WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.660 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today, we are 00:00:02.660 --> 00:00:05.480 immersing ourselves in the world of, well, a 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:07.940 performer whose career isn't really a straight 00:00:07.940 --> 00:00:10.820 line at all. It's more like a series of fascinating, 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:15.679 almost defiant zigzags. We're unpacking the extraordinary 00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:19.920 and often delightfully eccentric journey of Angelica 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:22.539 Houston. She's an artist who's really defined 00:00:22.539 --> 00:00:25.719 cinematic menace and elegance for decades. Oh, 00:00:25.739 --> 00:00:29.399 absolutely. Moving so seamlessly from, say, high 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:32.399 fashion modeling to directing Oscar nominated 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:35.939 dramas. Exactly. And all while embodying these 00:00:35.939 --> 00:00:39.119 truly iconic characters. I mean, Morticia Adams, 00:00:39.380 --> 00:00:41.219 the Grand High Witch. And forgettable roles. 00:00:41.420 --> 00:00:43.420 But it's almost impossible to talk about Angelica 00:00:43.420 --> 00:00:46.079 Houston without like. Immediately acknowledging 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:48.280 the immense shadow she was born into. Right. 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:50.460 The dynasty. Yeah. She didn't just join Hollywood. 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:52.700 She kind of inherited this dynasty. We are, of 00:00:52.700 --> 00:00:54.600 course, talking about the daughter of the legendary, 00:00:54.899 --> 00:00:57.820 famously demanding director, John Huston. And 00:00:57.820 --> 00:00:59.719 granddaughter of the equally acclaimed actor, 00:00:59.859 --> 00:01:02.340 Walter Huston. Exactly. I mean, that's an almost 00:01:02.340 --> 00:01:05.519 unbearable weight of expectation for any aspiring 00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:08.079 performer, don't you think? Totally. And here's 00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:11.420 the hook. The thing that really defines her professional 00:01:11.420 --> 00:01:13.980 persistence, I think. she achieved something 00:01:13.980 --> 00:01:17.019 almost unheard of in film history. She's the 00:01:17.019 --> 00:01:20.019 rare third generation of a single family to win 00:01:20.019 --> 00:01:23.140 an Academy Award. That feat is staggering. It 00:01:23.140 --> 00:01:25.299 really demonstrates that her success wasn't just 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:28.159 inherited, it was earned through incredible artistic 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:31.040 will, really. Yeah, absolutely. So our mission, 00:01:31.180 --> 00:01:33.620 I guess, in this deep dive is to follow that 00:01:33.620 --> 00:01:36.260 winding path. We need to look beyond just the 00:01:36.260 --> 00:01:39.170 accolades, which, let's be clear, are substantial 00:01:39.170 --> 00:01:41.909 you've got the academy award a golden globe multiple 00:01:41.909 --> 00:01:45.370 bafta and prime time emmy nominations that star 00:01:45.370 --> 00:01:47.950 on the hollywood walk of fame in 2010 right the 00:01:47.950 --> 00:01:50.170 list goes on but we want to track the evolution 00:01:50.170 --> 00:01:53.230 of her artistic identity connect these seemingly 00:01:53.230 --> 00:01:56.109 you know disparate phases that reluctant screen 00:01:56.109 --> 00:01:58.670 debut the big pivot to high fashion modeling 00:01:58.670 --> 00:02:01.150 then the dramatic difficult acting breakthrough 00:02:01.150 --> 00:02:03.769 and eventually her move behind the camera which 00:02:03.769 --> 00:02:06.129 felt almost necessary for her exactly it's a 00:02:06.129 --> 00:02:09.919 story about finding your own singular voice despite 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:12.960 this, well, overwhelming family legacy. Okay, 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:14.340 let's unpack this. We have to start with the 00:02:14.340 --> 00:02:16.960 lineage, right? Angelica Houston, born in Los 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:20.879 Angeles, July 8, 1951. Her father, John Houston. 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:24.060 Her mother, Enrica Soma, who was an Italian prima 00:02:24.060 --> 00:02:27.759 ballerina and a successful model herself. So 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:29.460 right away, you get this sense of a theatrical 00:02:29.460 --> 00:02:32.539 kind of global existence. And this detail, I 00:02:32.539 --> 00:02:35.449 think, just sums up her entire childhood. The 00:02:35.449 --> 00:02:37.710 news of her birth had to be cabled to her father 00:02:37.710 --> 00:02:41.479 in western Uganda. Wow. Yeah. He was busy filming 00:02:41.479 --> 00:02:44.719 The African Queen in 1951. It just wasn't, you 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:46.800 know, a conventional upbringing where dad clocks 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:49.379 out at five. Her life was instantly defined by 00:02:49.379 --> 00:02:51.419 the demands of international filmmaking. And 00:02:51.419 --> 00:02:53.939 that pattern of dislocation just continued. When 00:02:53.939 --> 00:02:56.099 she was only two years old, the family basically 00:02:56.099 --> 00:02:58.580 pulled up stakes and relocated to Ireland. Right. 