South Jersey Magazine - Cherry Hill / Haddonfield / Voorhees

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SJM Feature - Glenn Close - FINAL_Pages 10 / 25 / 22 4 : 53 PM Page 3 this amazing powerful strength that she brings of my character , Tamar . ” with her . I remember feeling , ‘ OK , this is some - Another aspect of Close’s work ethic is her thing remarkable that I’ve never done before . ’ ” willingness to tackle personal and professional Sultan describes Close as “ a very sweet , challenges head - on , especially co - founding a humble and happy person . ” But that all nonprofit to help dispel the stigma of mental changes when the camera is on her . “ Suddenly illness and encourage those in need to get help . she’s very scary , ” she recalls . “ It brought out She spoke to South Jersey Magazine about that something much more vulnerable and insecure important mission , along with her latest on - in my performance . I felt like a child in front screen performance and why being a mother is of her , which brought out an interesting side the role she is most proud of . WITH CO - STAR NIV SULTAN IN TEHRAN Q & A ning , it was about training my mouth to SJM : Why did you want to be part of SOUTH JERSEY MAGAZINE : What was it like playing a spy for the first time in form words in a different way than you Tehran ? do with English . To play an English GC : The opportunity to do several things Tehran ? GLENN CLOSE : For me , it was about the woman who can speak a little Farsi was that I had never done before . The scripts such an interesting experience . were terrific , and the character is some - mental discipline of it and for the char - one originally from the U.K . I got to acter to never panic because that’s prob - SJM : How did you prepare for the work speak Farsi , and I had never before shot ably the most dangerous place to be . I in Tehran ? a project in Greece . think what stands out to me is all the se - crets that one has to have and also the GC : Every day , seeing what Farsi I had to speak . And then going over it and SJM : What was the overall experience mental discipline that one has to have . over it the night before , and then going of Tehran like ? SJM : What were the highlights of over it with a coach in my camper be - GC : All of the actors in the ensemble are fore . Then having two people on set lis - formidable . They all had many layers . making your new series ? GC : I found the whole thing wonderful , tening with the microphone and with The good guys are not so good and the totally new to anything I had done be - their headsets and correcting me . On bad guys are not so bad , and anything fore . The highlight ? I think near the end top of that , there was the acting . It was that shows the messy gray area of life is everything was so intricate . The highlight a great place . You put yourself in an in - going to attract my attention . was being able to pull off Farsi reasonably secure place . well . I’m not so sure I learned Farsi , rather SJM : What is happening with the movie I learned to make the sounds of Farsi . It’s SJM : What drew you back to television ? adaptation of the play Sunset Bou - a beautiful language and to really prepare GC : You get millions of more people po - levard and you reviving your part of I should have been studying for a year tentially seeing a series than you do if Norma Desmond , which you played on but I only had two months . In the begin - they have to go to a movie house . Broadway ? 3 2 | S O U T H J E R S E Y M A G A Z I N E | V O L U M E 1 9 • I S S U E 7 | S O U T H J E R S E Y M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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SJM Feature - Glenn Close - FINAL_Pages 10 / 25 / 22 4 : 53 PM Page 4 actually saying that out loud changed you that the people who are losing out GC : It is getting nearer . Believe it or not , both of our lives . With the right help , my are the people who are dealing with we are getting closer . sister was diagnosed with bipolar disor - mental health issues . der at age 51 . SJM : Looking back , what would you say SJM : Mental illness plays a huge part you are most proud of in your life ? SJM : How did your upbringing thwart in one of your most famous roles GC : My daughter , Annie . She is a lovely your sister from asking for help ? from Fatal Attraction , in which you woman , a dynamic individual , and GC : Jessie and I are the 12th played a woman so obsessed with her much fiercer than I am . I am always generation of a stiff - upper - lipped married lover that she will stop at very proud of her . [ background ] — pull up your socks , nothing to possess him . don’t talk about it , suck it up , work GC : Yes . I played several characters who SJM : On a personal note , what do you hard , don’t complain and always polish in many ways perpetuated the stigma do when you are stressed or when you your shoes . We are Connecticut Yan - around mental illness , mainly Alex just