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Laura Linney has opened up about her career in a wide-ranging new interview, reflecting on her working relationships with Mark Ruffalo and Jason Bateman – and the letter she received from Richard Curtis before being cast in Love, Actually.
The Hollywood actor spoke to The Independent for a brand new series titled Life in Pictures, which invites stars to share intimate behind-the-scenes stories and reflect on their biggest films and most iconic roles.
During the chat, Linney, 62, discussed her roles in You Can Count On Me, which she starred in alongside then-newcomer Ruffalo, Jim Carrey film The Truman Show and festive favourite Love, Actually – and also found time to address one of her most critically maligned credits, which she called “one of the great bad movies”.
Congo, released in 1995, was notable for being Linney’s debut lead role, and stands out as being the only action film she’s starred in. Directed by Frank Marshall, and based on a 1980 novel by Michael Crichton, the film follows an expedition team who encounter a violent gorilla species deep in the African jungle. It received seven Golden Raspberry Award nominations, honouring the worst in film.
Laura Linney in ‘Congo’ – ‘I haven’t watched it in so long’ (Paramount)
Linney reflected on the experience fondly, even if she’s under no illusion about its overall quality. “Congo’s one of the great bad movies of our time!” she said. “It’s a great one. It’s a delightmare. That’s what I call it.”
She continued: “I haven’t watched it in so long. I’ll go back to it when I’m really old and want to feel good about myself, and be like, ‘Oh God, I was young. I was sweet – look at that. And look at my arms!’ I’ll do that.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Linney, who currently stars in sitcom American Classic, opened up about drawing the serious out of Ozark co-star Bateman, her friendships with Liam Neeson and Holland Taylor – and the lessons she’s learnt working with directing maestro Clint Eastwood three times.
Watch the full interview below.
Linney has received three Oscar nominations – for films You Can Count On Me, Kinsey and The Savages – and won four Emmys for Wild Iris, Frasier, John Adams and The Big C. She received four nominations for the Netflix series Ozark.
She currently stars in American Classic, a new series about a narcissistic Broadway star (Kevin Kline) who returns to his hometown after a public meltdown and decides to save his family-run theatre. It’s available to stream on MGM+ now.