Senior Planet talks to…Mary-Louise Parker

Two-time Tony winner Mary-Louise Parker,  61,has  delighted us on Broadway in shows like Prelude to a Kiss, Bus Stop, The Sound Inside and Proof; we welcomed her into our homes with her memorable TV roles in Weeds, The West Wing and Angels in America.

A long-time Brooklyn resident and mum-of-two, the South Carolina native catches up with SENIOR PLANET about her new role as the director of a secret agency for kidnapped teen geniuses in the chilling Stephen King series, The Institute:

Q: The Institute’s Julia Sigsby is a very dark character. What drew you to play her?

MARY-LOUISE: Because Stephen King is the master of this genre. So I was thrilled to play a character that’s this extreme. I’d also previously worked on another Stephen King series, Mr. Mercedes, and he came to visit. He was lovely and such a gentleman.

Q: Was it weird being so mean to kids who are roughly the same age as your daughter Caroline, 18, and son William Atticus, 21?

MARY-LOUISE: Giving them booze and cigarettes and having them stay up all night!? Yes, it was kind of crazy. And that’s part of the brilliance of the narrative, that it’s so encouraging of them being debauched and that they’re gonna take these kids and ruin them in the name of potentially saving the world, which I do think my character believes she is doing – and that’s how they justify everything.

Q: Speaking of kids, are you empty nesting now?

MARY-LOUISE: I guess so. They’re at college, but they also have summer and holidays so it doesn’t feel entirely empty. We also might move someplace else.

Q: You’re so celebrated for your theatre work, I can’t imagine you moving away from New York?

MARY-LOUISE:  I know. The theater is the whole reason I moved to New York, and it’s all I ever wanted to be. But the country is a strange place to live at the moment, and travel bans, and it’s just a lot of bizarreness. Most of me loves New York and wants to preserve what I have here and in the States.

Q: Are there any dream roles you still yearn to play?

MARY-LOUISE: I think of myself as a theater actor but also as a new play actor – the majority of the plays that I’ve done have been new plays. It’s the thing I’m most proud of, actually, that so many new plays have been produced that I was in. So I’m always waiting for that next one to just fall right into my lap and just praying there’s one more. And it is greedy of me, because I’ve had more than my share. But one more would be great.

Q: About 12 years ago, you said you were considering quitting acting. What changed your mind?

MARY-LOUISE: When I said that, I had just done two movies, R.I.P.D and Red 2 and there was back to back press junkets. And when I said that, I think I had done 78 interviews in the space of three days. So I could have said anything, like I didn’t even know my name at that point! But I do remember people writing me notes the next day. And I was like: Oh, guys, I was tired!

Q: What does a day in your life look like?

MARY-LOUISE: I wake up early and meditate. My favorite time of day is 5am. And then I feed and walk the dog. I have a new dog from Korea so I’m training him. And then I write for a while. I also just started an online art gallery called Parker & Gillingham so I work on that. It’s all women, trans and non binary people, and it’s all philanthropic with a lot of the sales going to charity. We also have a huge database for every state where you can donate art and school supplies. So I work on that, and then one of my children has a crisis, and then the other one has a crisis, and then I do something else with the dog, and then I read some poetry and go to bed – often as early as 9.30pm.

Q: What do you do for exercise and nutrition?

MARY-LOUISE: I do yoga. I’ve been doing it since I was 17 but I took a long break when my kids were little because yoga is a time commitment. I also do some physical therapy. I don’t eat meat but I eat fish. I’m not a foodie, so I like very bland food. I could eat the same six things for the rest of my life. I don’t really care about fancy food.

Q: Amazing. What are your top foods?

MARY-LOUISE: Avocado, fish, greens, nuts – I love peanut butter.  And bread and cheese. I don’t really eat much else.

Q: What kind of dog did you get from Korea?

MARY-LOUISE: He’s a mystery breed, but I really have grown to love dogs. I feel about dogs the way I used to feel about men –  like I really just love my dog so much. I just want my dog to be there all the time.

Q: Will you continue working forever?

MARY-LOUISE: If there are plays I want to do, yeah. And I would write still too. I wrote for Esquire for a long time, and some other publications. But, you get older and your brain gets rusty. It used to just flow forth and constantly be there and available, and now I have to reach for it.

Q: What’s on your bucket list?

MARY-LOUISE: No, I think I’d like to just wake up and really, really like myself.

Oh, We all like you – so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t!?

MARY-LOUISE: Yeah, but I’m a human being. And I think that my desires are more like: I want my kids to be okay. I can’t think of anything I’d want to do other than maybe write another book.

Q: What’s your secret to aging with attitude?

MARY-LOUISE: It sounds corny, but I think doing things for other people gives you energy. So I like to bake and bring people pies. I’ve been on a pie thing lately – apple, pear and berry pies. I think trying to focus on other people is key, because when I start thinking about myself all the time, I don’t do as well. It’s better to find other things to focus on – and that’s why kids and dogs are great.

The Institute is streaming on MGM+

Credit: Chris Reardon | MGM+

 

Gill Pringle began her career as a rock columnist for popular British newspapers, traveling the world with Madonna, U2 and Michael Jackson. Moving to Los Angeles 27 years ago, she interviews film and TV personalities for prestigious UK outlets, The Independent, The i-paper and The Sunday Times – and, of course, Senior Planet. A member of Critics Choice Association, BAFTA and AWFJ, she wrote the screenplay for 2016 Netflix family film, The 3 Tails Movie: A Mermaid Adventure. An award-winning writer, in 2021 she was honored by the Los Angeles Press Club with 1st prize at the NAEJ Awards.