence, beautiful color and no grays.

00:27 I told you, it's the miracle cream.

00:29 New Excellence from L'Oreal Paris.

00:31 Color cream that protects non-stop.

00:33 Because you're worth it.

00:34 You are. You're worth it.

00:35 The first commercial that they had me shoot, I was 40.

00:38 And I didn't have a lot of gray yet.

00:41 And I kept saying to the hairdresser,

00:43 I wish they would let me make fun of this or make a joke.

00:48 Like, I don't have any gray or I'm highlighting or something like that.

00:52 Because I just didn't feel like I was, it was time yet.

00:55 But I was so grateful. I was so grateful to work for them.

00:58 You know, I did whatever they would ask me to do.

01:00 But then I got home and I got a telephone call.

01:02 And they were asking me, like, what was it you were saying to the hairdresser?

01:06 And I explained to them what my thoughts were.

01:08 And then that's when we started doing a lot of the commercials we did.

01:11 This one's not.

01:12 Grays? What grays?

01:14 Grays? What grays?

01:16 A lot of women prefer to color their hair and they are not ready to be silver.

01:22 I do think it ages you, but I just don't care.

01:24 I'm 65.

01:26 And I would have, you know, I was ready at 60 to be an older woman.

01:31 I just didn't want to have to pretend to be something that I wasn't.

01:35 But I think for a lot of women, they want to carry on that sort of feeling of youth with them.

01:41 And they want to color their hair. They're just not ready yet.

01:45 And I don't know that it's necessarily shameful.

01:48 I just think it's a different choice.

01:50 And I just came to a place in my life where I no longer wanted to be that person anymore.

01:55 I just wanted to be an older woman.

01:57 Getting a contract with somebody like L'Oreal, having a contract like that is a dream come true.

02:04 It's what you hope for.

02:05 There aren't-- not many people get them.

02:07 So it was like a huge accomplishment in my life.

02:12 And I found out I was pregnant.

02:15 And I had to tell them because I couldn't sign the contract without revealing that.

02:20 And I was afraid that they would dump me, but they didn't.

02:22 So that was wonderful.

02:23 And then I just-- you know, I shot commercials pregnant, fully pregnant, eight months pregnant.

02:30 I shot commercials. I shot ads right after having babies.

02:35 Yeah, so I just-- through the whole process.

02:37 It was great. I had three babies with them.

02:39 What a goofy smile I have right there.

02:43 But that's okay. That's okay. I like my goofy smile.

02:46 Look how cute Hugh is there.

02:49 He's very handsome. He's got great hair, too.

02:51 Look at that hair. Such good hair.

02:53 I read the script, and it was phenomenal.

02:55 It wasn't made for gobs of money, and we did it really quickly.

02:58 And the writing was perfect. It was just a perfect movie. It really was.

03:02 So much fun.

03:03 The way I look at my career and the longevity of my career is having success over and over, over again.

03:11 That establishes you as someone who's bankable, basically.

03:15 So because I was able to continue to make successful movies or shows, it kept my career alive.

03:23 It's not an easy thing to do. That is no easy feat.

03:26 It doesn't always happen.

03:28 So I think that's probably the effect, is it was another positive check.

03:34 Like, she did it again, kind of thing.

03:36 Sex lives, I didn't make a lot of money, but I didn't care.

03:40 I was so thankful to have a job.

03:41 I was really struggling at that point in my life.

03:44 And I just wanted to play a character I didn't even know.

03:47 I thought it was kind of a wackadoodle script.

03:49 I thought, "Oh, my gosh." Scandalous at the time.

03:52 For weddings, I was not offered a lot of money up front.

03:55 Back end. Really smart move.

03:58 That was a really smart, smart move.

04:00 Oh, the way home.

04:04 There is a really difficult time for women.

04:07 We've all spoken about this.

04:08 You turn 40, and they don't know what to do with you as a woman.

04:11 Men are allowed to get older and age and continue to be sexy.

04:16 And they'll just cast them with a younger woman.

