Lara Flynn Boyle. Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
Lara Flynn Boyle is making her big screen comeback after laying low in the public eye for years.
“If you want to call me Norma Desmond, go for it,” Boyle, 54, jokingly said in an interview with People published on Tuesday, July 2. “Whenever I catch a reflection of myself in a lens, I’m like, ‘Oh, cut.’”
Boyle made a name for herself on shows like The Practice and Twin Peaks, previously sharing that she struggled to find new roles as she got older. While Boyle was not thrilled at her situation, she didn’t want to give up on her dreams yet.
“I never wanted to bow out,” Boyle explained to the outlet. “Any moment I was feeling down or sorry for myself, I made sure I did not complain. My mom used to sometimes bring me articles about other actresses to show me I’m not the only one getting a raw deal.”
Despite the lack of roles for actresses above the age of 40, Boyle doesn’t blame Hollywood itself for the issue.
“The thing that gets my goat is when actresses talk about ageism in Hollywood. Ageism is human nature,” she shared. “It’s not Hollywood’s fault. It’s all of our fault. Myself included. I like looking at pretty people on the camera.”
In addition to struggling to find new projects, Boyle shared that she also experienced uncomfortable moments in Hollywood and chose to deal with those instances privately.
“I’ve been in situations that were not called for. I’ve walked out of meetings and had repercussions for it,” she admitted. “We all go through it.”
While Boyle has only been involved in a handful of projects in recent years, she’s making her return to the big screen in Mother, Couch. The film, which hits theaters on Friday, July 5, also stars Ewan McGregor, Taylor Russell, Rhys Ifans and Ellen Burstyn.
Most people have thought about giving up their jobs at one time or another — including some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. During a 2019 interview with Australian Men’s Health, Chris Hemsworth admitted that he considered leaving acting behind after his role in 2009’s Star Trek sparked fewer opportunities than he’d hoped. “I was about to […]
When casting the movie, writer and director Niclas Larsson instantly thought of Boyle as he remembered her being featured in tabloids in the early 2000s. (Boyle previously made headlines for her romances with Kyle MacLachlan, David Spade and Jack Nicholson.)
“I’m like, ‘What’s up with Lara? What’s up with the excellent actor Lara Flynn Boyle?’ I knew I needed someone who physically and mentally lived through something,” Larsson said to People. “I don’t think anyone can imagine what it is like to go through what a lot of women went through in the late ’90s, early 2000s.”