Recently, Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant allowed the public to ask them all their burning questions about what it means to be a celebrity, how they got to be so darn charming, and even the one thing that has riddled people for centuries is a hotdog a sandwich?
And Meryl and Hugh, being the all knowing super beings that they are, answered every. last. question. Here's the best-of from their public interview.
1/15. Meryl - would you be up for playing Batman?
2/15. If there's any advice you could give to your 18 year-old self, what would it be?
Hugh: Don't wear that jumpsuit. I had a girlfriend who decided in 1978 that I should have a jumpsuit, which were quite trendy. But mine was too small from crotch to shoulder especially after it had been in the washing machine, so I had to go around with a slight stoop and all the dye ran. I remember when I took it off I was bright blue. It was a mistake. We all made mistakes.
Meryl: I'm picturing that, and it's such a beautiful thing. Jumpsuits for men are always so difficult when you get to that one area.
Meryl: Ok so me. I would say, don't smoke.
Hugh: When was your last cigarette?
Meryl: Uh two days ago.
Hugh: Oh I see.
Meryl: No I'm kidding, but yeah, I did smoke in college and as a young actor and it's stupid.
3/15. Is a hotdog a sandwich?
- Chtorrr
Hugh: I had a very unhappy experience with Nathan's hotdogs.
Meryl: Last night you had a hotdog.
Hugh: I had one last night, I got so hungry at the premier. Which I paid for myself.
Meryl: Only the best.
Hugh: I was filming Two Weeks Notice in Coney Island, and someone told me Nathan's hotdogs were famous. What they didn't tell me is you should only have one. I had seven.
Meryl: Seven?
Hugh: I was unable to return to the set after, because of the condition of my innards. I had a makeup artist from Brooklyn who did not mince her words. She said, "Oh my god, did it blow your ass out?"
Meryl: It's really a lovely story. I want to return to that, over and over.
Meryl: Is a hotdog a sandwich? Well with a bun, yes. Without a bun, no. It's a canap.
4/15. For Meryl: let's be honest here, you use at least one of your oscars as a door stop right?
Serious question though, after so many wins and nominations, do you still get excited for the oscars whenever you get nominated?
Meryl: Of course I do, of course I do. I am a human being, and also I'm sort of in a category of person that is usually out to pasture at this point in their career. A woman and over 60, so it's a miracle. When I get invited back, and I fully am delighted, because it's those nominations come from other actors, they don't come from everybody else, they just come from the people who know what it is. So that's cool.
Meryl: No, but, no. they are not door stops. But they are not consistently and beautifully stored, I must say. The housekeeping at my house leaves something to be desired to say the least.
5/15. Mr Grant: How did you become so very, very charming?Is it like a thing you can turn on and off, or must you be utterly swoon-inducing in an endearingly self-deprecating way at all times?
Hugh: Dead right. It is entirely phony, put on- switched on just for the occasion.
Meryl: Bullshit, it is not.
Hugh: No it is, I'm awful. Three quarters of my life I'm hungover, grumpy, and a miserable bastard.
Meryl: But you're perfectly balanced because then you effervesce seemingly effortlessly. And it's a thing a person can't manufacture. You either have that or you don't. You have charm or you don't.
6/15. Whom would you have play the role of you in a film about your life?
Hugh: Colin Firth, obviously. I know it's the role he wants more than anything.
Meryl: He's turned it down over and over again.
7/15. Meryl and Hugh would you accept a role playing Hillary Clinton?
Meryl: For me...probably we should let Hillary play the role she was destined to play all by herself first.
Hugh: I would love to. From the age of 5 to 18 I played almost exclusively female roles.
Meryl: Is that true?
Hugh: Yea because I went to an all boys school.
Meryl: Because you were so pretty probably.
Hugh: I was pretty and undeveloped.
Meryl: Incurable!
Hugh: In many ways ravishing in dresses. And I miss those days. So yea, I would welcome that part.
Meryl: Go for it.
8/15. How do you both approach roles that are based on true stories? Do you feel any sort of responsibility towards maintaining historical accuracy, or do you feel it's more important to ensure the film is entertaining?