00:02:58.659 --> 00:03:00.699 She spent most of her formative years there, 00:03:00.819 --> 00:03:03.379 first in County Kildare and then later at that 00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:05.759 famous St. Clarence estate in County Galway. 00:03:06.169 --> 00:03:08.409 And she maintains this really deep, lifelong 00:03:08.409 --> 00:03:10.909 connection to Ireland, doesn't she? Still considers 00:03:10.909 --> 00:03:13.569 it home. She does. And that Irish countryside 00:03:13.569 --> 00:03:16.669 became the backdrop for this incredibly complex 00:03:16.669 --> 00:03:19.310 family structure. I mean, her parents had a famously 00:03:19.310 --> 00:03:21.930 tumultuous life. She grew up with her older brother, 00:03:22.030 --> 00:03:24.990 Tony, her adopted older brother, Pablo, a maternal 00:03:24.990 --> 00:03:27.629 half -sister, Allegra, and then her paternal 00:03:27.629 --> 00:03:30.030 half -brother, Danny Houston. Who, like her, 00:03:30.189 --> 00:03:32.050 went on to have a prominent acting and directing 00:03:32.050 --> 00:03:35.009 career. Exactly. And she's also the aunt of the 00:03:35.009 --> 00:03:38.389 actor, Jack Houston. So it's this whole creative 00:03:38.389 --> 00:03:40.909 dynasty continuing. It sounds like this lively, 00:03:41.050 --> 00:03:43.729 sprawling network, but she often spoke of her 00:03:43.729 --> 00:03:46.780 childhood as being, well... intensely isolating 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:49.580 yeah that's the paradox isn't it despite all 00:03:49.580 --> 00:03:52.360 the grand connections the sprawling family she 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:55.479 described herself as a lonely child why was that 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:58.099 well partly the physical isolation of the irish 00:03:58.099 --> 00:04:00.840 countryside but critically her director father's 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:03.419 constant absence he was always off filming somewhere 00:04:03.419 --> 00:04:06.219 the kids were often privately tutored right so 00:04:06.219 --> 00:04:08.909 not a typical school environment either No. And 00:04:08.909 --> 00:04:11.210 that paradox, I think, is really key to understanding 00:04:11.210 --> 00:04:14.689 her later persona. Coming from this highly connected, 00:04:14.930 --> 00:04:18.209 globally famous family, yet experiencing this 00:04:18.209 --> 00:04:20.750 deep geographic and you could argue emotional 00:04:20.750 --> 00:04:24.500 isolation. it must have forced her to cultivate 00:04:24.500 --> 00:04:27.720 a profound internal life. That makes sense. That 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:30.160 quiet intensity, that ability she has to transmit 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:33.959 deep emotion without big showy gestures. Exactly. 00:04:34.180 --> 00:04:36.480 That would become the hallmark of her best acting 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:38.660 work. It really speaks volumes, I think, about 00:04:38.660 --> 00:04:41.379 the emotional cost of that golden legacy. And 00:04:41.379 --> 00:04:43.319 that quiet intensity was tested immediately, 00:04:43.579 --> 00:04:45.980 wasn't it? with what was supposed to be her grand 00:04:45.980 --> 00:04:47.800 entrance into the family business. It sounds 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:50.139 like it was difficult, almost painful to watch 00:04:50.139 --> 00:04:52.379 unfold. Oh, it was a very rocky, very public 00:04:52.379 --> 00:04:54.879 start. She was actually considered for what could 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:57.060 have been a huge career -making role. Juliet 00:04:57.060 --> 00:05:00.000 in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 Romeo and Juliet. 00:05:00.259 --> 00:05:02.720 Why, really? Yeah. But she withdrew from consideration 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:05.019 a massive missed opportunity, you could say, 00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:06.980 because her father insisted on casting her as 00:05:06.980 --> 00:05:09.699 the 16 -year -old noblewoman Claudia in his own 00:05:09.699 --> 00:05:11.839 film, A Walk with Love and Death. That came out 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:14.639 in 69. And she was... reluctant from the get 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:17.920 -go she felt miscast a feeling she later said 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:21.019 was absolutely correct right and the experience 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:24.459 