Mary Louise Parker on Naomi Watts & Billy Crudups wedding: I wish them well
Mary Louise Parker is now and has always been a real one. She’s done it all, from movies to TV shows to theater to voice acting. She’s currently promoting her voice work on an Audible original podcast called Murder in Bermuda, which is why she chatted with the Guardian via video conference. She called in from Bucharest, where she’s filming something about the Civil War. Her range, honestly. Mary Louise chatted with the Guardian about voice work, theatre work, living in Brooklyn and then, at the end of the piece, the Guardian asks her about her ex’s recent wedding. Billy Crudup – the man who left her while she was seven months pregnant with their son – married Naomi Watts in a quiet ceremony last week. Some highlights:
Her voice work on podcasts & audiobooks: “It’s a weird exercise because it’s very technical. Sometimes your voice gets really, really tired. I would never do an audiobook while I’m doing a play because it’s just too tiring for the voice. This came about like when I just finished a play and I liked the character so …”
Her work on Weeds & The West Wing: “Even if you do one episode of something, it’s immediate, the people’s reactions to you on the street, you just become much more visible … I always considered myself like a regional theater actress who does, like, you know, Broadway and then, like, I do, like, some movies or whatever sometimes …”
When she first did Weeds: “Chris Rock made fun of me at the Golden Globes because nobody knew what Showtime was. I just took it because I liked that part.” Now rumors are swirling about a Weeds reboot. “Every time I ask, it seems to be close. But because of the strike, we don’t know. And it can fall apart at any time.” She says she isn’t getting her hopes up. “It’s just … I’m so much older now. It’s like it doesn’t have the same currency, you know, for a woman of my age, so I don’t know. But I think if they actually use that, it could be interesting.”
She used to have a farm in upstate New York: It was where she made maple syrup and tended to goats. But she isn’t comfortable driving a car, and the chauffeuring duties fell to “whatever boyfriend or like babysitter or whomever”, she said. “I just … worked it out.” Now that one of her kids is out of high school, and the other has only one year to go till graduation, she has sold the farm. As charming as the simple life was, it was tricky to pull off. Her current life is centered in Brooklyn. She keeps a low profile, and takes cues from her good friend, Laura Linney. “Laura takes the subway, and it’s like Laura, you know, she went to theater school and she keeps doing theater. We have a similar thing where we’re not, like, running for office in Hollywood.”
On Botox: “How do you express stuff? I’m a theatre actress. As you can see by my forehead and my eyes, I like to be able to express myself. It’s like, if I can’t move my forehead, there’s so many things you can’t convey.”
On Billy Crudup’s marriage: When Parker speaks with the Guardian, news of Crudup’s surprise courthouse marriage to Naomi Watts is only three days old. She seems stunned to be asked about this – we’d been talking about books, and Botox and Brooklyn. “I wish them well,” she’s quick to say, her eyes a little betrayed. “And absolutely, I honestly of course wish them every happiness because that’s my son’s father. So I’m happy for them. I’m happy they found each other –”
That last part was when the publicist cut off the interview, basically. At first I was like “oh, so did Crudup even tell MLP that he was getting married?” I think she did know (maybe not from him) and she was just surprised to be asked about it. In the years since Crudup left her, MLP usually just avoids talking about him completely, and her publicist must instruct journalists not to even go there. Anyway, MLP is a real one and I wish her the best. She deserves the world and I really wish she worked more, especially on television. Hire her!!
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
135302, Mary-Louise Parker seen arriving for the opening night of Broadway play ‘Gigi’ at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York City. New York, New York – Wednesday April 8, 2015. Photograph: © Darla Khazei, PacificCoastNews.,Image: 508465474, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – DIRECT SALES ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Darla Khazei, PacificCoastNews / Avalon 
Mary Louise Parker attends the New York Women in Film and Television 37th Annual MUSE Awards, Hilton Midtown Hotel, New York.,Image: 512901354, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Dennis Van Tine / Avalon 
Mary-Louise Parker at the premiere of ‘Red Sparrow’ at the Alice Tully Hall in New York’s Lincoln Center. New York City, New York – Monday February 26, 2018.,Image: 534744000, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Dennis Van Tine / AvalonncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcWpiZYV2e8yaqbKXnKTCqr%2FEmKeaqpuav6C7zZilmqednqy4rdOtqpiamaG5uqvCq6ydraCorLixw52gp5%2BPnqy4tdKhlq2glaKsuLHLpWY%3D