Unassuming actress Laura Linney doesn’t get much press. She’s a solid well known character actress and conducts herself with such grace. Linney’s cover story interview in Prevention this month doesn’t contain anything shocking or particularly revealing. She just lets us know about her rather sensible diet and exercise plan and speaks in positive general terms about her life. It’s all so normal, healthy and refreshing. Compare Linney’s diet and exercise advice with that of say starving rickets-suffering overexerciser Gwyneth Paltrow or “no salt/sugar/meat/bread” Jessica Biel. (Comparatively Biel’s diet isn’t as bad as Goopy’s but that’s not saying much.)

Here’s what my would-be friend Laura Linney, 46, says about getting old, her diet and exercise regime, and her friendship with vegan Alicia Silverstone. She’s promoting her role on Showtime show The Big C, also starring Oliver Platt and Gabourey Sidibe, as a mom with breast cancer. As part of what she’s learned from the role she’s cleaned up her diet and is living a more healthy lifestyle. I love her perspective on aging. She’s not just paying lip service to it, either, and really seems sincere.

Actors say it all the time, but has this role actually changed any aspects of your life?
Absolutely. When the concrete idea that we only have a set amount of time hits you in a different way than just an intellectual idea, it changes you. So I’ve been changing my diet and going to the gym. My level of appreciation of all the basics of life has gone up… You know, I recently heard someone complaining about getting old, and I had such a violent reaction to that. There’s no question that getting old isn’t easy, but it’s a privilege, folks. I’m over people being “woe is me” about getting old.

You starred on Broadway in Time Stands Still [which reopens with Linney on September 23] with famously vegan Alicia Silverstone. Did she help shape your diet?
I love Alicia – she had an enormous influence on me. I burst with pride over her book [The Kind Diet]. And she said, “You don’t have to be one thing or the other, just figure out what’s best for you.” I had been so rigid in my thinking about if I was going to be a vegetarian, if I was going to be a vegan. I don’t have to put that pressure on myself. I”m just trying to learn what the best diet is for me.

What kind of changes have you made?
Well, I certainly feel better now that I’m barely eating meat. I don’t feel as heavy, my digestion is better, my skin is better – even my hair is better! And I feel healthier when I don’t eat dairy, but that’s really hard for me – I love cheese. But food is not just nutritional, it’s mental, so you know, if I need a little chocolate every once in a while, I need a little chocolate.

Actresses usually tell us about their Pilates or yoga workouts, but you’re into gym workouts. Why?
I’ve always been very flexible – I used to dance as a child – but I’ve never been very strong. I wanted my body to work better. Now I work out with a trainer twice a week and go once or twice on my own. She has me doing balance exercises and weight-bearing stuff. It’s strengthening large muscle groups, making sure I balance myself correctly.

Random question time: what’s you’re preferred method of de-stressing?
I’m in love with the steam shower. If I can take a steam for about 20 minutes at my gym, I’m in much better shape.

Hanging out with friends can be relaxing. Describe your best friend.
She’s joyous, curious, very alive. We go to the theater, have dinner, hang out with her kids… and talk and talk…

What’s your advice for staying positive?
Say yes to things that you might not normally say yes to.

Can you give me an example of that?
Meeting my husband [former broker Marc Schauer] 5 years ago was certainly unexpected. I’d always assumed I would be with someone in my business, because who could understand the crazy hours, the demands on our time, the travelling? He wasn’t in the performing arts; normally I would never have given it a chance. But something in side me said, Try something new. If you assume that you know yourself completely, you’ve shut yourself down.

[From Prevention, print edition, August 2010]

I want to hang out with Linney and eat normal healthy food and go to the gym. She sounds so smart without a hint of artifice. I love that she’s not into anything particularly trendy in regards to diet and exercise and that she doesn’t deprive herself. Can we please get her an Oscar already? She’s been nominated three times and it’s about time she won.

Laura at the Tonys on June 13, 2010 and on May 23, 2010. Credit: WENN.