on set was by her own admission brutal she talked 00:05:24.459 --> 00:05:26.540 about a fractious relationship with her father 00:05:26.540 --> 00:05:28.939 during filming she struggled with focus apparently 00:05:28.939 --> 00:05:32.139 he grew impatient and the resulting performance 00:05:32.139 --> 00:05:36.800 was well let's just say not well received that 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:39.560 might be putting it mildly when the film came 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:43.019 out critics universally derided her performance 00:05:43.019 --> 00:05:45.819 that's the word that keeps coming up it is and 00:05:45.819 --> 00:05:48.920 think about the trauma of that your debut film 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:51.519 directed by your legendary incredibly demanding 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:54.959 father is wildly dismissed as a failure you've 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:56.879 failed to live up to the houston name in the 00:05:56.879 --> 00:05:59.709 most public way imaginable yeah And then the 00:05:59.709 --> 00:06:01.670 personal tragedy that followed just made the 00:06:01.670 --> 00:06:04.310 situation almost unbearable. Right. Shortly after 00:06:04.310 --> 00:06:06.870 that difficult debut, her mother, Enrique Soma, 00:06:07.050 --> 00:06:09.670 was killed suddenly in a car accident. Just awful. 00:06:09.889 --> 00:06:12.589 Awful. And Angelica, overwhelmed by the memories 00:06:12.589 --> 00:06:14.970 tied to London, basically fled to New York City. 00:06:15.050 --> 00:06:17.310 She was only 18. And she wasn't even sure what 00:06:17.310 --> 00:06:19.449 her father wanted for her career. Apparently 00:06:19.449 --> 00:06:21.970 not. She later said she didn't know if he wanted 00:06:21.970 --> 00:06:24.589 her to go in a convent or launch her as an actress. 00:06:25.259 --> 00:06:28.259 Just complete uncertainty. So fleeing that uncertainty, 00:06:28.579 --> 00:06:31.459 she chose this totally different path, a really 00:06:31.459 --> 00:06:34.100 visually frightening one. High fashion modeling? 00:06:34.300 --> 00:06:37.360 Exactly. She was inspired by the icons of the 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:39.639 era, you know, the angular, distinctive looks 00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:42.759 of models like Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy. And 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:45.819 this gave her immediate kind of self -generated 00:06:45.819 --> 00:06:49.040 professional success, completely outside the 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.339 shadow of her father's filmmaking. And she really 00:06:51.339 --> 00:06:53.259 hit the ground running, didn't she? Thanks to 00:06:53.259 --> 00:06:55.199 some of those early connections. Richard Avedon, 00:06:55.220 --> 00:06:56.920 the photographer, was a friend of her parents. 00:06:57.040 --> 00:06:59.439 Right. He quickly took her under his wing, introduced 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:02.160 her to Diana Vreeland, the legendary editor of 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:04.959 U .S. Vogue. And that intro led straight to her 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:08.920 first U .S. Vogue shoot, which was shot quite 00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:11.120 poetically back in Ireland. Yeah, she recalled 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:13.120 that shoot as being incredibly innovative for 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:15.459 the time. She said it presaged the whole sort 00:07:15.459 --> 00:07:17.879 of gypsy look. It immediately established her 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:20.160 unique angular aesthetic in the fashion world. 00:07:20.300 --> 00:07:23.120 She signed with Ford Models, cemented her status 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:25.740 as a real fashion muse, worked a lot in Europe. 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:28.459 and maybe most famously, became a key member 00:07:28.459 --> 00:07:31.899 of the designer Halston's inner circle. Ah, yes, 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:35.279 the Halston Nets. That's them. His favorite troupe 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:37.660 of models, alongside figures like Pat Cleveland, 00:07:37.939 --> 00:07:41.500 Elsa Peretti. And this period, the early 70s, 00:07:41.500 --> 00:07:44.060 was so critical, I think. It taught her this 00:07:44.060 --> 00:07:46.879 incredible physical discipline, how to command 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:49.579 a camera not through dialogue, but through posture, 00:07:49.720 --> 00:07:51.459 through expression. Which must have been useful 00:07:51.459 --> 00:07:54.500 later. Hugely. Modeling is a rigorous professional 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:57.079 environment, and that discipline was essential 00:07:57.079 --> 00:07:59.459 training for her future acting career, especially 00:07:59.459 --> 00:08:02.100 for those roles that relied on highly stylized, 00:08:02.100 --> 00:08:04.459 constrained movement like Morticia. We'll definitely 00:08:04.459 --> 00:08:06.579 get to that. Now, while she's navigating this 00:08:06.579 --> 00:08:08.800 fast -paced fashion world, she's also in her... 00:08:08.779 --> 00:08:11.139 first serious, quite high profile relationship, 00:08:11.459 --> 00:08:13.660 living with the influential photographer Bob 00:08:13.660 --> 00:08:16.180 Richardson. Right. He was 41 when she was 17. 