Taking a look at Constance Zimmer’s appearing credit over the previous three a long time, you may assume the actress, who has had roles in HBO’s Entourage, Netflix’s Home of Playing cards and Lifetime’s UnREAL, solely picks collection she is aware of shall be cultural and rankings hits. However that’s not fairly how she does it.
“When I did UnREAL, I had never even read the script,” Zimmer admits of the drama wherein she starred because the conscienceless boss of Shiri Appleby’s younger, impressionable actuality TV producer. “I was just told what the character was going to be and how we were going to collaborate to create this woman that I had never been given the opportunity to portray. And I went with that.”
When the position of Ann Messina Freeman, the mom of Carolyn Bessette (Sarah Pidgeon) and Lauren Bessette (Sydney Lemmon) in FX’s Love Story, got here to her, Zimmer did at the least learn the script for the character, however it solely took one scene — and her admiration for the real-life John F. Kennedy Jr. and his associate, whose romance is on the heart of the collection created by Connor Hines and government produced by Ryan Murphy — to get on board.
“When I read the wedding speech, I said, ‘If this is all I do in this show, it’ll be worth it,’ ” the actress recollects. “I’ve always chosen the shows I’ve been on based on the characters I get to play because that’s all I have control over.”
Zimmer with Paul Anthony Kelly, who performs John F. Kennedy Jr. within the FX collection.
FX
Zimmer actually selected proper once more this time. Love Story captivated audiences with its ’90s nostalgia, turning into essentially the most watched restricted collection ever on Hulu and Disney+. Although she solely appeared in three episodes, her character’s impression lingered, notably when it got here to evoking the mom’s shattering response to losing her two daughters and John, who’s performed by Paul Anthony Kelly, within the finale, “Search and Recovery.”
“That Love Story was able to show more of the Bessette side was a wonderful thing to be a part of,” says Zimmer. “It was really sad, but it felt very cathartic for people who didn’t know them, for people who knew them, for all of us that watched their story unfold in real time.”
After filming for the present wrapped in November, Zimmer misplaced her personal mom, including an sudden relatability to her portrayal of Ann as a viewer.
“When I was watching the show, I had a whole new grief that I was unpacking and that I still unpack every day,” she says. “I cried all over again for the shocking loss of my mom. It became cathartic for me, watching myself and dealing with grief and being able to allow myself to feel it all.”
One particularly touching second in the finale, which focuses on the aftermath of the trio’s deaths, options Grace Gummer’s Caroline Kennedy and Ann bonding over their shared loss. Having labored with Gummer on season two of Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom in 2013 helped put Zimmer relaxed whereas filming the taxing scenes.
“After every take, we would both look at each other and just say, ‘Thank God for you,’ because you needed to have two actors in that scene who were ready to fully live those emotions with absolutely no judgment and no filter,” she says. “I don’t know if I could have done it without somebody who has the grace of Grace Gummer.”
Constance Zimmer as Ann Messina Freeman in Love Story.
FX
Trying again on her portrayal in Love Story, the 55-year-old, whose display credit additionally embody Boston Authorized, Gray’s Anatomy and Shameless, says it’s her half century of lived expertise that finest ready her for the position. It’s additionally why she believes Hollywood nonetheless wants extra tales centered on girls of a selected age.
“There are not enough. We need to see more women, specifically over 50, who find their strength in the wisdom that they’ve learned through their lifetime,” Zimmer says. “To have the ability to put that into a job, it’s not a coincidence.
“I don’t think I could have delivered a performance like that five years ago, I’ll be honest,” she continues, “and that is because just in the past five years, the experience, the understanding, the growth that I have had really comes with age. We need more powerful women over 45 — I would like to say over 50 — showing the empowerment and strength that comes with aging. That is not a bad thing. That is an incredible thing.”
This story first appeared in a June stand-alone difficulty of The Hollywood Reporter journal. To obtain the journal, click here to subscribe.
