The Daily Beast has a new interview with Oscar nominated actress Melissa Leo, 50. Leo is considered the frontrunner this year in the best supporting actress category, having been nominated for The Fighter. (She was also nominated in 2009 for Frozen River.) She ran some goofy ads recently asking Academy members to consider her and they looked more like glamour shots than a legitimate Oscar campaign. Leo even admitted that the ads were her idea, telling Deadline “I took matters into my own hands..I knew what I was doing and told my representation how earnest I was about this idea. I had never heard of any actor taking out an ad as themselves and I wanted to give it a shot.”
As the Huffington Post points out, Leo backtracks a little in her interview with The Daily Beast, and at first makes it sound like someone else advised her to do those bizarre ads, for which she was widely criticized. She does admit a little later that it was her idea and that she thought it was fun. She also talked about her role in The Fighter, saying that she wasn’t on board with it at first because it “didn’t feel appropriate” to play the mother of Mark Walhberg’s character, as he’s just 11 years younger than her.
On her start in acting
In 1983, she got her first acting work, with a recurring role on All My Children. It led to a respectable career as a working actress, doing everything from off-Broadway plays to forgettable TV movies. In the mid-’90s, she found greater success as the tough detective Kay Howard on Homicide: Life on the Street, the critically acclaimed NBC drama. After Homicide, there were other jobs but nothing that would ratchet up her profile further. “There were mountaintops and deep dark valleys,” she remembered, her voice cracking a bit. (“I’m a little verklempt,” she admitted.)On her role in The Fighter
At first, Leo hesitated at the idea of playing Wahlberg’s mother Alice. At 50, she is just 11 years older than her would- be celluloid son. (His crack-smoking sibling onscreen is Christian Bale, 14 years Leo’s junior in real life.) “It didn’t feel appropriate at all,” she said. Still, she wanted to meet Russell and keep the door open for future projects—and Leo quickly overcame her misgivings. “David is like a magical child,” she said. “His excitement is contagious and palpable and he was quite convinced that I should be his Alice.” (Oddly enough, the two met at the same karma-packed restaurant that brought Leo together with this reporter.) By the end of two hours, Leo was sold. “I left and called my people and said, ‘I really want to do this film.’ ”On her Oscar ad campaign
And as for that ad campaign that Hollywood isn’t sure what to think about? Truth be told, Leo said, she’s mystified. “I’ve been busting my ass, trying to get the movie sold and seen, and now I show up where they ask, get put into hair and makeup that they pay for, so I can promote this thing [and campaign]. So I’m a little confused. I thought this is what we’re doing. This is what all the girls are doing.” Leo adds that she conceived the ads before she was nominated—and if she had known she would wind up in contention for Best Supporting Actress, she might have done things differently. “It didn’t seem so nomination oriented,” she said. “It was fun.”On her future
With awards season drawing to a close, Leo said she’s looking forward to getting a little time off. “I do feel like I can step back just a bit and make some decisions now about the work I do, rather than the work simply choosing me,” she said. Then she paused, and reconsidered.“But I don’t want to get too choosy about shit. I just love working. I have to work.”
[From The Daily Beast]
I have to admit to not knowing much about Leo prior to this. She comes across as vulnerable yet jaded in this article. That just could be due to the way the piece was edited though. It must be hard to be a little-known working actress for decades, and to make a few missteps once you’re in the spotlight. She’s definitely earning accolades and roles now and hopefully things will go easier for her. She also deserves some credit for not jacking her face up. She’s 50 and it doesn’t look like she’s had anything done yet.
As an aside, I learned in that Daily Beast article that Leo used to be on the soap “All My Children” in 1984. Here’s a link to a video with her character.
Photo credit: WENN.com
Well I guess it IS appropriate since she is nominated for the role.
Ever since those ridiculous ads of hers, she has been a big Oscar turn off for me.
Oh, and she looks way older than 50. That is a hard looking 50 she carries.
She should have hired a stylist instead. AWFUL red carpet choices. She looks great for 50 (I think we’re just not used to seeing “natural” looking actresses), but she isn’t wearing stuff that is figure flattering.
Those ads were really embarrassing.
She sounds whiny and ungrateful. countless actors would love the opportunities she’s getting and though there is validity to her comments about ageism and the double standards of Hollywood, it comes across as sour grapes in the context of an Oscar nomination.
As a young Joan Crawford once said, ‘I’d play Wallace Berry’s grandmother if it was a good part.’
I agree, those ads are BAD.
in THE FIGHTER,she looks alike one of my neighbour(hair,sexy look,attitude):she was a very very strong woman
Now more than ever I hope the award goes to Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit. I thought she acted circles around Melissa Leo and the kid was 13 when it filmed.
i know her from “21 grams” and remember her for the love scene she had with benicio in that movie , i wish i was in her shoes …
I really hope she doesn’t win now. I found the whole self-promotion thing tacky and desperate, so I’ll be rooting for HBC. And complaining about not getting magazine covers? Please, that has nothing to do with winning an award. You don’t see Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren complaining that they’re not on the cover of Glamour.