need to take care of yourself ? kees with absolutely no vocabulary for Forrest in Fatal Attraction , who was ter - GC : I do transcendental meditation and I mental illness . It simply wasn’t an op - rified and violent . But even then , in my have a mantra . I do not do it every day , tion . From my parents ’ generation on research with psychiatrists , I didn’t in - but I can do it just for a matter of min - backward , going to a psychiatrist was terpret her behavior , and neither did utes and I can quickly feel my mind re - unthinkable . they , as someone with a possible mental laxing . So , I find that incredibly helpful . health problem . Which , in retrospect , SJM : What about your work has been was undoubtedly true . SJM : Please tell me about your impor - focused specifically on younger people , tant role as the founder and chair - When it came to my own life and among whom we see some person of Bring Change to Mind , incredibly family , mental health illness had nothing which focuses on raising awareness of high prevalence of mental stress and to do with me . I didn’t see my family mental illness . mental illness ? much during my sister Jess’s teenage GC : I’m speaking out about this because GC : It’s been an incredible journey with years . Into adulthood , Jess was consid - mental illness is a global family affair . these Bring Change to Mind clubs be - ered the wild one . She walked out of One in four of us is affected by mental cause it has become our focus , as well school in ninth grade and refused to go health issues in one way or another . as it should be . I think the high school back . [ She had ] multiple suicide at - What a staggering statistic . Anything years , and we’re starting to slowly go tempts starting at 16 . Unbelievably the that affects one in four of us has to be into middle school as well , can be really idea that she might be something other given serious thought at every level of hard whether you have mental health than irresponsible never occurred to our our society . We ignore it at our own challenges or not . I think kids today family . I am thankful every day that she is peril , because the lack of serious know how to talk to each other . It’s re - still with us . thought and serious action is resulting ally important to have places where in disastrous consequences . Mental ill - they can talk to each other . SJM : What have you learned in your ness is an integral part of the human That’s what these clubs are all years as a mental health advocate about condition . about . We have 400 clubs now with why some of us , as friends and family , about 20,000 kids . You have to be able may not recognize in people that we SJM : How is your involvement in men - to pay for somebody to sustain it and to love that they need help ? tal health awareness a family matter ? keep checking on it . The thing that was GC : I think it’s a stigma . I think it can be GC : More than a dozen years ago my sis - thrilling for me during the lockdown scary and people can be very wary about ter Jessie somehow got the courage to was the national Zooms that we had approaching somebody whose behavior say to me , “ I need help . I can’t stop think - with kids from all over the country from they think has changed . But you don’t ing about killing myself . ” Her bravery in these clubs . They just moved me to my have to have all the answers . I think core because of their willingness to talk what’s really important is to ask the so openly about what they were dealing question , “ Are you OK ? ” And then to - with . Again , that ability to feel safe and gether figure out how to get help . I to feel supported is integral to being learned something from doing a Town AS MARJAN MONTAZERI able to get help and develop a support Hall with Anderson Cooper from some - IN TEHRAN system around you . body who knew what they were talking about , that you can say , “ Are you OK ? ” SJM : What were these young people telling you ? SJM : How did the pandemic change GC : They were talking about the diffi - you ? culty in talking to their parents about GC : Coming out of this pandemic has stress , anxiety and depression . The kids made me feel that I am part of some - have it because of the competition thing much bigger than just myself . I’ve now . I think the world is a much more been very aware of my common hu - daunting place and they are under a manity . This has helped me tremen - tremendous amount of pressure . I dously to face moments where I think I think we need to have a genuine grass - need to pull back ; I need to fill my cup roots committed group of citizens to before I try to reach out to others . It’s make sure that they’re taking care of about getting support from people ? the whole community . If not , I can bet around you , which is very helpful . S O U T H J E R S E Y M A G A Z I N E | V O L U M E 1 9 • I S S U E 7 | S O U T H J E R S E Y M A G A Z I N E . C O M | 3 3

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