00:08:16.300 --> 00:08:19.639 That relationship lasted from 1969 until 1973. 00:08:20.750 --> 00:08:22.889 It really marks a period of extreme independence 00:08:22.889 --> 00:08:26.389 and, well, rapid maturity for her, far away from 00:08:26.389 --> 00:08:28.629 her father's direct oversight. It really shows 00:08:28.629 --> 00:08:30.910 that contrast, doesn't it? Between the childhood 00:08:30.910 --> 00:08:33.509 isolation and then this young adulthood suddenly 00:08:33.509 --> 00:08:36.409 plunged right into the epicenter of the art and 00:08:36.409 --> 00:08:39.070 glamour worlds. Absolutely. But that independence 00:08:39.070 --> 00:08:41.470 was tested again when she decided to return to 00:08:41.470 --> 00:08:44.970 acting. But this time, it seems very much on 00:08:44.970 --> 00:08:47.389 her own terms. That's right. After breaking up 00:08:47.389 --> 00:08:50.370 with Richardson in 1973, she moved to California, 00:08:50.590 --> 00:08:53.549 specifically to focus on acting. Although she 00:08:53.549 --> 00:08:55.889 admitted later that she didn't do much there 00:08:55.889 --> 00:08:57.889 for three years. She was trying to build a career 00:08:57.889 --> 00:09:01.009 organically, you know, without her father's direct 00:09:01.009 --> 00:09:03.629 intervention. But that move immediately placed 00:09:03.629 --> 00:09:06.669 her into a new, incredibly famous orbit. Soon 00:09:06.669 --> 00:09:09.480 after arriving, she meets Jack Nicholson. At 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:12.320 his 36th birthday party, apparently. Yes. And 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:14.659 that meeting kicked off their famous, incredibly 00:09:14.659 --> 00:09:17.840 complex, intensely scrutinized on again, off 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:20.720 again relationship that lasted nearly two decades, 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:23.720 right up until 1990. Her early film roles during 00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:26.409 this time, though. They were slow to materialize, 00:09:26.429 --> 00:09:29.409 often quite small parts. Very small. Minor parts 00:09:29.409 --> 00:09:32.450 in films like The Last Tycoon in 76, which incidentally 00:09:32.450 --> 00:09:34.929 starred Nicholson, a slightly larger role opposite 00:09:34.929 --> 00:09:37.450 him again in The Postman Always Rings twice in 00:09:37.450 --> 00:09:40.029 81. She popped up in the critically acclaimed 00:09:40.029 --> 00:09:43.269 Francis and memorably had that quick cameo in 00:09:43.269 --> 00:09:46.269 This Is Spinal Tap. Ah, yes. Polyphemus. Exactly. 00:09:46.570 --> 00:09:49.029 So she was definitely paying her dues, but she 00:09:49.029 --> 00:09:51.370 wasn't yet, you know, defining herself professionally. 00:09:51.730 --> 00:09:53.789 Until the major opportunity and the major source 00:09:53.789 --> 00:09:56.309 of tension. And it seems arrived with Pritzy's 00:09:56.309 --> 00:10:00.870 honor in 1985. Ah, yes. Her father, John Houston, 00:10:01.169 --> 00:10:05.129 casts her as Morose Pritzy, the cool, calculating 00:10:05.129 --> 00:10:07.970 mobster mall. This was her big chance, finally. 00:10:08.269 --> 00:10:10.610 Yet it was so fraught with difficulty because 00:10:10.610 --> 00:10:12.850 of, well, who she was. The director's daughter, 00:10:12.970 --> 00:10:15.350 the star's girlfriend. Precisely. And the irony 00:10:15.350 --> 00:10:17.789 is profound. Being connected didn't guarantee 00:10:17.789 --> 00:10:20.049 success, and it certainly didn't guarantee a 00:10:20.049 --> 00:10:22.350 decent paycheck. No kidding. She was paid the 00:10:22.350 --> 00:10:24.259 absolute minimum salary. Ag scale rate, wasn't 00:10:24.259 --> 00:10:27.340 she? About $14 ,000 for the whole role. $14 ,000. 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:30.059 In 1985 Hollywood, that was the industry floor. 00:10:30.220 --> 00:10:32.620 Basically a token payment. It shows how little 00:10:32.620 --> 00:10:35.159 faith perhaps the production had initially. And 00:10:35.159 --> 00:10:36.960 the production staff apparently didn't believe 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:39.080 in her either. Her agent called the producer 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:41.720 to ask for more money, seeing the potential. 