Anne Archer Career Retrospective | SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations

Anne shares stories about her performances in Fatal Attraction, Short Cuts, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger in this interview on her acting career. She gives advice for beginning actors, and discusses working with Robert Altman, preparing for roles, doing stunt work, and her philanthropy through the Artists for Human Rights organization. This Q&A moderated by Michelle Danner is part of the SAG-AFTRA Conversations series, an essential resource for actors, filmmakers and students of discussions with performers, exploring the process and profession of acting.

Anne Archer was nominated for an Academy Award®, a Golden Globe and the British (BAFTA) Academy Award for her role as Michael Douglas' sympathetic, tortured wife, Beth Gallagher, in Adrian Lyne's 1987 thriller, "Fatal Attraction." Archer is also well-known for her poignant Golden Globe-winning performance in the ensemble cast of Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" and for playing CIA agent Jack Ryan's beleaguered wife, Cathy, in "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger."

Throughout her motion picture career, she has starred opposite some of Hollywood's most dynamic and respected leading men, not only Michael Douglas and Harrison Ford, but also Gene Hackman in "Narrow Margin," Donald Sutherland in "Eminent Domain" and Sylvester Stallone in "Paradise Alley”, Tommy Lee Jones in “Man of the House”. In 2012 she co-starred in “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” with Mathew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. That same year she starred along with an ensemble cast in the feature film “Lullaby” with Garrett Hedland, Richard Jenkins, Amy Adams, Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard.

In 2009 she co-starred in The CW’s series “Privileged” as a jet-setting founder of an international cosmetics empire. For two seasons she played Jennifer Love Hewitt’s strong yet vulnerable mother on CBS’ popular “Ghost Whisperer” and previously appeared in Showtime’s provocative series “The L Word.” Most recently she guest starred in an episode of LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT entitled 'Mama'.

In 2014 she produced her first feature film “The Squeeze” written and directed by her husband Terry Jastrow.

On London’s West End, in 2001 Archer played the role of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate .

In 2014 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Archer played the role of Jane Fonda in The Trial of Jane Fonda (written by her husband, Terry Jastrow).

In 2016 she received rave reviews for her performance in the London theatrical production at the Park Theatre, which received an Offie Nomination for “Best New Play”. The theatrical presentation deals with a little-known event in 1988, in which Fonda confronted a room full of hostile war vets.

In the spring of 2020 Miss Archer will develop and star in the debut of a one woman play “A Ticket to the Circus” about Norris Church Mailer, the wife of Norman Mailer adapted into a play from her book of the same name and performed at The Edgemar Theatre in Santa Monica California.

Born into a show business family, she followed in the footsteps of her parents, actress Marjorie Lord (TV’s “Make Room for Daddy”) and actor John Archer (“White Heat”). Archer studied theatre arts at Claremont College before debuting on the motion picture screen opposite Jon Voight in “The All-American Boy.” She won critical acclaim for her leading role in “Lifeguard” as Sam Elliott¹s old flame.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America appointed her as their first National Public Advocacy Chairman; and she served in this role for seven years. In recognition of this commitment, Ms. Magazine honored her as one of their six “Women of the Year” (1988).

In 2006 she founded Artists for Human Rights (AFHR) with the purpose of bringing artists together with the common cause of promoting human rights and activism by raising awareness of those rights as laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. AFHR works inclusively with allied organizations to bring artistic expression to bear in the human rights arena through a multitude of artistic campaigns and international partnerships thus increasing responsibility, peace and tolerance around the world.

0:00 Introduction
1:35 Beginnings in acting
2:56 Fatal Attraction
8:55 Education
10:53 Theater
16:08 Approaching roles
20:46 Roles you want, hardest role
23:40 Improvisation, Robert Altman
26:15 Stunts
31:56 Getting in the zone
35:24 Artists for Human Rights
42:02 Advice for a beginning actor
46:30 Challenges in the industry
49:00 Leaving comfort zone