Golden Globe winner actress Moss says optimistic on role of women in cinema

U.S. awarded actress Elisabeth Moss said she was optimistic on the role of women in cinema nowadays in an interview with Xinhua in Cannes, France. (Photo: GabboT/ Flickr)

CANNES–U.S. awarded actress Elisabeth Moss said she was optimistic on the role of women in cinema nowadays in an interview with Xinhua in Cannes, France.

Present at the Cannes Film Festival with the TV series “Top of the Lake-China Girl” by Jane Campion and with the Sunday’s awarded Golden Palm winner film “The Square” by Ruben Ostsund, Moss said “I have been lucky in the sense I worked with some great men who were very secure of themselves and don’t feel the need to suppress other women voices.”

“Sometimes I entered a room where I felt I was considered the actress and maybe nothing more,” Moss told Xinhua.

Moss successfully starred “The Square” by Ruben Ostsund, at the moment she is busy with “The Handmaid’s Tale”, another critically-acclaimed series. Moss for her work on TV got a Golden Globe for “Top of the Lake” and six Emmy Awards nominations for “Mad Men”.

On the role of women in cinema nowadays, Moss said that it is getting better and definitely improving. There are women that are taking it upon themselves as filmmaker, producers, studio staff or even as actresses. There are also women who are taking care that other women can get hired behind the camera but in general this positive process of inclusion has to continue to happen until this is no longer an issue.

Moss then commented “I’m positive but it was shocking to see that during the 70th celebrations here in Cannes that Jane Campion was the only female director to have won the Golden Palm. I think you have to constantly do something and not only say just few words something, it is key to hire women behind the camera and not just talk about it.”

She continues “I have seen a change so much in the past 10-15 years, the field is so competitive and there are so many incredible female performances and I have seen women win and other lose.”

Moss then spoke about a positive female model for her. “Jodie Foster was for me a huge inspiration for the first season of this TV series and I had the opportunity to tell her that a couple of years later, which was very cool.”

“When I got the part in season one. The hardest thing for me was just how am I going to look tough? Then I thought Jodie Foster in “The Silence of the Lambs” did it so, maybe I could try to do it. She has a certain fragility and vulnerability, but she is so smart, her power lies in her intelligence”.

After Jodie, Moss was also inspired by Mireille Enos as well in the TV series “The Killings”. “She made an incredible performance,”the U.S. actress said.

Talking always about inspiring women, Moss was very happy with the collaboration with Jane Campion.

“It feels like she is supporting you, making you feel safe, Jane makes you feel this is your stage, she tells you that you just need to play around and try things, that incredibly makes you feel confident,” Moss explained.

Asked about her work on set, Moss said that the character she played here was probably the most different from her she ever played in the past me, “she so closed off and so shut down sometimes, I can tell you that I’m not like that and I’m a little bit the worst poker face and it is hard for me not to show my emotions,” she added.

For Moss the long format TV is very rewarding as an actor because you get to spend much more time with the character and you really get to try to find so many different elements during the shooting. That’s a challenge. But she prefers also to vary her characters rather than playing a repetitive roles.

On her role as detective, Moss said she tried to seem to have some experience of being a cop. “I was very lucky to have a great detective consultant in Sydney, she taught me everything, she was wonderful,” she stressed.

Finally questioned on what makes a TV series successful nowadays, Moss answered without hesitation, “have a good writing”.