LEGEND? I’M STILL LEARNING
Superstar Jane Fonda says she gets nervous before every role and never takes what she does for granted
SCREEN legend Jane Fonda is back on screen – in a feelgood movie with a bus pass. She’s just one of the superannuated stars in 80 for Brady, a comedy about four American football fans who win tickets to watch Tom Brady play at the Super Bowl.
Barbarella icon Jane and her co-stars Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno and Sally Field serve plenty of laughs and some poignant moments as they have the wild ride of their lives.
The Oscar winner said: “This movie is basically about friendship between four women which is based on the true story of a group of female New England Patriot fans who formed their own fan club for star quarterback Tom Brady.
“It’s the story of their friendship and the trip they take to Houston to see Brady and the Patriots at the Super Bowl in Houston.
“It’s their adventures as friends, their very interesting individual stories and the adventure they have going to this game. It really is a beautiful, funny and poignant story.”
At 85, that’s what Jane needs in a role. “It has to be something well written,” she said. “The words have to be good and it has to be a character that I understand and I feel like I want to play.”
Jane is not the oldest of the four, who have been described as “Bridesmaids meets The Golden Girls”. They have a joint age of 335.
Forrest Gump star Sally is the baby of the group at 76, 9 To 5 star Lily is 83 and Hollywood golden age icon Rita is 91. Together they have more awards and silverware than Brady himself.
It was working with these screen queens that appealed to Jane, who won her Academy Awards for 70s films Klute and Coming Home. She was Lily’s co-star in Netflix’s Grace and Frankie but had never shared a screen with the others before.
She said: “I loved the script and of course it was the chance to work with such an incredible cast.
“It was also the fact that you really don’t see stories about older women and their friendships too much. I was excited to be part of that.”
The green room and catering areas soon resembled a coffee date more than a movie shoot.
Jane recalled: “We had so much fun. We hit it off right away. We just wouldn’t stop talking. We had so many things to share.
“The director couldn’t get us to the set and do our jobs sometimes. We got on so well that it was almost a problem.”
Jane and Lily called on their years of familiarity for one of the film’s most touching scenes – when they sleep in the same bed.
“The spooning felt so good,” Jane said, laughing.
“We figured that our characters had known each other for even longer than Lily and I have been friends – they were at school together. So they would have no problem with sharing a bed.
“It’s like a sleepover only we are in our 80s. It’s something they did back then and do again now in such a sweet way.”
Rita, who won an Oscar for her role in the original West Side Story, amazed everyone with her astounding vitality.
Jane said: “Rita is my new role model. She’s five years older than me but you would think she is 20 years younger. She has so much energy and vigour. She is living proof that age is just a number.”
There was borderline hysteria when the real Tom Brady – who was a producer on the film and has an acting part as well as looking hot in football kit – turned up on set.
Jane, who is more of a baseball fan than an American football enthusiast, said: “He’s a legend and I have to admit I went a little
weak at the knees the day he showed up.
“And I have to tell you, Tom Brady can act. He did a scene with Lily and him sitting on the bench and I was surprised how good he was.”
Jane, who is often described as a legend, is uncomfortable with the title. She said: “I feel more like a novice than a legend. I honestly do feel like I am still learning. I still get nervous before every role and I never take what I do for granted.” She has, she said “been very, very lucky”, adding: “I still say the the biggest stroke of luck was getting the role in Monster-In-Law, in 2005, playing the mother-in-law role to Jennifer Lopez. “At that point I had been out of the acting business for 16 years or more. So even at almost 65, as I was then, I got lucky. I feel very lucky to still be here doing this.” Her strenuous aerobics videos were huge in the 80s but Jane admits that her leotard and leg warmer days are now behind her. “I don’t do the same stuff that I used to do. But I still make sure that I keep flexible and keep moving and building strength. I’m grateful that I can do what I do.
“I also meditate a lot which I find really helps with my mental health. It keeps me centred and present in the moment. I often have answers to problems after meditating which means I’m more able to deal with the bad things that come along.” A lifelong activist whose campaign against the Vietnam War earned her the nickname Hanoi Jane, she is still on the barricades.
“I like to work and I like to be busy,” she said. “I care about what is happening in the world with the climate, wars and everything else and I want to do all I can, while I can.”
Her ambitions are to see her grandchildren thrive, keep working and keep up the pressure for progress.
“I want to see my grandkids get old enough to know they are going to be OK. That’s all I want.”
“I still love going to work every day and feel deeply connected and passionate about what I believe in and in making changes for the better. I don’t think that will change.”
● 80 For Brady is in cinemas from Friday.
You don’t see stories about older women and their friendships JANE FONDA ON NEW FILM 80 FOR BRADY