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Virginia Madsen Killing Us Softly With Her Words

As she prepares to star in American Gothic Virginia Madsen hopes for a role that lets her do things I can t in real life Like murder people

Virginia Madsen kills it. Jay L. Clendenin/Contour by Getty Images Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Q: Why do you say that? A: Because one of the best things about my job is getting to do things I can't in real life. Like murder people! Q: Not that we know about, anyway… A: [Laughs] Exactly! Madeline Hawthorne is a powerful woman. She rules with an iron fist, but it's covered with a velvet glove. Q: A natural role for you? A: Well, she's very much like me in the way that family comes first, above all else, and God forbid you should stand in the way of my children! I have a college-age son now, and I've surprised myself how fierce I get on the phone with him: "You're the best. …You're doing amazing work. … I'm so proud of you!" Then I hang up and immediately I'm like, "Who was that?" Q: Did you pick up that ferocity in the movie business? A: Well, I think my natural strength is that I'm from the Midwest; we're very grounded people. We have a common enemy in Chicago, and that's the winter; it makes you strong, and it makes you tough. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > I don't have issues with aging. For one thing, the parts I get now are so much better than in my 20s, when I was just the chick. Or the girl. Or somebody's wife. In a lot of roles you get at that age, you don't have an awful lot to say. And to screenwriters' discredit, many younger friendships are depicted as frivolous, or the women are [depicted as] enemies — which is not the case most of the time, in my experience. Q: Is there a role you've always wanted to play? A: Oh, yes — I'd love to play a Bond villain. Someone who's supremely evil and wants to take over the world. There's something delightful about that to me because I couldn't do that in real life — I'm not conniving. Q: "Madsen the Madwoman." Just how devious would you be? A: I would have a scientific mind and manipulate everyone to do my bidding. Q: Your mother was a filmmaker, right? And the two of you made a movie together? A: Yes, it came out on May 10, and it's called I Know a Woman Like That. My mother, Elaine, directed it. It's about women from 65 to 95 who are living active and extraordinary lives at a time when the world tells you to go away and get old. But the movie's not about how to be young; it's about how to be old, and what is it to be old? This is a conversation women are having that's not in the mainstream media, where they'll show you a woman who's 70 and say, "She looks like she's 30! Isn't that amazing!?" But that's not how most people age; they don't have a glamorous makeover. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS