She’s been acting since she was seven years old, but Diane Lane had a very different dream. The Hollywood star tells Juliet Rieden about her wild childhood, missing her mum and playing a baddie in the new season of House of Cards.
Diane Lane is giggling. She’s just remembered a particular night she spent at the White House a few years back. Barack Obama was still President and Diane was one of the guests at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. This is the glittering fundraising bash where journalists mix with politicians, senators and specially invited celebrities, and the President gives a usually pretty funny speech.
“When the cast members from House of Cards arrived it was like royalty had walked in, because these people [the polticos] are so in love with themselves and they think that all the plot points are really about them,” Diane explains, still laughing. “It was the penultimate one in the Obama administration and a good time was had by all. It made the Oscars feel like a puppet show.”
Diane was super excited to meet Barack and Michelle, but she sensed something else was going on for the other guests. “For these people [working in the White House], the actors are not playing characters; this is real life. They’re really invested.”
The fact that most of the key characters in the show are self-serving, ruthless and duplicitous at best and mendacious and murderous at worst, didn’t seem to bother this political clique, but it’s an irony not lost on Diane. “They were just excited to have a show about them. It may be dark but they can’t turn away,” she says.
Hop forward a few years and Diane is now one of that hallowed cast. “I never had any imagination that I would ever be asked to be part of that show at that time,” she adds.
The 53-year-old star of stage and screen was hurriedly hired, along with Hollywood’s Greg Kinnear, as part of the revamp of series six of the hit Netflix drama when Kevin Spacey was sacked following allegations of sexual misconduct last year.
Esta historia es de la edición Christmas 2018 de The Australian Women's Weekly.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición Christmas 2018 de The Australian Women's Weekly.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Maggie's kitchen
Maggie Beer's delicious veg patties - perfect for lunch, dinner or a snack - plus a simple nostalgic pudding with fresh passionfruit.
Reclaim your brain
Attention span short? Thoughts foggy? Memory full of gaps? Brigid Moss investigates the latest ways to sharpen your thinking.
The girls from Oz
Melbourne music teacher Judith Curphey challenged the patriarchy when she started Australia's first all-girls choir. Forty years later that bold vision has 6500 members, life-changing programs and a new branch of the sisterhood in Singapore.
One kid can change the world
In 2018, 10-year-old Jack Berne started A Fiver for a Farmer to raise funds for drought relief. He and mum Prue share what happened next.
AFTER THE WAVE
Twenty years ago, the Boxing Day tsunami tore across the Indian Ocean, shredding towns, villages and holiday resorts, and killing hundreds of thousands of people from Indonesia to Africa. Three Australians share their memories of terror, loss and survival with The Weekly.
PATRICIA KARVELAS How childhood tragedy shaped me
Patricia Karvelas hustled hard to chase her dreams, but it wasn't easy. In a deeply personal interview, the ABC host talks about family loss, finding love, battles fought and motherhood.
Ripe for the picking
Buy a kilo or two of fresh Australian apricots because they're at their peak sweetness now and take inspiration from our lush recipe ideas that showcase this divine stone fruit.
Your stars for 2025
The Weekly’s astrologer, Lilith Rocha, reveals what’s in store for your astrological sign in 2025. For your monthly horoscope, turn to page 192.
MEL SCHILLING Cancer made me look at myself differently'
One year on from going public with her bowel cancer diagnosis, Mel Schilling reveals where she's at with her health journey and how it's changed her irrevocably.
Nothing like this Dame Judi
A few weeks before her 90th birthday, the acting legend jumped on a phone call with The Weekly to talk about her extraordinary life – and what’s still to come.