04:18 When you are a woman, and you are in your 40s and 50s,

04:22 they don't know what to do with you.

04:24 That's what's so great about being silver.

04:26 There's no question what I am or what I'm playing.

04:30 But I do feel like my 40s and 50s were a bit of floundering.

04:34 I tried to pretend like it was all going well, because I didn't want to sound whiny or whatever.

04:39 So I would always stay optimistic, impressed most of the time.

04:43 But I do think it's a very difficult time for women.

04:47 Because the world doesn't support them as well as they should.

04:52 We should start putting women with younger men.

04:54 I mean, just do the same thing with them.

04:57 That's why the other thing is, everybody makes such a big deal over my hair.

05:01 But it would never happen to a man.

05:03 I get to play more quirky, more interesting characters, I think.

05:07 I'm seeing more for my heart and my soul.

05:10 I think that's much easier for me now.

05:13 But there's so many things I would like to do for women,

05:17 to explore what it is to be an older woman.

05:19 I have so many ideas.

05:20 I would love to play a silver fox type.

05:23 You know, super sexy, not held back by age, not demeaned by my age.

05:31 Elevated, just like a man.

05:33 But then I'd also like to show all the vulnerabilities,

05:37 the heartbreaking realities as well.

05:40 I'd like to do both extremes.

05:43 I think that would be interesting.

05:45 I told a lot of people George Clooney was my inspiration, which he was.

05:48 I was trying to figure out what was going on online,

05:50 looking for women with silver hair.

05:53 I saw so many gorgeous men, so I had a lot of men that inspired me.

05:56 I saw in the news today that it said Brad Pitt turned 60.

06:00 What is he doing?

06:02 What is he drinking?

06:03 I don't understand it.

06:05 It's just not fair.

06:07 I want some of that.

06:09 What is going on?

06:10 He must work out five hours a day, for starters.

06:13 His body is a miracle.

06:16 It's a miracle.

06:17 I don't understand it.

06:19 He's so damn cute, too.

06:21 What is that?

06:22 I guess if I worked out five hours a day, maybe I would look like Brad Pitt.

06:25 [music]

06:27 It's me and Margaret in our matching lily dresses.

06:30 I had Justin early on, and then I went off to do a miniseries in Morocco.

06:36 That was kind of an insane choice.

06:38 I couldn't really quit because I was the breadwinner,

06:40 so it's not like I had the option to quit.

06:43 But I did.

06:44 After Six Eyes and Videotape, it was easy for me to get work.

06:47 I could work nonstop if I wanted to.

06:49 I took three movies in a year, and I decided I would never do that again

06:53 because it was too hard.

06:55 I felt like I didn't see my children.

06:57 [music]

06:59 That's me and Margaret.

07:00 It's made.

07:01 She's so good.

07:03 She's very available.

07:04 She's very honest.

07:05 She's very real.

07:06 Early, early on, before she got The Leftovers,

07:09 we were doing auditions with her, and I would go, "What the [bleep]?"

07:14 "Where did you get this?"

07:15 "How do you know how to do this?"

07:17 She was so innately gifted.

07:22 I was a little like, "Oh, God.

07:24 I hope she likes what I'm doing," and I kept asking her

07:27 because I was making some pretty broad choices for myself.

07:30 I said, "Do you believe me?"

07:32 She goes, "Yeah, I believe you."

07:33 "Do you like what I'm doing?"

07:34 "I love what you're doing," and I would ask her.

07:37 So it gave me a lot of freedom to make the choices that I had to make.

07:42 Aw, Rainy.

07:44 It's the doll baby.

07:46 It's Rainy and Margaret.

07:48 I didn't grow up around the business at all.

07:51 I took myself and put myself in every position that I ended up,

07:57 and I was also--I came from a community that was very reserved

08:01 and judgmental and religious, and I was fearful.

08:06 I had a lot of fear to do certain things.

08:09 Margaret--oh, my God, she didn't have any of that.

08:12 I think Rainy's a little bit more--even though she's a bit more shy,

08:17 Margaret just doesn't care.

08:19 She's so out there.

