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Julianne Moore has a few thoughts on what the definition of "making it" in Hollywood is. As part of our 2024 Women in Hollywood portfolio, the actress discusses the project that changed the trajectory of her career, the first time she was nominated for an Oscar, and what she hopes other women get out of seeing her onscreen.

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Transcript
00:00I'm Julianne Moore and I'm a woman in Hollywood.
00:03So the Hollywood moment that still amazes me
00:05is the first time that I was nominated for an Oscar.
00:07It was an interesting time in my life
00:09because I was so busy with the baby in my life
00:13and I had a treadmill in my garage
00:16and then I went into my garage and I ran on the treadmill
00:18and then boom, the nomination came in
00:20and I was like, I just got nominated for an Oscar.
00:23Like I can't believe it.
00:26It was just really, really shocking.
00:31To make it in Hollywood, that's a tough one.
00:33You know, what's the definition of making it?
00:36What do you mean by making it?
00:37Does that mean that you are satisfied
00:39with the work that you're doing?
00:40Does that mean that you're working with the people
00:42that you wanna work with,
00:43telling the stories that you wanna tell?
00:44Does that mean that you are able to make a living doing it?
00:47I think that there are lots of ways to define making it.
00:50I think you have to think about what it is
00:53that you care about.
00:54What it is that you're pursuing,
00:56what your goals are, what fuels you
00:58and you have to kind of figure out
01:02what that is for yourself in order to achieve it.
01:06The project that changed the trajectory of my career
01:09was Safe, Todd Haynes' film
01:13that I was so, so lucky to get.
01:15I really spent the first decade of my career
01:17working primarily in television
01:20and doing some off-Broadway and fringy things
01:23and wasn't able to book a feature.
01:25And then suddenly, along came independent film
01:28and there was this movie that I desperately wanted
01:31and auditioned for and I got.
01:32And it really changed everything for me.
01:34It changed the way that I wanted to work,
01:36it changed how people perceived me
01:38and it really was the beginning of my film career.
01:41When other women see me on screen,
01:44I hope they see themselves
01:46because I think that that's what film is.
01:48I think that we go to the movies
01:49to see ourselves reflected, to see our own stories,
01:52to kind of receive validation for our own human frailties.
01:58And when we see that,
01:59when we recognize ourselves in a character,
02:02we feel known, we feel less alone.
02:06So I think that that's why we do it.
02:08I know that that's what I get out of watching the movies.
02:10I get a sense of being part of a human community
02:13so I hope that that's what women get out of watching me.
02:17I don't know about the future of Hollywood
02:19in terms of what the business model is,
02:23but what I do know is that we continue to look for stories
02:25that are interesting and stories that are human
02:27and stories that are entertaining
02:29and that always persists.
02:31So that is what goes on and on and on.

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