Michelle Pfeiffer may 54-years old, but her works through acting such Dark Shadow, her new movie to thumbs. She back to spotlight after quite long enough not hear about her. I guess, being a parent of two teenagers is taking her time mostly.
In Parade newest issues, asked which is the harder: parenting or acting?
“Being a parent is the hardest thing in the world … the psychological toll it takes on you because these lives are in your hands. I take it very seriously. Just when you think you’ve got your kids figured out, they change on you. For somebody who’s controlling, you can’t control it. Of course, I don’t think I’m controlling, but that’s what I’ve been told!”
Pfeiffer tells about the empty room, since her children, Claudia Rose 18-years-old and John Henry, 17-years old will be out of the house to college.
“People make a lot of jokes about the empty nest. Let me tell you, it is no laughing matter. It is really hard. Claudia’s in her first year of college. She’s doing great. My son is applying to colleges now. I remember reading an interview with Dustin Hoffman; his first child had just gone off to college, and he said, “Nobody talks about their [empty] room.” I feel like I’m going to cry just thinking about it.”
“Are you hot? I am. Or am I having a big hot flash? Did I really just say that? That will be a headline; I can see it. [laughs]”
Pfeiffer “got lucky” on her marriage that has been 19 years, with David E. Kelly, TV Writer-producer.
“I chose really well with David. I got really lucky. … And 19 years later, I never take him for granted. I’ve never met a person who has more integrity than my husband. I respect that. There’s his humor and intelligence, too, and he’s really cute, all those things—but if you don’t respect your partner, you’ll get sick of him.”
Pfeiffer really preserving the integrity of the family and not to confuse between work and family. She says, “I’d worry about coming home and complaining to him about the people I work with. I wouldn’t want to bring my work home with me like that.”
It does not mean that she will not a series with her husband, the chance is still there since, “David’s the best in terms of developing things for women.”
“But it doesn’t mean we won’t do something together one day. I couldn’t ask for anyone better. David’s the best in terms of developing things for women. I watch [his shows] and I turn to him and say, “I hope these actors realize how lucky they are.”
Not telling her children about her first marriage with Peter Horton, until they are grown up enough, I consider as good decision.
“I married Peter at a very young age. I’m not the same person I was then. I forget I was even married before. … Actually, I didn’t tell my kids for the longest time. They were old when I finally said, ‘Oh, by the way, just FYI, I was married once before.’ They were like, ‘What?!’ It had never occurred to me to tell them.”
Asked about her success, she shares about her notion that “I Can Do Anything.”
“I don’t know if it’s naïveté or just narcissism, but I start out with this notion that I can do anything. It’s not until I get into it that I realize what I’ve thrown myself into, and then I will do anything not to humiliate myself. And that, I think, is the secret to my success.”