00:10:42.019 --> 00:10:44.419 And the reply, according to her accounts, was 00:10:44.419 --> 00:10:47.240 just brutal and dismissive. Something like, go 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:49.519 to hell, be my guest, ask for more money. We 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:52.519 don't even want her in this movie. Wow. That's 00:10:52.519 --> 00:10:55.360 harsh. Incredibly harsh. And that insult was 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:57.720 only compounded by this ultimate professional 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:00.960 dismissal she experienced on set. She wrote in 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:03.059 her memoir about overhearing a production worker 00:11:03.059 --> 00:11:05.600 saying something incredibly cruel about her position. 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:08.279 The infamous quote. The infamous quote. Her father 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:10.419 is the director, her boyfriend's the star, and 00:11:10.419 --> 00:11:13.759 she has no talent. God, just devastated to hear 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:16.600 that. But it provides the perfect dramatic backdrop 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:19.500 for her eventual triumph. Because what happened 00:11:19.500 --> 00:11:22.590 next was just... Undeniable. Her performance 00:11:22.590 --> 00:11:25.110 as Moroz was absolutely heralded by critics. 00:11:25.370 --> 00:11:27.049 Magnetic, I think, is the word. The New York 00:11:27.049 --> 00:11:30.149 Times, a huge voice, immediately predicted an 00:11:30.149 --> 00:11:33.210 Oscar nomination for her riveting presence. And 00:11:33.210 --> 00:11:35.789 the prediction came true. She won the Academy 00:11:35.789 --> 00:11:38.850 Award for Best Supporting Actress. And this wasn't 00:11:38.850 --> 00:11:41.730 just personal validation. It was this huge generational 00:11:41.730 --> 00:11:44.309 achievement, making her the third generation 00:11:44.309 --> 00:11:47.190 of Houstons after Walter and John to win the 00:11:47.190 --> 00:11:49.549 award. She proved the Houston talent continued. 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:52.740 But she did it under the absolute most challenging 00:11:52.740 --> 00:11:55.580 circumstances imaginable, facing down all that 00:11:55.580 --> 00:11:58.259 skepticism. Completely. What's fascinating, though, 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:00.779 is how quickly that professional triumph gave 00:12:00.779 --> 00:12:03.559 way to immense personal and professional strain 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:06.460 again. She collaborated with her father one last 00:12:06.460 --> 00:12:09.659 time on his final film, The Dead, released in 00:12:09.659 --> 00:12:12.580 1987. Yeah, she starred as Greta Conroy, the 00:12:12.580 --> 00:12:15.039 wife of an academic in this deeply moving adaptation 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:18.200 of James Joyce's short story. But the filming 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:20.639 sounds like it was incredibly difficult. Intensely 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:22.460 difficult. Her father was gravely ill during 00:12:22.460 --> 00:12:24.879 the production. Heaston was under immense pressure 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:26.759 not just to perform, but also having to watch 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:29.000 her father decline right there on set. That must 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:30.960 have been heartbreaking. Yet she recalled his 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:33.759 dedication, describing him as remaining a filmmaking 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:36.620 virtuoso, maintaining this incredible precise 00:12:36.620 --> 00:12:39.460 command despite his failing health. But the pressure 00:12:39.460 --> 00:12:42.200 took a physical toll on her. She later revealed 00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:44.620 she developed Epstein -Barr syndrome during that 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:47.419 period. Right. An illness known for extreme fatigue, 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:50.200 often linked to chronic stress. It feels like 00:12:50.200 --> 00:12:52.360 a powerful metaphor, doesn't it? Her physical 00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:54.759 body kind of collapsing under the immense professional 00:12:54.759 --> 00:12:57.419 and personal stress of delivering this stellar 00:12:57.419 --> 00:13:00.200 performance while simultaneously witnessing her 00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:03.539 father's final act of filmmaking. Yeah. And John 00:13:03.539 --> 00:13:05.960 Huston died nearly four months before The Dead 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:08.299 was even released. Such a profound moment of 00:13:08.299 --> 00:13:10.779 transition for her. Having closed that chapter 00:13:10.779 --> 00:13:12.840 with her father, she suddenly found herself in 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:15.299 this variety of new, sometimes unexpected projects. 