Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535197
JANE: Well, I made my first movie. I hated the experience so much. It was called Tall Story. It was a stupid movie. It was co-starring Anthony Perkins, who I liked a lot, but it was a stupid movie. And I thought, I'm not going to do this anymore. I hated always having to worry about how you look and all that. And so that was it. I wasn't going to come back. But the second movie I got offered was called Walk on the Wild Side opposite Barbara Stanwyck. Oh and [Anne] Baxter, and Lawrence Harvey, and Capucine. And I played a hobo on trains during the Depression. And I became a prostitute in the house run by Barbara Stanwyck. I mean, who's going to turn that down? It was a real character. So I thought, okay, I can dig my teeth into this. And from then on, I liked it. [But] not too much. I didn't really start liking it until I was doing my own movies. FRAN: Is it hard to be in pain? Like, for example, in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? I mean that's a very constant kind of emotional space you have to be in. JANE: Yeah. I wouldn't have to do this now, but at the time, I just didn't even go home. I just stayed in the studio. And before we started, I spent four days dancing without stopping … I really kind of stayed in character. Also, my marriage was falling apart, so it wasn't too difficult to stay at the studio. But it was also fun. I'd never been in a movie that truly reflected something about my society … I was starting to pay attention then. And I enjoyed it very much … I think that was probably the first deep thing I did. FRAN: But I would be remiss if I didn't bring up Grace and Frankie, because it's such a successful series. JANE: So, can I tell you a little story? It's a secret. I've never said this publicly. I basically had a nervous breakdown in the first season. I hated every minute of it. I hated going to work. It was misery. I got to the end of it and I thought, well, either I quit the business or I see a psychiatrist and I did. I went three times and I discovered what had happened. The very first scene of the very first episode, Lily and I are in a restaurant. Our husbands come in and tell us, "We're leaving you. We're getting married. We love each other." Abandonment. And the whole rest of the first series was dealing with abandonment. And it triggered [me]; I didn't know what was happening to me, but I went down a dark hole and I couldn't come up. It was really hard, that first step. And then after that, it was great. FRAN: Good for you for trying to figure out what the hell was going on with it. JANE: I'd already quit the business and, at my age, I couldn't do it again. So I just solved the problem — with the help of a doctor. FRAN: Jane, I cannot thank you enough for joining us today … I was a fan before, now I'm like over the moon with you. You are amazing, and a force to be reckoned with. Thank God you're still walking and talking, because we need you. JANE: Thank you, Fran, and thank you for having me on this show. And thank you for being such a good leader of our union … I was proud to walk the picket line with you. •