Patricia Arquette stars in the upcoming Hulu drama, ‘The Act’, about a toxic mother-daughter relationship due to Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. This funny, outspoken Academy Award-winning actress sits down with MiNDFOOD and talks turning 50, her new book and Hollywood stereotypes.
Why this role?
I have always been interested in Munchausen by Proxy, a weird phenomena syndrome, which comes under the umbrella of mental illness. I don’t know why exactly I was so interested in the subject (laughs).
Who has been the mentor in your life?
Well, I come from an acting family, so growing up my whole life my dad talked to us about auditions and my sister (Rosanna Arquette who starred with Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan) would talk to me about things in the business. She’d tell me about people who were good and people to watch out for and the things I should be fighting for.
Now that you’ve turned 50 – do you think the business has changed towards you?
The business people will say, ‘What do you look like now?’ and ‘Send us a picture of how you look now.’ Then they will say to another actor, ‘Oh, he doesn’t think she’s f[**]kable, or something like that. I am just being totally honest with you. These are real conversations that have been going on for years.
A lot of people admired your fearlessness for your lack of vanity in ‘Escape at Dannemora’ and now ‘The Act’.
Yeah, it is a courageous thing to do. But God, if you’re a painter or an artist, who wants to limit your palate to just the Barbie colours? Don’t you want to try everything? Don’t you want to explore everything? I do! And I know a lot of actors who do but they are afraid to and they’re not always given a chance. But on the flip side, doing Dannemora, there were people who said to me, ‘Don’t gain all that weight! It will hurt your career!’
When you physically transform, there’s a price to pay for that?
Yes. Like, if you gain too much weight, your boobs will sag. And you carry that on after the fact! (laughs) But with Dannemora, it was also about who is sexual, who is allowed to be sexual, body type, who is lovable, who is not lovable, who can be seen and who is invisible? All of these issues are important to talk about.
Have you ever thought about writing a book?
I am actually writing a book, but I am not kissing and telling – at all. I mean, I love all those romantic relationships and I am grateful for them, but when I really thought about pivotal moments in my life, losses in my life, things that changed me, it really was about my core family, so that’s really what my book is about.
There are people out there who want to know, ‘What really happened with Patricia Arquette and Nicolas Cage.’ (They were married from 1995 to 2001)
So would I! (laughs) But sometimes you just realise, that is something I will never understand and I am just moving on!
Is there anything in your life that makes you feel unfulfilled?
Sometimes I feel like I have lived an incredible life and I have had these adventures and I feel like my whole life has been blessed with wonderful opportunities. But sometimes I’m also like, “Oh, if I had another life to live, I would also do this and this and this.” I like to design kids clothing and I like to design toys. I also want to write more. You might laugh at this but sometimes I think I want to own a little hotel in Greece, make people breakfast, stuff like that.
Maybe in your next life?
Maybe!