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:18.759 Like Captain EO. Exactly. In 1986, she starred 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:22.860 in that $30 million, 17 -minute 3D film, a huge 00:13:22.860 --> 00:13:25.340 spectacle directed by Francis Ford Coppola featuring 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:29.100 Michael Jackson. It was just bizarre, high -budget, 00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:31.019 almost lighthearted compared to the seriousness 00:13:31.019 --> 00:13:33.940 of The Dead. A total shift. She also really demonstrated 00:13:33.940 --> 00:13:36.460 her leading lady potential around then, in Gardens 00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:39.679 of Stone in 1987, opposite James Kameny. Yes, 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:42.860 critics like Roger Ebert praised their on -screen 00:13:42.860 --> 00:13:45.460 chemistry. He called their romance one of the 00:13:45.460 --> 00:13:47.840 great adult love stories in recent movies. And 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:49.740 she stayed committed to the family too, working 00:13:49.740 --> 00:13:51.779 on Mr. North, which was directed by her half 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:54.879 -brother, Danny Houston. So she was really establishing 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:57.320 a kind of professional stability after years 00:13:57.320 --> 00:14:00.120 of turmoil. Definitely. And following that Oscar 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:02.620 win and those subsequent projects, Angelica Houston 00:14:02.620 --> 00:14:05.519 entered this period of incredible critical momentum. 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:08.440 This is where she really cemented her reputation 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:11.360 as a dramatic actor of phenomenal range. She 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:15.379 truly did. In 1989 alone, she got a BAFTA nomination 00:14:15.379 --> 00:14:17.840 for playing that world -weary flight attendant 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:20.559 mistress in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors. 00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:22.820 And the same year, earned her second Academy 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:25.779 Award nomination for Enemies, a love story, playing 00:14:25.779 --> 00:14:28.539 a Holocaust survivor's long van. very unexpected 00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:31.379 wife. Her performance in Enemies was really celebrated, 00:14:31.539 --> 00:14:33.299 wasn't it? For its complexity, its emotional 00:14:33.299 --> 00:14:36.360 truth. Yeah, Roger Ebert highlighted her profound 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:39.620 humanism. He praised her for portraying one human 00:14:39.620 --> 00:14:42.139 being accepting the weaknesses of another in 00:14:42.139 --> 00:14:44.879 the film. She had absolutely mastered conveying 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:48.200 that deep interior emotional life with this incredible 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:51.460 external restraint. And this incredible run culminated 00:14:51.460 --> 00:14:54.600 in 1990 with her third Oscar nomination this 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:56.940 time for Best Actress playing the veteran con 00:14:56.940 --> 00:15:00.460 artist Lily Dillon in Stephen Frears' neo -noir 00:15:00.460 --> 00:15:04.210 thriller The Grifters. Ah, yes. The Grifters. 00:15:04.309 --> 00:15:06.909 And this role comes with one of the most legendary 00:15:06.909 --> 00:15:09.149 anecdotes about artistic commitment in her whole 00:15:09.149 --> 00:15:11.610 career. The Sue Mengers story. The Sue Mengers 00:15:11.610 --> 00:15:14.529 story. The script was gritty, dark. Houston was 00:15:14.529 --> 00:15:16.710 apparently hesitant about some of the explicitness, 00:15:16.830 --> 00:15:19.409 the sheer darkness of the character. And this 00:15:19.409 --> 00:15:22.309 is where her formidable agent, Sue Mengers, stepped 00:15:22.309 --> 00:15:24.769 in with that famously blunt advice. Which was? 00:15:25.269 --> 00:15:27.409 Angelica, if Stephen Frears tells you he wants 00:15:27.409 --> 00:15:29.090 you to shit in the corner, then that's what you 00:15:29.090 --> 00:15:31.450 must do. Huh. Wow. Wow. Hollywood conviction 00:15:31.450 --> 00:15:33.690 right there. Absolutely. Commitment to the material 00:15:33.690 --> 00:15:35.830 above all else. But even after she accepted, 00:15:36.169 --> 00:15:38.409 Fears had another concern. She looked too much 00:15:38.409 --> 00:15:41.230 like a lady. Right. Too elegant for this hardened 00:15:41.230 --> 00:15:44.409 con artist. Exactly. So to transform her, they 00:15:44.409 --> 00:15:47.139 deliberately cheapened her look. gave her that 00:15:47.139 --> 00:15:50.440 shocking bleached blonde wig, intentionally vulgar 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:53.480 clothes. She sacrificed