Hugh: Good question. Personally, I think the job is to make it entertaining, and that you mine the history for whatever is useful to making a character entertain and move people. And then you just hope that that character isn't alive, or any of their relations, in case they get angry!
Meryl: I've played a lot of characters who really existed, and some who still exist, or existed when I was playing them. Yes, you feel a special responsibility to get as much as you can right about the essence of the person. You can't replicate another human being, nor would you want to. And inevitably, how movies are made and how dramas are made, distorts to make a dramatic point. But sometimes the dramatic point lands on the truth more clearly than documentaries, so, that's cool.
9/15. What is your favourite type of cheese?
Meryl: Well my favorite is really really sharp, extra sharp, aged cheddar cheese.
Hugh: I recently discovered the stuff that comes out of tube in america. What's it called?
Meryl: Velveeta?
Hugh: Delicious.
Meryl: Oh you really--
Hugh: Unmatchable.
Meryl: You're lying.
Hugh: Almost as good as a Nathan's hot dog. Particularly when squeezed directly into the mouth I think.
Meryl: That's far enough.
10/15. What movie have you watched more times than any other?
- sak0711
Hugh: I think for me, it's Four Weddings and a Funeral. It's just so charming.
Meryl: For me, The Godfather.
Hugh: I agree. Or Goodfellows maybe, for me.
Meryl: No, no contest.
Hugh: Really? Well, I disagree.
Meryl: I mean I love Goodfellows and I love Nick Palleggi, but no, it's The Godfather, 1 and 2.
11/15. Hugh have you ever wished you could be James Bond?
- SinSmithy
Hugh: Not so much in the films, but in real life, very much so.
Meryl: You've achieved it!
Hugh: Yeah well, it's harder these days.
Meryl: Youre a race car drive, and you're elegant.
Hugh: Well, whenever I'm in Monte Carlo, I always go to the casino, and say, "banco" and "swivy" just like Bond. The fact that they don't actually play those games anymore spoils it slightly. There's mainly fruit machines. But guys say "banco" and "swivy" to everyone.
12/15. What is your favorite thing about working with one another?
Hugh: Well, Meryl raised my game, for sure she raised my game. It's like playing tennis with Roger Federer.
Meryl: Oh my god. Well, I'm just not into the sports analogy. We had a fight about that last night. To me it was a surprise because...even though I'm an actor, I think I know how people work and what the process is that they go through to get what they've done. So from the films that I'd seen of Hugh's where everybody falls in love immediately when he comes on screen, and it's an indefinable thing. You don't know what that is or how it's created, but you just think, like every other audience member you're in the thrall of it, and you think "Oh, its just...that's the way he is. That's just natural. And that's just behavior." But of course it's not. It's acting. And I made the mistake of thinking this will just be an effortless thing. He agonized over everything so much that, you know, there was a lot of everybody soothing him to make him feel it's okay. It's not the biggest piece of crap anybody's ever seen. It's wonderful. You're wonderful. And he is! But it doesn't...he's so demanding and so...analytical. It's analytical I think. It's not neuroses, it's a high level of, to use the sports analogy, aiming at some technical perfection, that you actually own without the agony.
Hugh: I wish you'd told me this before we started shooting. You're very nice.
13/15. When did you realize the desire to be an actor was a legitimate passion to pursue?
Meryl: Probably the third year of graduate school in acting, I realized that. After I slept through the law boards, the tests that you're going to take, because I was sure I should give up, and do something more meaningful, and measurably helpful in the world. But, I took it as a sign; I slept through the test. I spent a lot of money on the application fee, and had a late performance and a lot of beer the night before, and boom! Missed it. So, you know.
Hugh: Well, it was my triumphant success as Brigitta Von Trapp, the third daughter of the Von Trapp family in a school play when I was about 14. I wore a white dress with a blue satin sash, and I had a very funny line, and I got a big laugh. I realized this was my destiny.
Meryl: Irresistible, isn't it? Big laughs.
Hugh: Yeah!
14/15. Are there any particular historical figures you'd like to play? Or events you're interested in, which you'd like to see adapted into a movie?
