At 75, Oscar nominee Amy Madigan finds ‘pure joy’
We all could use a little Ed Harris in our lives.
His wife, fellow actor Amy Madigan, echoes that feeling. She was gliding into her 70s, experiencing a career lull and wondering: Is this all there is?
“Ed’s a good guy, and one day he said to me, ‘I can just feel that things are about to start happening again for you.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, right!’ ” the 75-year-old says of her husband of 42 years. “Here was my partner, trying to support me — and doing a good job of it!
“He kept saying, ‘No, no, you wait and see.’ Ed would say, ‘Something is going to come up and people will be ready for you at this age.’ ”
He was right, and the horror movie “Weapons” was that something. This month, it earned Madigan — known for her roles in “Field of Dreams” and “Uncle Buck” — a best supporting Oscar nomination. It’s her second, after a 1986 nomination in the same category for “Twice in a Lifetime.”
“I’m a realist. I don’t know how this will work out, but I can tell you that I’m very grateful,” Madigan says. “It’s almost sweeter when you’re older. You don’t expect it, so when it happens … pure joy. It’s very special when people recognize your work.”
“Weapons,” now streaming on HBO Max, revolves around a classroom in which all but one child goes missing on the same night at exactly the same time. A community is left with questions. Madigan portrays Aunt Gladys, an eccentric and scary older lady who is full of surprises.
“She’s a very unique, special person. She is a survivor,” Madigan says. “Her look is jarring, but I think that’s great because she’s happy with how she looks. She loves who she is — and knows what she has to do. There is a certain confidence to this character that makes her so memorable. I don’t walk into the room with that kind of confidence — forget it.”
Madigan shares her good life tips:
‘The real deal’
“I’ve been through very fallow periods in my career and life,” Madigan acknowledges. “And then I was given the script of “Weapons.” I read it and said, ‘This is the real deal. I know this woman. I know Gladys. Apparently that was a good thing.”
No stunt double
For a memorable running scene in “Weapons,” a producer fretted, “What if Amy falls and slips or bashes her head?” Madigan countered, “ ‘Oh, I’m doing it. No stunt double.’ And I’m so proud of challenging myself physically like that. I was like, ‘OK, let’s go.’ … What happens next turned the kids into wild, feral creatures. We all had fun.”
Do what you love
“I’ve been doing this for such a long time, so to get something that’s this gratifying and people like it … well, that’s really fun.” Rave reviews? Oscar nominations? “This whole thing has given me a good giggle,” she says. “I just realize that you’re going up and you will probably come back down fast. So, take it with a grain of salt and enjoy the moment. … I’m a character actor. This is what I love to do.”
A double take
Madigan spent three hours daily in the makeup chair to transform into Gladys. “Many people have come up and said, ‘I didn’t even know it was you until the end credits,’ she shares. “I’ve heard, ‘That’s Amy Madigan?’ … She does have a very particular look. Once we found the bangs, that was it. … If you saw her walking down the street, you might do a double take and say, ‘Who is that?’ ”
‘You gotta grind’
“You gotta want to do it,” Madigan says of her advice for younger actors. “You gotta stick to it. You gotta grind. You just do. Do any scene, any student film, any workshop. People are creating content all over the place. Go do it. Musicians play music. Actors have to act. It just takes one yes.”
Looking back
“I’ve had such incredible experiences that taught me so much,” the Chicago native says. “I’ve worked with so many great filmmakers.” Memories? “On ‘Uncle Buck,’ it was so hard not to crack. I kept staring at John Candy thinking, ‘Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh.’ ” She is especially proud of “Field of Dreams.” “People still ask me about that film, which is wonderful. The film really holds up,” she says.
Enduring love
Madigan says her four-decade union with Harris can be summed up simply. “We just love each other. We work really hard at our family life and our work,” she says.
‘Have some hope’
Madigan and Harris lost their home of 42 years in the Malibu fires last year. She says the pain “is still right there.” They’re renting now and planning to rebuild. “So many are in the same situation,” she laments. Madigan says the lesson in this loss was to live in the present. “You’re forced to stay in the moment when fire takes away a lot of your past. What matters is the love around you,” she says. “You need to have some hope around you … and then you will get through it.”