her natural elegance 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:56.139 completely for character truth, which really 00:15:56.139 --> 00:15:58.679 became a hallmark of her approach. And this willingness 00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:01.519 to undergo these extreme physical transformations 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:04.539 immediately paved the way for some of her most 00:16:04.539 --> 00:16:06.519 fantastical roles, didn't it? Like the Grand 00:16:06.519 --> 00:16:09.440 High Witch. Oh, yes. In 1990, she became the 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:11.580 Grand High Witch in The Witches based on that 00:16:11.580 --> 00:16:14.340 terrifying Roald Dahl book. And the director, 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:17.220 Nicholas Roeg, made this. highly unusual request 00:16:17.220 --> 00:16:19.919 for the character. He wanted sex appeal for the 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:22.259 Grand High Witch. He wanted sex appeal. Houston 00:16:22.259 --> 00:16:24.980 later recalled she'd envisioned this truly horrible 00:16:24.980 --> 00:16:27.460 creature, but she quickly understood Rogue's 00:16:27.460 --> 00:16:29.639 vision, making the transformation from glamorous 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:32.799 socialite to monstrous witch both diabolical 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:35.379 and dark and brilliantly funny. But the dedication 00:16:35.379 --> 00:16:38.279 required for that. It's just unbelievable. The 00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:40.480 monstrous version of the character, a masterpiece 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:43.559 of prosthetic work by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, 00:16:43.720 --> 00:16:46.179 by the way, took over six hours to apply. Every 00:16:46.179 --> 00:16:48.980 single day. Six hours. Six hours in the chair. 00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:51.389 And then almost as much time just to get... it 00:16:51.389 --> 00:16:55.129 all off again, day after day. That shows incredible 00:16:55.129 --> 00:16:57.129 professional rigor, especially for a film that, 00:16:57.129 --> 00:16:58.690 you know, initially struggled at the box office. 00:16:58.929 --> 00:17:00.590 But she considers it one of her favorite roles, 00:17:00.730 --> 00:17:03.129 doesn't she? She does, precisely because of that 00:17:03.129 --> 00:17:05.190 commitment, that transformation. And that willingness 00:17:05.190 --> 00:17:07.990 to inhabit a highly restricted, stylized persona 00:17:07.990 --> 00:17:10.910 made her the absolute perfect choice for her 00:17:10.910 --> 00:17:14.750 next and perhaps most iconic character, Morticia 00:17:14.750 --> 00:17:18.529 Adams. Ah, Morticia. In The Addams Family, 1991, 00:17:18.970 --> 00:17:22.809 and Addams Family Values, 1993. These roles just 00:17:22.809 --> 00:17:26.150 cemented her status as a global icon. Yeah. Got 00:17:26.150 --> 00:17:29.190 her two Golden Globe nominations. And she brought 00:17:29.190 --> 00:17:32.049 this specific, nuanced interpretation to Morticia, 00:17:32.049 --> 00:17:34.839 didn't she? combining that cold elegance with 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:37.079 this surprising warmth underneath. She did. She 00:17:37.079 --> 00:17:39.539 revealed she actually based aspects of Morticia's 00:17:39.539 --> 00:17:42.279 underlying warmth, that supportive quality, on 00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:44.660 her friend, the model Jerry Hall. That's fascinating. 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:47.259 But that blend of elegance and restraint was 00:17:47.259 --> 00:17:49.559 achieved through incredible physical discomfort 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:52.819 for her. Oh, yeah. To give Morticia her signature 00:17:52.819 --> 00:17:56.220 slanted, otherworldly gaze, they had to use this 00:17:56.220 --> 00:17:59.480 elastic strap, glued to her temples, then attached 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:01.960 to the back of her head, pulling her face taut. 00:18:02.460 --> 00:18:05.119 And it sounds awful. It sounds incredibly painful. 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:07.759 And this strap made any sudden movement impossible. 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:10.440 If you turn her head too quickly, the strap would 00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:13.059 pop off, apparently causing excruciating pain. 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:15.700 So she had to adapt her whole physicality. Completely. 