08:21 She'll do anything.

08:22 [music]

08:25 [laughs]

08:27 Oh, dear.

08:28 I love that movie.

08:29 I think it's a perfect movie.

08:30 I admire the discipline I had during that film.

08:34 I would tell myself, "I am proud of you

08:38 because I like the way you're handling things.

08:40 I think you are really smarter than you realize,

08:44 and that your work--because I love my work in this.

08:48 It's very sensitive.

08:49 It's very real.

08:50 It's very honest.

08:51 It's not over the top, not for a second."

08:54 And it was a great match for Bill because Bill's huge,

08:59 and the more honest I stayed, it made the whole thing work,

09:05 really made it magical.

09:07 If you had to live one day over just once, which day would it be?

09:11 Any day I had all three of my babies together, I don't care,

09:14 because your kids grow up and they go away.

09:17 So I guess if any day--hopefully not a day when they were sick--

09:21 I'd choose a happy, healthy day, I would love to be able to go back

09:25 and just pop myself in with my children again

09:28 and know everything that I know now.

09:30 What is one thing you've done in your life and your career

09:33 that was out of your comfort zone?

09:34 I don't really like taking my clothes off.

09:36 I had to do it recently for--and I'm really impressed with Homework

09:41 that they let me do this, even as a woman at 65,

09:44 because I think there's something different about taking your clothes off at 65,

09:47 because you don't expect me to be anything but a body, like a woman, right?

09:53 There's no expectation to be some sexpot or whatever.

09:56 That's gone.

09:57 There's a scene where I'm not really naked, but I'm in my underwear.

09:59 It's pretty underwear. It almost looks like a bathing suit.

10:01 Otherwise, they would have done it.

10:03 But I had to take my clothes off and run in front of everybody,

10:06 and I said in front of the crew, I just said, "It's just a body, okay?"

10:11 Because I had to do it for myself.

10:13 Even in my underwear.

10:15 But Margaret, on the other hand, she has--but she was a dancer too.

10:19 I think her body was all over the place, dancing, growing up.

10:23 She has real comfort, and plus I never made her feel bad about it.

10:26 There's a lot of freedom.

10:28 I keep telling Rainey she should do it, but she's got a body like you wouldn't believe.

10:33 I'm like, "Take your clothes off. Do a scene."

10:35 I'm not hitting on you, but I think you are a sexpot.

10:37 Oh, please hit on me.

10:40 Okay, I'm not.

10:42 I don't know.

10:44 I do think there comes a time when--I was talking about this on the beach the other day

10:47 with some friends of mine--where it's so hard to see yourself in that light anymore.

10:52 And it's okay. It really is.

10:55 Though I did have somebody flirt with me, and I felt it.

10:58 And I was like, "Oh, my God, it's still alive."

11:00 I felt something bubble up.

11:02 I was like, "Oh, it's still there."

11:05 Do I have other goals and aspirations besides looking for a mate?

11:12 Or why would you even date?

11:14 I mean, what's the purpose?

11:16 I don't know.

11:17 Are you doing it because you just want to have sex,

11:19 or are you doing it because you want to be in a relationship?

11:22 Why are you doing it?

11:24 I don't know.

11:25 The things that I'm inspired to do right now are to make really good friends.

11:32 I want smart friends.

11:33 I want friends that care about me, that are loving and loyal,

11:36 and that have deep conversations about things that I care about.

11:40 I want to read books.

11:41 I want to be in book clubs.

11:42 I want to hike.

11:45 I want to travel.

11:47 I want to work on--continue to work and do work that I'm proud of

11:53 and makes me feel like I'm growing.

11:57 But go out and search for someone.

11:59 What am I searching for?

12:00 I don't know.

12:01 What am I missing?

12:02 I don't know what it is I'm missing.

12:04 I care more about friendships right now and great relationships

12:07 and doing all the fun things that I enjoy doing--taking yoga,

12:12 working out, eating great food.

12:15 I need girlfriends, honestly, and gay friends.

12:17 friends.

12:19 you

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