Glenn Close has confessed she had ‘no clue’ how to play a ‘white woman who lived her life in the black community’ in her new film The Deliverance.
Directed by Lee Daniels , the Netflix horror movie stars Glenn with Andra Day and Mo’Nique in the story of a family battling a demon in a haunted house.
The Fatal Attraction star features as Alberta, who has a black daughter played by Andra and ‘has only dated black men’ throughout her life, said Glenn.
She shared that when Lee ‘told me that there are white women like this in every black community, I was intrigued and I wanted to do her justice.’
Lee dished that ‘every black person knows a white woman like this, but not every white person knows a white woman like this!’ Glenn, 77, recalled to People.
Glenn Close has confessed she had ‘no clue’ how to play a ‘white woman who lived her life in the black community’ in her new film The Deliverance (pictured)
She explained that she was delighted to play the part because the ‘rule that I’ve tried to hold myself to’ has been ‘never to repeat myself’ – a challenge she took on ‘for my own sake’ because she would get ‘bored’ otherwise.
The Deliverance is centered on Andra’s character Ebony, an alcoholic who begins to fear that her children are being possessed.
Her mother Alberta, a devout Christian, is also an incorrigible tease who enjoys making advances to the nurses when she goes in for chemotherapy, which has caused her to start modeling a string of extravagant wigs.
Meanwhile Mo’Nique features as Cynthia, the social worker assigned to Ebony’s case who could snatch her children from her into foster care.
The movie marks a stunning turnaround for Mo’Nique, who carried on an explosive public feud with Lee for over a decade before they reconciled.
Glenn described her own character as ‘a woman who has been abused and I think she has become an abuser. She has found God in a very real way, and she’s hoping that her daughter will be able to clean up as well.’
Andra has showered Glenn with praise for her performance, gushing: ‘The way she embodied this character and the way – watching her, she’s so legendary and she’s been doing this to the highest level for such a long time.’
She shared that she and Glenn formed a ‘deeper kinship’ with one another while playing characters who butt heads onscreen.
She explained that she was delighted to play the part because the ‘rule that I’ve tried to hold myself to’ has been ‘never to repeat myself’
Directed by Lee Daniels, the Netflix horror movie stars Glenn with Andra Day (right) and Mo’Nique (left) in the story of a family battling a demon in a haunted house
The movie marks a stunning turnaround for Mo’Nique, who carried on an explosive public feud with Lee for over a decade before they reconciled; the pair are pictured in August
‘We could do what we needed to do for the scenes where we’re just beefing and there’s so much anger and pain. But we needed that love and we absolutely have it.’
Andra explained the dynamic between the characters: ‘There’s this huge tension between mother-daughter in this film, which basically is based on their ultimate love for each other. But life has been hard for them.’
Over her long and storied career, Glenn has been nominated for eight acting Oscars but never won – a record that she holds along with Peter O’Toole.
Andra received a best actress Oscar nod for Lee Daniels’ 2021 film The United States vs. Billie Holiday, but lost to Frances McDormand for Nomadland.
Mo’Nique is the only Oscar winner in the cast of The Deliverance, having taken home best supporting actress in 2010 for Lee’s acclaimed drama Precious – the project that launched their blistering feud.
