’90s It girl Gretchen Mol says aging “frees” you as an actress.
Gretchen Mol. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP via Getty Images)
Gretchen Mol talks about her life after being the “it girl” of the 90s.
“There are always new, fresh faces in Hollywood,” Mol, 52, said People in an interview published on Saturday, January 4th. “It’s a constant wheel turning. And it’s a youth-loving business – that’s a reality there, but that’s okay.
Mol is perhaps best known for her role as Gillian on HBO’s Boardwalk Empirebut she has also starred in films like All-rounder, The infamous Bettie Page, 3:10 to Yuma And Manchester by the sea.
“I think getting older as an actor actually makes you freer. “You have more wisdom, more moments where you’ve been both up and down, and there’s not as much at stake,” Mol told the outlet. “Your jobs are more about the fun and process of creating than what people think about the result or say about you.”
Mol’s career has slowed since she was dubbed the “it girl” par excellence Vanity Fair in 1998. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she moved from New York City to the Berkshires and chose to stay there with her husband Death Williams to raise her two teenage children: 17-year-old son Ptolemy and 14-year-old daughter Winter.
“We still go into town when we have to, but the kids go to school locally,” Mol said People. “It’s such a small, beautiful community we’ve found here. For most people, I know what they do for a living and they know what I do. And it’s just nice to be with them and know everyone’s names. They’re just really good people.”
According to Mol, her children are hardly interested in her previous professional successes. “Vanity FairIn particular, it meant something that if I tried to explain to my children they would just ask, ‘What?'” she explained.
Mol is currently playing the lead role Ed Burns‘upcoming film, Müller in marriageabout an aging, once-cool rock star who, in his second act, deals with a failed marriage.
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“They’re conversations I have with friends,” she said of the script, which she found relatable given a time in life when your children no longer demand as much attention as they once did.
“I was fortunate to be able to continue working while raising children, but my priorities have shifted,” Mol continued. “But now I have more time to think about the things I’ve always wanted to do.”
