Last week, Pamela Anderson went viral — for her lush, enchanting garden.
She’d never felt comfortable with the whole “sex symbol” thing after all, referring to that pleasure-seeking period as “the blurry years,” and is relishing this softer, quieter chapter of her life, replete with reading, tending to her 15,000-square-foot garden on Vancouver Island and plenty of soul-searching.
“It’s a beautiful day,” she coos. “I’m on the island, loving my garden. It’s such a good place to unplug and refuel.”
Anderson is experiencing a rare break since she’s never been more in demand. It all started with “Pamela, a Love Story,” an eye-opening Netflix documentary exploring her early life and years under the harsh spotlight. It was not only nominated for a pair of Emmys, but caught the eye of filmmaker Gia Coppola, who subsequently offered Anderson the role of a Vegas showgirl who’s aging out of the biz in “The Last Showgirl.” Anderson’s heartfelt, affecting performance earned her the best reviews of her career, as well as Golden Globe and SAG nominations for Best Actress. Then came last year’s studio comedy “The Naked Gun,” where she flexed her comedy muscles en route to even more critical acclaim, followed by a press tour where she and costar Liam Neeson earned plenty of ink cosplaying as a lovey-dovey couple.
Now, the 59-year-old actress has four films coming out in the coming year, the first of which is “Rosebush Pruning.” Directed by Karim Aïnouz and written by Efthimis Filippou (who’s penned most of Yorgos Lanthimos’ films), it’s a provocative, pitch-black satire about a perversely affluent, incestuous family who believe that their mother (Anderson) was consumed by wolves. Tracy Letts plays her perverted husband, while Callum Turner, Jamie Bell, Lukas Gage and Riley Keough star as her very messed up children, and Elle Fanning is Bell’s paramour.
“She was generous and open to taking risks. Her intelligence and sensibility, her refined sense of humor, made the character unique,” Aïnouz says of Anderson. “And moreover, she has a mystery and a charisma which is the trademark of a true movie star.”
And when I say “incestuous,” I mean it. Everyone in this family is having sex with each other, epitomized by a scene midway through the film wherein Turner performs oral sex on Letts’ father while he furiously brushes his teeth. Anderson, 59, enjoys how “Rosebush Pruning” forces people out of their comfort zone and makes them confront the depravity of the filthy rich.
“I like stirring it up and I don’t need to be liked,” she declares.
Below, she tells Variety all about it:
What attracted you to “Rosebush Pruning?” It’s a pretty provocative film, to say the least.
I thought it was timely and a very interesting script. I’m a fan of Efthimis’ and, of course, Yorgos’ work, and so between he and Karim, who I also love, I knew it was going to be visually stimulating and provocative. And I just felt like there is this epidemic of young wealth for no good reason. There is something to be said about that.
I loved when Tracy Letts spoke at the press conference and he said, “It’s about fascism.” It feels like a political film, in a way, but shown artistically, with Karim talking about patriarchy by using his visual and storytelling talent. So, yes, the film is disturbing, but so is a lot in the world. When I read the script, I thought, “This is really weird, but interesting, too.” I knew everyone wasn’t going to fall in love with it because art isn’t always popular. An artists’ responsibility is to confront the truth of things rather than chasing mass approval or trying to please everybody.
Could you talk more about this era we’re currently in where fascism is on the rise along with obscene wealth?
The fascism part is this narcissistic vapidness and empty style — a “clone me” AI unpoetic version of things. I felt this was an interesting expression of the times we’re in. It’s a shocking time and we can’t be too safe in our storytelling or be afraid to go too far. There’s nothing less interesting than inherited wealth, and there are generations of kids out there where I don’t know if they have a lot of empathy. I don’t like gore or gratuitousness, and I don’t think anything here was done for shock value. It’s all part of the story.
When you talk about the flattening of culture and other aspects of society, do you feel social media has a lot to do with that? That it fosters an insidious type of groupthink?