And we get it Melissa- you’re way too young to play Mark Wahlberg’s mother, but the trouble is you just don’t look it. Sorry.
The main pic had me thinking it was Colin Firth in wig at first. Just popped into my head. Anyways, I thought she did an average at best job in the film.
@Normades- I am used to looking at natural looking women. My mother is older than Melissa Leo, has never had a bit plastic surgery or fillers, Botox, etc, and she looks 10 years younger.
To me, Leo is an old looking 50.
She was absolutely amazing in Frozen River. Must rent!
She looks a lot older than 50 IMO but then, we are used to woman jacking their face up all the time, that maybe we are looking at what real 50 looks like?
The Fighter was amazing, amazing, amazing out of all of the nominees I think it’s the most likely to be a future classic after all the pretension and buzz dies down. It’s incredibly watchable. That being said I think Leo’s gambit was so tacky and she doesn’t deserve the Oscar. Team Hailee all the way.
And yeah she looks like a normal woman at 50.
Errr…all was good until that last pic. Hopefully it’s just a bad one, b/c girlfriend looks closer to 60 in that one.
I’m 52 and Leo looks old enough to play my mother. I look way younger than she does and so do my friends who are in their 50s and we’ve had nothing done to our faces.
My mom is closing on 60 and she still looks younger than Leo. She looks more than 11 years Mark’s senior so why was it inappropriate?
OK I take it back, Leo doesn’t look “great” for her age but I think she does look her age. For the record, my mom is 60 and looks 40 (yoga does wonders).
She seems likeable but I don’t like the adds. She looks a LOT older than 50. I don’t know any 50 year olds with lines like that.
All I can think is OMG, TAD from All My Children. What a character.
Leo, I couldn’t care less about. Although, I think she’s getting a rough ride from people…she’s worked hard for a long time, she’s had some rough times, let her enjoy herself. It’s not like she’s committing any crime.
that’s a smoking 3 packs a day 50!
Wow, Walhberg is 14 years older than Bale? I would say he is younger than Christian!
Ohhh, Mark…
never been a fan of hers. Something about her annoys me.
And my mom is in her 60’s and looks younger than Melissa Leo.
@Gabriela: Wahlberg is 3 years older than Bale.
Melissa Leo was one of the best things about the excellent Homicide: Life on the Streets. Her character, Kay Howard, was like no other female cop I’ve seen, and I thought she was amazing in the role.
She’s never been “pretty,” but her characters always have something that make me wonder why “pretty” is so damned important anyhow.
melissa was brilliant in “frozen river,” but i have to say these ads are really, really lame. just…wow.
Well, I love her. I think she is incredibly talented and underrated and if she looked like Charlize Theron or Julia Roberts she would be an A-List actress. I don’t think Hollywood has been kind or accepting of her, ever, and she is just trying to get herself out there because, quite frankly, she deserves the recognition a lot more than some of these other vapid bitches who get all the roles.
Boy, she REALLY doesn’t want to win this Oscar, does she????????
Anyone notice she and Paris Hilton are wearing(basically) the same dress??
In the post on Paris’ weight gain she’s wearing a navy-sequined dress and so is Leo in this post.
(the necklines are cut differently, buuut, I would argue same dress)
Self promotion is NOTHING new in the Hollywood game, the ONLY issue I have is that Melissa didn’t say…”Yeah, I took the ads out…so friggin’ WHAT”?!?!
Mirren and Streep dosen’t HAVE to campaign…you work it if you got to…
This is an amazing actress who I hope RUNS away with it ALL on Sunday!!!
I think the fact that actors take freakin’ ads out in the first place to CAMPAIGN to win an award for something they’re supposed to be recognized for by their peers is exactly what’s wrong with Hollywood.
She is no better or worse than any of the others who campaign. The whole process cheapens the awards IMO.
For the record, I think she was great in The Fighter. But please, lady, enough with the backtracking on those stupid ads!
for the Oscars, it really bugs me there are “campaigns” by the actors / actresses to win the actual award. IMHO, i think any Oscar should be 100% issued on the actual film performance – period.
I wonder now if people have a new appreciation for Mo’Nique — who, in my opinion, did nothing wrong when asked to be paid for promoting/campaigning for Precious during the award season last year.
The commenters on this page and Academy voters should remember that the Academy Awards were created and exist for the purpose of recognizing and rewarding achievement. Melissa Leo was “The Best Actress is A Supporting Role” for the year 2010. If you disagree, vote for somebody else. However, if you do not like her ads, write her a letter. Protest on the streets! Call the FBI! Call the CIA! Whatever you do, do not vote against her because of the ads. Always vote for the quality of the performance!
She really should shut the hell up and just let her magnificent performance speak for itself.
“for the Oscars, it really bugs me there are “campaigns” by the actors / actresses to win the actual award. IMHO, i think any Oscar should be 100% issued on the actual film performance – period.”
Nobody is judged by their work alone. Seriously. Try doing a great job and never pointing it out to your boss in any way. You will keep doing that great job without recognition.
On that last pic she looks 70
She should have played Mark’s grandmother…