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WithAnnairing on PBSsGreat Performanceson June 19, 2020 at 9pm ET, were sharing this interview from 2018.
That expansive, generous human spirit.
It was the most marvelous experience of my life.
I think thats what actually made me do this from day one.
It was right after she died, and then early in 07, I was researching this.
I just couldnt stand that she was gone.
Ann Richards should be president.
What would Ann say?
You do it yourself, Im not kidding.
I became fascinated with it, how prevalent she is still in the American imagination.
Shes also very, very, very comforting.
Its an odd combination.
However, I cant get inside that sense of humor in the sense that …
I knew one thing that would be true of her.
We will grow from this.
We will emerge from this.
It feels like people are still grappling with what it means to have powerful women in politics.
Did playing Ann give you insight into the prejudice against them?Our country is the operative word.
It is particular to us and I couldnt begin to hazard an opinion about why but theres no precedent.
That really just broke her heart, because think of what it means!
Now the ERA is getting ratified all over the place now, but who knows?
There is something there, particularly in America, that I think is profoundly repressive for women.
Ann was a mans woman.
Ann was so attractive to men.
I dont mean that in the obvious sense.
I mean she appealed to men.
Incandescent because she inspired.
People knew she was true.
People knew she was authentic and true-blue and you cant buy that.
That was a call to action because my whole quest to this has been full of purpose …
This has been the joy and the meaning of my life.
I certainly have been profoundly affected by her influence on me.
Absolutely no question about it.
While I do occasionally make the political tweet, again its not politics.
Its really bigger than that, you know?
Its kind of an approach to life.
Its really her approach to life.
Its a very contagious quality, that kind of life.
One of the things people remember so much about Ann is her wit, and her insults specifically.
Something really bad has happened.
Ann could be very profane and vulgar in her own language in certain circumstances.
She was a good old girl in that sense.
I do say fucking in the play.
[Where Richardssaid George W. Bush was born with a silver foot in his mouth.]
It was a great line.
Jane Wagner had sent it to her.
It was Jane Wagners idea.
Various people said, Oh, you cant say that.
So she did use it, but let me say something about it.
Its absolutely key to the woman issue.
This reveals an actual cancerous sort of a frame of mind.
Its just something that I notice.
I feel and I recognize it.
If thats true, that is really appalling.
And Karl Rove practiced extraordinary dirty politics in that campaign, did extraordinary things.
For some reason, I often play people who are rich which I am not.
And that was the greatest experience ever.
To play this warm, connected person who was vital and connected to people and cared about people.
Do you find yourself missing that experience?Oh terribly.
I miss it very much.
It was also physically just incredibly taxing.
Out of pure ego, I insisted that I do eight shows a week.
- No one person show does that.
I was 70 when I opened that show.
I dont know what the hell I was thinking.
I just said Ill do it, you know?
I say I miss it, but getting it back up again is a half a year.
Youre in Sebastian Lelios Julianne Moore remake ofGloriaand filming a few other TV roles.
Do you plan to come back to the stage soon?Oh, yes.
I didFront Pagelast year, and I didRipcordthe year before that and then I didAnnin between.
I did three theater things in a row and its really good for me.
I think its where Im happiest.
Its my natural habitat.
I came very late to working on film and television and Im not that good at it.
I think the roles for me will be in theater much more than film and television.
I think Europeans must shake their heads at us.
They must wonder [why] a 70-year-old woman is not respected and not a figure of interest.
Theaters are more likely to have a role that Im going to want to play than the other.
There will be more roles.
That was what I hoped for.
Its a very light feeling.
How do you let it go?
There is something parental about it.
It requires great devotion, great commitment, great love, and then it takes wings.
This is winging off into the air, and it will remain in the air.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
*The original interview incorrectly stated Taylor did eight weeks of shows, not eight shows a week.