I’ve always thought about that, even with my children. I’m always like, “What are your original thoughts? What is something you think that nobody else does?” It’s important to remember what we love and who we are, and I’ve found that in this chapter of my life I’ve done a lot of soul-searching, and some of it is through my work. Each movie is better than therapy. I don’t want [my kids] to get caught up in other people’s thoughts. It’s very important to remember, “I’m human,” and maybe we need to repeat that to ourselves. It’s a very fast-paced, wild time. And one thing I love about the movie is that it’s so unpredictable and you don’t know what’s coming around the corner. I feel like this is what the cool kids are going to watch.
There is a moment in “Rosebush Pruning” where your character gets into a bathing suit and dives into her pool. Was that intended to be a nod to “Baywatch” at all?
No, not at all! I actually asked Karim if I could jump in the water and it was not in the script. I just felt like I needed to dive in. And I was playing older, in my 60s, and wanted to be free of worrying about what I look like and how I’m perceived. I am a mother, I am in my 60s and I am by my pool, so I told Karim, “Don’t shy away from this. I don’t care. The vanity is gone.”
You were excellent in “The Last Showgirl” and received Golden Globe and SAG nominations for Best Actress. Were you a little disappointed that the Oscars overlooked it?
Oh my gosh! Well, that just seems wild to me to even hear you say something like that. I feel like I’m really at the beginning of my career, in a way. I’ve done a few films since “The Last Show Girl,” including this and “Place to Be,” where I play Ellen Burstyn’s daughter, and she’s one of my heroes. I’m taking everything in like a sponge and have so much more to give. I’m taking the rest of the year off to support the films that I’ve done, because I have four films coming out in the next little while and I want them to be seen. And then, hopefully, I’ll keep on growing, doing new things and challenging myself. But I was pleasantly surprised by how “The Last Showgirl” was received and how many people reached out to congratulate me on the film. Now, I feel like I’m in my groove.
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The last time we spoke, you were very critical of the Hulu series “Pam & Tommy,” and I’m curious if Seth Rogen ever reached out to apologize to you for that. I know you were seeking some sort of acknowledgement that this was an invasion of your privacy.
Well, it was. It was shocking at first, but I’ve let it go. It was a shock. And I feel like that was one of my hurdles as an actress: you want to have mystery to you. And I do have a lot of mystery to me, and there’s plenty that people don’t know about who I am, but when you have so much attention on those kinds of things, it really hinders your ability as an actor. So, I was disappointed. But when I got to play Roxie Hart in “Chicago” on Broadway, I used all that in my work. And then I was lucky enough to get “The Last Showgirl” and “Naked Gun,” and it’s kept going. My entire life I’ve used as material for my characters, so I’m not going to complain about it. It’s all good research.
I enjoyed “The Naked Gun.” Are we going to get a sequel?
I don’t know. There have been a lot of changes at the studio [Paramount], so there are so many variables. Usually, when new people come into studios, new things happen. But I’m glad it did so well and I’m glad I got to do a big studio picture, and a comedy, and a scat solo! My upcoming part in “Place to Be” is not a big part, but there are no small parts, and whatever my part is, I want to give it the attention and love it deserves. I’m taking a break right now in my garden, which I like to do after every film. I just did a film, “Alma,” with Sally Potter and then went straight to my son’s wedding, so it took me a little time to regroup. After the wedding, I came home and now this is my decompressing time.
How was your son Dylan’s wedding? That was in Saint-Tropez, right?
It was in Saint-Tropez, so it was absolutely gorgeous and beautiful and perfect, just like they are. It was wonderful to see Dylan and his beautiful bride there in a wildflower garden in Saint-Tropez. It can’t get any better than that. Saint-Tropez has always been a favorite place of mine. I used to get teased about it by my family, and now everyone seems to love it. So, there ya go!
