Age is no fatal attraction in Hollywood actresses

CNN News/October 20, 2000

FRANKFURT, Oct 20, 2000 (Reuters) - For "Fatal Attraction" star Anne Archer, the older female actresses get, the tougher it is for them to land meaty roles in Hollywood.

"There just isn't enough material and a lot of the best performers are in my age group," said the 53-year-old actress, echoing a complaint also made by fellow star Sharon Stone.

But that does not stop her from being a feisty and determined actress always convinced that the next great role is just around the corner.

"I don't think of myself as being of advanced years. I think of the others as children and I am a woman," said Archer, nominated for an Oscar for her role as the wronged wife in "Fatal Attraction."

"The action formula picture has ruled the screen for a time. There has always been room for the character-driven films -- there just aren't as many of them and women do fare better in terms of roles in character-driven films," she said.

"We are all born to act, it's what we do. We will do it until the day we die, whether we do it on film or on stage," she told Reuters at Frankfurt, the world's largest book fair.

The fair does not usually attract Hollywood stars -- but she was there to publicise an exhibition about the late American science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, which claims more than eight million adherents worldwide.

Hollywood stars John Travolta and Tom Cruise are, like Archer, members of the Church of Scientology.

What, then, was the attraction? Archer said: "One thing Mr Hubbard really brings to an artist is an understanding that his talent is limitless."

"Fatal Attraction," in which she played opposite Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, will always have a special place in Archer's heart.

"I thought it was going to be successful. But I had no idea it was going to be the phenomenon it has become. You are lucky if you get to play in a film that achieves that kind of notoriety," she said.

But it is no longer her favourite role. That spot has now been taken by the new play "Poison Tree" which she performed in Los Angeles and is now taking to New York.

The list of leading actors she has played with -- from Harrison Ford in "Patriot Games" to Tommy Lee Jones in "Rules of Engagement" -- reads like a Who's Who of Hollywood.

Harrison Ford proved great to act with -- and demanding.

"He is a wonderful to work with, a very real and down-to-earth person. He knows what works for him on the big screen and he has a huge career and he demands productions of a certain standard. Anyone in a position of power has to do that."