Fifty Shades of Gray star Marcia Gay Harden applauds middle-aged women for ‘rabid involvement in sexual unleashing’-James Mottram-Entertainment – Metro

Marcia Gay Harden reveals what life was like on set of the iconic erotic drama (Picture: REX)

The Oscar-winning actress, 63, on her favourite trash TV, observations on Fifty Shades Of Grey and being a horror-film wimp.

Your new film Confess, Fletch is significantly less saucy than your role in the Fifty Shades Of Grey movies – how did you end up in those?

I’ve never read the books – had no idea. It was an opportunity to be part of something I never would have been part of – to be part of a franchise. It was so big and I was encouraged to do it. My character’s role wasn’t very important. But my job was to bring a little gravitas to the movie and to kind of ‘class’ the whole idea up.

Did it lead to any revelations, being involved in that world?

It was fascinating to watch women of a certain age… their rabid involvement in this ‘sexual unleashing’, if you will. And to really realise that with the divorce rate at 50%, there’s a lot of single women out there, happy or unhappily single, but who were mentally curious about exploration.

And while BDSM is not necessarily the answer to the curiosity, women giving themselves permission to have toys and fiery lubes and have fantasy experiences was interesting to observe from afar.

I was single – and I’m still single! I had nobody to play around with… at that time, or at this time! But observing this curiosity and this kind of demand for their freedom to explore, was interesting.

Marcia entered her first franchise when she joined the Fifty Shades universe (Picture: Universal)

You’ve just finished The Morning Show. Are you now besties with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon?

I wish! I love them so much. I’ve known Jennifer for a long time and adore her. Reese, I hadn’t known, but have been such a huge fan of hers. I still want to go out and grab glasses of wine with all of them.

Do you still stay in touch with Ed Harris, who directed you to an Oscar in Pollock?

If I pull up my phone, probably the last five texts to Ed are this: ‘Hey, Ed, I’m sitting in a trailer, we’re talking about you and everyone is fangirling and talking about how amazing you are.’ And you can most literally hear him back [in a gruff voice], ‘Huh-huh. Love you Marcia. How you doing? How’s the family? How’s the kids?’ He knows I adore him. Ed to me is like the older brother I’ve never had.

Marcia has made and cemented friendships through her work on The Morning Show (Picture: Erin Simkin)

In Confess, Fletch you’re the OTT Contessa. It’s rare to see you in a comedy. Was that fun?

It makes me so happy. I loved doing it. Confess, Fletch was silly and [adopting her character’s Italian voice], she likes her boobies! I could send it up a bit.

Were you a fan of the original Fletch films in the 1980s? Are you friends with Chevy Chase?

I don’t know Chevy Chase. I knew of those movies but I really didn’t watch them. I think those came out when I was in college. And in college, it was just really nose to the grindstone. And I’ve never really been a part of pop culture.

You could ask me about major singers everybody else knows about and I don’t really know about them. I’m an actor. I’m not watching TV all the time. I’m lucky if I get to watch movies!

Confess, Fletch gives Marcia the chance to have some fun, even if she was unaware of the original films (Picture: Robert Clark)

So, were you always like this?

It’s confession time. When I was a kid we lived in Japan. My dad was in the navy, so we travelled all over. By virtue of that lifestyle, we weren’t watching television, because we didn’t have one. It wasn’t a part of my life.

Now when I come home, if the TV’s on, it’s a distraction. I can’t not watch it. Other people I know who grew up with television in the house can have it on all day long. It’s just noise in the background and they can still get on with their day. For me, it’s an event to sit down to watch it.

More: Sixty Seconds

No trash telly guilty pleasures for you, then?

My lovely son introduced me to Survivor and we watched that. We’re addicted to RuPaul. During Covid, he got me into The Great British Bake Off. I’m obsessed with that. My older children, Eulala and Hudson, were big Game Of Thrones fans, so we’d all watch that together.

I could only watch House Of The Dragon if they’re sitting next to me, because it gets scary. And I have to hold someone’s hand. So yes, I’m a bit of a wimp about it!

So, no horror films on your CV then?

Hell, no! My youngest child, Julitta, at nine, was watching horror movies and I don’t know how she did it. It’s appalling to me. I can’t watch horror movies.

You’re an avid potter – how did that start?

I was cast in Angels In America and I was living in the West Village [New York]. And I would walk past this pottery place all the time. And I thought, ‘I’d like to take a class, just for fun.’ And I got to the point where I could throw plates and bowls and some vases but not huge things. And then I kept with it.

I ended up buying a kiln and a wheel. But to get really good, you have to do it every day. So now the past 20 years, I’ve been on and off. This show I’m on right now, So Help Me Todd, Skylar Astin, my co-star, bought me a membership to a pottery studio here. And it’s open 24/7.

Confess, Fletch is in cinemas now

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