You’ve been tending to your garden for quite some time, but your gardening content has really blown up online of late. What does gardening do for you?
Oh, it’s very therapeutic. Right now, I’m surrounded by roses. I plant things all the time, and this year, everything just kicked in. As they say: sleep, creep, leap, and this is one of those years where everything is leaping out of the ground. I just take my clippers and my basket and go down to the garden in the morning when the sun’s coming up. I’m lucky enough to have a garden with an ocean view, which is unique and special. It’s really grounding, and I get a lot of my ideas and thoughts about characters there. I read in my garden, and sometimes, I even read to my flowers.
I know you live your life in chapters, and I know there were a few decades of wild-and-crazy — “the blurry years,” as I call them — but here I am, and I’m not taking this time for granted. This feels like a second chance that appeared out of nowhere. As soon as I thought, OK, I’m going to settle into my garden, make pickles and jams and write in my journal and I’ll be happy, all these films came up one after another.
As far as turning the page goes, there were reports that you’d turned down a role in Fox’s upcoming “Baywatch” reboot.
I’d never heard anything about it! I didn’t talk to them about it. I think they spoke to my sons about producing or something, and they didn’t do it.
You’ve long been a staunch advocate for environmental conservation and animal rights. How are you coping with a presidential administration that is the worst we’ve ever seen when it comes to those things?
We have to take those matters into our own hands and live as sustainably as we can. I love that my food comes from my garden, and I pickle and I’m as vegan as I can be — even though I don’t like that word because I don’t like to label anything. We should do the best we can and not push our views on other people as well; we should answer to ourselves. When I am home, I’m making these big soups and give a lot of my vegetables to the soup kitchens, family, friends and local schools.
And yes, I am a pickler. I pickle cucumbers, radishes, anything. You can pickle anything! I did something with Flamingo Estate where we made pickles to raise money for animal charities, like the California Wildlife Center and Return to Freedom, who rescues wild horses. My friend Dan Mathews, who used to be the vice president of PETA, works for Save the Chimps, which is chimpanzees that are rescued from experimentation, so I did four big batches of pickles and raised money for these different charities that I’ve worked at and been to. If you’re on the pickle list, it means I love you! If you receive pickles in the mail, it always puts a smile on your face. You can’t be unhappy getting a jar of pickles. I’ll have to get your address.
I love pickles. You once wrote an op-ed that I edited about freeing Julian Assange, and I know that was an important cause of yours. What is the status of your relationship?
There’s just a mutual respect and I’m glad he’s free and with family.
On the “Naked Gun” press tour, when it was revealed that you and Liam had been romantic, what was your experience of everyone rooting for you guys as a couple?
When there is chemistry on a film, that’s what you want — you want people to fall in love with the love that you’ve created onscreen, and that’s what people did. So, that was good! That means we did our jobs OK.
You star in Michael Cera’s upcoming directorial debut, right?
“Love Is Not the Answer.” This is a complete transformation. My hair is red, and that was like a Hail Mary. That was an incredible experience with Michael. He brought things out of me that I didn’t know were in there. I’m very excited for people to see it. And then I did “Sundays” with Billy Bob Thornton, which is a more joyful character. The story is very sad, actually, but my character brings a little bit of light. And then I have “Alma” with Sally Potter. That was, like, a religious experience. It takes place over one night in London and it was wild. That’s a black-and-white film, and she’s editing it. And now, I’m just walking in circles in my garden. It’s been a crazy couple of years!
You said that you feel like your career is just beginning, and given everything you’ve been through and all the ups and downs, how does it feel to now be considered a highly respected actress?
Well, I love that. I’m so grateful because I do work very hard; I study and work with acting teachers. I want to find out what I’m made of. I’m just scratching the surface and have a whole lot more to give. I want to ascend, and keep working, and be on the radar of all these incredible artists and talented people. I want to keep exploring myself. I feel like I have nothing to lose, so why not keep pushing?
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