Hugh: I think we could do Adam and Eve.
Meryl: Haha yeah, we could do a revisionist Adam and Eve. Because I think that story has been sourced sort of incorrectly.
Hugh: It's not a feminist tale.
Meryl: Like who came from who. The rib of Adam? Oh really? Talk about reversing the order of events.
Hugh: We'd look nice in our fig leaves, wouldn't we?
Meryl: Yes haha. Well you would.
Hugh: Let's set it up. Come on Paramount.
15/15. How does it feel to be the inspiration and role models to other, well accomplished, actors/ actresses?
Meryl: Daunting. It does. But I know what people meant to me when I was coming up. I know that certain actors and actresses really meant a lot. And so I get it. But I feel...yeah...I feel not up to the job sometimes. Every time out is kind of terrifying like it is for you, but I guess I'm an example that in spite of your terror you can continue.
But we should also be prepared and ready to ask the right questions to have a leg up on the competition.
"What is THE best question to ask on a job interview?"
A company's history or information about a past employee were suggested subjects appropriate for questioning.
Prior Knowledge
"When you were interviewing here, what would you have liked to know before you joined?"
"This worked for me. I asked my interviewer a question about how she had personally dealt with a company policy she had just explained. She bragged about her stellar adherence to the policy. I nodded my approval. I got the job."
A Previous Employee
"One that has always gone over well for me:"
"What were some qualities that the previous employee in this role brought to the job that you would like to see carried forward?"
"Another good thing to do is research the company you are interviewing with and you can ask things about what they may be involved in or you could drop that while reading about the company, you wondered this."
Hypothetical questions were suggested as helpful examples of inquiry.
Indicators Of How Companies Treat Employees
"A question that landed me a job once was: 'If I asked your direct reports about your management style, what do you think they'd tell me?' Stumped a hiring manager and he emailed me personally to tell me about it, no one ever asked him that question but got the job.
"In my current interviews I'm asking 'what did your company do for its employees during [the virus] to improve their day to day, work life balance, etc.' and I ask 'Is there anything your company adopted during [the virus] that they plan to keep post [the virus]?"
"These questions give a lot of insight into whether a company treated their employees well."
Past Performance & Adjustments
"If we were currently sitting in my 1 year review, what would I have done in this year for you to say I excelled in my role?"
"If I could snap my finger right now and change anything about your job or the company, what would it be and why?"
The following questions about a prospective company may not be answered from initial digging on their website.
Measure Of Success & Career Trajectories
"How is success measured in this role?"
"What are some possible career trajectories within the company that could stem from this position?"
Being A Solution
"Ask them what is the biggest problem you can solve for them in your first six months with the company. Similar to 'don't think of a purple hippo,' this forces them to imagine you succeeding in the position."
Simply The Best
"Who is your best employee and why is he/she the best?"
"You will then face 2 situations mostly:"
"panicking CEO who can't answer you 'Bob who works 17 hours a day for a slice of bread' so the fear in their faces must be a big nono for you"
"entusiast CEO who actually follow their business and can tell you who is an added value for the company and why."
– ThePiz91
My experiences with job interviews are different than others seeking work in office environments.
Having had a years-long career as a dancer, my "interview" was the dance audition, where hopefuls dance in small groups of people at a time after learning a routine and then awaiting their fate after the panel evaluates their performances.
The question I may or may not have asked in such a scenario earlier in my career was: "Did I make the cut?"
I did not make the cut. And I learned never to ask that again.
I remember the worst date I ever had. My biggest regret is that I stayed for the entire thing. I should've left as soon as I realized this was not going well, which was basically at hello. But he was paying so I drank, a lot. I'll keep names and dates to myself to protect the innocent.
0/10
Big Brother Reaction GIF by Big Brother After DarkGiphy"Went to brewery, date said I had hairy arms and that meant I was horny, said "you look really awful in this light" and then tried to dig out of that hole by saying in his native language that was a term of endearment long term couples said to each other. 0/10 did not date again."
Lucky 13?
