15 December 2014
Newsdesk
Meryl Streep finds it "kind of fun" when young actors are scared of her.
The 65-year-old actress is one of the most celebrated stars in the business, having been nominated for an Oscar 18 times. Sometimes her reputation precedes her, leading to up-and-coming stars getting terrible bouts of nerves when they are sharing a set with her.
"Yeah, it's kind of like you... people are scared of you. Yes they are! It's kind of fun isn't it?" she laughed to US talk show host David Letterman. "I know that, I'm like this big train coming in with a lot of steam and noise and funk. But yeah, I think it's a little overblown, the expectation."
Meryl and her husband Don Gummer have four children; Henry, Mamie, Grace and Louisa. The eldest three are all in the entertainment business, although that doesn't mean they always turn to their mother for advice.
"There's only one that isn't. Well, she's the best one. No, I'm just kidding! She's the youngest [Louisa]. So there's still hope! She's working at an advertising agency, she has an actual job, she goes every day, never misses," Meryl explained.
"Musician is my son, he's the oldest and Mamie and Grace are both actresses. I'm very proud of them. Basically I think it's probably pretty daunting to be my child and say, y'know, this is what you're gonna do. And I think they're very brave or, y'know, nuts."
While Meryl supports her children as best she can, she doesn't watch everything her actress daughters are involved with. That isn't always her choice though.
"I'm not allowed to see certain things because it would upset me. I heard about a scene Grace was in and she said, 'You are never to watch this.' In America Horror whatever [TV show American Horror Story: Freak Show]... No, no, it's cruelty. Worse than nudity, really."
The esteemed actress also touched on receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom last month. It's the highest civilian award in the US and initially Meryl was shocked to hear she was receiving it. The news came through while she was shooting a movie, and she considered turning it down.
"We were shooting a film in the fall, a rock and roll movie, that had to come to a screeching halt because this call was coming in from Air Force One. They wanted to talk to me and I was really scared that I'd done something wrong," she laughed.
"I was flabbergasted and chagrined 'cos I tried to talk them out of it. Because I felt I didn't deserve it, I felt that it's such a high honour. Then they told me that all sorts of wonderful artists get it and golfers and ball players and I felt better."
