First a Netflix hit and now Lily Tomlin becomes a Grandma
At 75, Lily Tomlin is loving the roles coming her way, but not necessarily the spotlight.
Tomlin stars in the upcoming indie film Grandma and recently scored her first lead actress Emmy nomination for her hit Netflix series.
“Well, it’s kind of uncomfortable in the fact that everybody in our show Grace and Frankie is so good,” said Tomlin of her nomination. “Everybody is great about it and they tease me about it. So that’s good.”
The veteran comedian teams with Jane Fonda for the streaming series about two friends starting over after finding out their husbands are in love with each other.
Tomlin relished the chance to break new ground in an industry obsessed with youth.
“That’s what we wanted to do ... to show (older) women, to show our sexuality, to show our resourcefulness, our resilience to bounce back and start over again,” she said. “Grandma does the same thing.”
In the film, out Friday, Tomlin stars as an irreverent grandma road tripping around Los Angeles to rustle up cash for her teenage granddaughter’s abortion.
Sam Elliott plays Tomlin’s exhusband in Grandma and joins her for Season 2 of Grace and Frankie, where he’ll play Fonda’s old flame.
“It’s a treat,” said Elliott, 71, of working with Tomlin.
Though Tomlin is quick to downplay her recent successes, she said jokingly that she’s finally starting to believe the hype.
“It probably seems larger to other people on the outside because I’m sort of always working, thinking about what I’m doing. But I keep reading about what a year it’s been for me. You’ve finally convinced me.”