Annette Bening (‘Nyad’) on playing outspoken marathon swimmer Diana Nyad: ‘I immediately wanted to do it’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“I remember hearing about the swim at the time that she achieved it, but I didn’t follow her,” says “Nyad” star Annette Bening, who plays the titular role of Diana Nyad in the Netflix movie. Although the four-time Oscar nominee wasn’t familiar with the athlete’s previous achievements, she does say, “I used to listen to her on NPR. She used to be on NPR regularly, and I remember her voice and I remember the timbre of it, and just her intelligence. She would weigh in on controversial, ethical issues in athletics. I remember that, but I didn’t really know a lot about her.” Watch the exclusive video interview with Gold Derby above.
Bening was instantly drawn to the script penned by Nyad and Julia Cox. “I immediately wanted to do it,” she says. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, this story is great!’ I was moved by it and moved by her. I was very excited.” The film tells the story of Nyad who, at the age of 60, commits to achieving her life-long dream: a 110-mile open ocean swim from Cuba to Florida. Academy Award winners Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi directed the film.
SEE ‘Nyad’ exclusive video: Alexandre Desplat discusses his score for the Netflix drama [Watch]
Co-starring with Bening is two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster who plays Nyad’s coach, Bonnie Stoll. “Jodie is more experienced than anybody, always, unless maybe my husband (Warren Beatty) is on the set. She’s been in the business 57 years. She just turned 61. She started when she was a little kid. She is incredibly experienced. She’s a director, she’s a writer. She really gets the practical part of the business…She brings all that to the table, but she doesn’t take herself very seriously. They told me they were going to ask her to do the movie and I was like, ‘Are you kidding? Oh my God, that would be so amazing!’ When she signed on I was just over the moon.”
Bening goes into more detail about her experience on the film and also talks about her own awards history. “My favorite part is seeing all my buddies that I made the movie with, because for a while, especially during the strike, we didn’t get to see each other,” she says of awards season. “You become really close and this was a tough movie to make. When something’s tough you get even closer.” The movie star also shares a laugh when asked if she and her husband Warren Beatty share their Oscar ballots with each other. “There have probably been times when we’ve discussed it,” she reveals. “But I do it separately. I sneak on my computer and do it myself.”
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