"My wife wanted to plan our 13th wedding anniversary. I was excited because usually, I plan it. She bought us some new disc golf discs and after a quick supper, we went to play. We hadn't played in forever. We were laughing and I had a great time. She served me with divorce papers and told me that the date was a test to see if she still had feelings for me. I also learned that she was having an affair that started well before our anniversary."
- rmorlock
Two Hours from Home
"Not necessarily a date but a person I was dating invited me to his parent's house for the afternoon. He wanted to introduce me to them and show me the house he grew up in. I thought it was super sweet and had no problems going. He was also in the middle of moving and needed to pick up a few things, so it really didn't seem that unusual."
"Yeah, we got there and it was awful. His entire family was there. They traveled from hours away too. This was not just meeting the parents, it was meeting the ENTIRE family. Even worse? At some point, this idiot told his parents that he had proposed. We had been dating TWO months. I spent the entire afternoon dumbfounded and just playing along."
"We were two hours from home and I had no cell service, no way to leave at all. We ended up spending the afternoon brainstorming wedding ideas and planning an Alaskan honeymoon that his parents planned to gift us. His brother even called to say congratulations! We drove back to his apartment in silence. When we got there, I got in my car and left, didn't even bother grabbing my stuff. Weirdest experience ever. I have no idea how he broke it to his parents that we weren't getting married."
You're Cut Off!
"Got set up on a blind date once between mutual friends. She shows up to the restaurant already a little tipsy, orders multiple appetizers and only takes like one or two bites from each one. Then she proceeds to order 3 or 4 more drinks and is visibly drunk at this point. She gets up and says she's going to the bathroom and staggers off. About 15-20 minutes go by so I try to call her several times but no answer."
"Finally I decide to pay the check and just leave. About 2 hours later I'm sitting at home and I get a call from an unknown number. It's the police department. She was picked up on a DUI on her way home after she ditched me and gave the cops my number to see if I could go bail her out!"
- mox44ah
Sorry?
Bbc Three Idk GIF by BBCGiphy"Well, I gave this answer on a different topic, but it ties in with this. We were out on a date, we had been seeing each other for a while, close to a year maybe. She gets a phone call. Suddenly she looks destroyed. Her fiancé had just died in a motorcycle accident."
What in the world? I mean how can we ever expect to pair off with the dating pool being inundated with liars and nut jobs? I'm going to delete my apps.
Girl, Bye.
Sassy Beyonce GIFGiphy"Had a girl openly flirt with the bartender in front of me. She says she wasn't. But handing him her own phone and asking for his contact info in front of her date seems like it to me."
Crazy!
"Came out from a movie, late at night, and date's Camaro was stolen. Apparently, he called his WIFE (that I did not know he had) and let her know where he was and what happened. She showed up and realized he was on a date! She started chasing ME around the parking lot telling me she was going to kill me. Saved by the cops who showed up just in time to take the auto theft report."
Hey Mom
"Met a girl at a country bar one night in my 20s. We were both pretty drunk but hit it off pretty good. Ended up getting her number and we agreed we'd go on a real date. Fast forward to the date, she gets in my vehicle and... she looks almost identical to my mom. I was mortified. I was polite and we went for lunch where I found out she also had a boyfriend she "wasn't sure if she was into". Never talked to her again."
- SgtGo
Liars...
"When I was in college many years ago, before the advancement of cell phones and social media, I was chatting with a girl I met on a BBS who lived on Long Island, NY. I was 18 at the time, but lied and said I was 22 because she said she was 25. We spent a few weeks emailing each other, as well as calling each other."
"We even exchanged pics. When we finally met up, things blew up. Turns out we both lied about our ages: She was really 33, and lied because she thought she looked younger. She admitted she sent a college photo to me. We still had dinner together, but it was awkward as hell. We never spoke again."
Doubles
Kill Me Now Season 1 GIF by FriendsGiphy"It was a double date. She was more interested talking to the other girl throughout the whole thing. Found out later from the other guy that his girl cheated on him with my date."
Ummm... I think I'm just going to stay single. That is a handful of crazy. Why can't people just be honest? I swear the search for love warps people's brains. Be careful out there people.
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