00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:17.839 She had to learn how to pivot and turn on her 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:20.299 feet without ever moving her upper body or her 00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:23.319 head, achieving that gliding, almost spectral 00:18:23.319 --> 00:18:26.019 movement that defined Morticia. And this is where 00:18:26.019 --> 00:18:28.240 that modeling discipline really paid off again, 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:30.640 you see. Right. Using her body as a vessel under 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:33.039 constraint. Exactly. Her dominance in this era 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:34.880 wasn't just limited to film, though. She got 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:37.220 a BAFTA nomination for the ensemble comedy Manhattan 00:18:37.220 --> 00:18:40.220 Murder Mystery in 93 and proved her dramatic 00:18:40.220 --> 00:18:42.619 versatility again, earning an Emmy nomination 00:18:42.619 --> 00:18:45.640 for playing Calamity Jane in the CBS miniseries 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:49.079 Buffalo Girls in 95. Yeah, she had definitively 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:51.500 carved out her own space by then, one that really 00:18:51.500 --> 00:18:54.000 prized character truth and visual distinctiveness 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:58.539 above conventional stardom. And having successfully 00:18:58.539 --> 00:19:00.920 navigated all the challenges of acting under 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:03.119 her. father's shadow, it seems like the next 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:06.440 logical step was to move into directing herself. 00:19:07.180 --> 00:19:09.299 To really solidify her creative independence. 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:12.039 It does feel like that. And this transition really 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:14.380 highlights her fierce independence again. She 00:19:14.380 --> 00:19:16.799 started putting out feelers, apparently. But 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:19.799 the studios, predictably, kept trying to pigeonhole 00:19:19.799 --> 00:19:22.240 her. How so? Offering her projects related to 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:24.740 her father's legacy. Things like, believe it 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:27.319 or not, a sequel to Pritzy's Honor. Oh, wow. 00:19:27.660 --> 00:19:30.119 No. Right. And she rejected all of them. Her 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:32.720 reasoning was crystal clear. She wanted to direct 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:34.640 something that, succeed or fail, would be my 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:37.089 own. Determined to prove herself. as a filmmaker 00:19:37.089 --> 00:19:39.710 not just as John Heaston's daughter. So what 00:19:39.710 --> 00:19:42.750 was her debut? Her chosen directorial debut was 00:19:42.750 --> 00:19:45.549 a powerful really socially conscious statement 00:19:46.089 --> 00:19:49.549 Bastard Outta Carolina in 1996, a deeply intense 00:19:49.549 --> 00:19:51.829 drama adapted from the Dorothy Allison novel 00:19:51.829 --> 00:19:54.289 about child abuse in the American South. Tough 00:19:54.289 --> 00:19:57.049 subject for a debut. Very tough. But the film 00:19:57.049 --> 00:19:59.150 was critically acclaimed. It marked her as a 00:19:59.150 --> 00:20:01.789 director of serious note, earned her a primetime 00:20:01.789 --> 00:20:04.609 Emmy Award nomination for directing. She followed 00:20:04.609 --> 00:20:06.970 that up by directing the Irish dramedy Agnes 00:20:06.970 --> 00:20:09.609 Brown in 99, which she also starred in. Playing 00:20:09.609 --> 00:20:12.670 a struggling Dublin widow. Right. It won an award 00:20:12.670 --> 00:20:15.069 at the San Sebastian Film Festival. So she was 00:20:15.069 --> 00:20:17.750 really... defining her own auteur voice, often 00:20:17.750 --> 00:20:21.069 focused on complex female narratives, often dealing 00:20:21.069 --> 00:20:23.970 with hardship. And at the same time, her supporting 00:20:23.970 --> 00:20:27.529 acting work continued to be just stellar, often 00:20:27.529 --> 00:20:29.910 defining the success of mainstream films even. 00:20:30.539 --> 00:20:33.579 in Ever After, a Cinderella story in 98. She 00:20:33.579 --> 00:20:36.859 was the definitive, deliciously cruel stepmother, 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:39.660 Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent. Oh, she was perfect 00:20:39.660 --> 00:20:41.940 in that. Her performance was universally praised 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:45.119 for its venomous wit. Critic Lisa Schwartzbaum 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:48.420 noted her incredible subtle delivery, how much 00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:50.940 relied on just eye narrowing and eyebrow raising. 00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:54.019 Conveying so much disapproval with minimal movement. 00:20:54.119 --> 00:20:56.480 She had those killer lines too, delivered with 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:59.019 perfect deadpan cruelty. Like, nothing is final 00:20:59.019 --> 00:21:00.940 until you're dead. And even then, I'm sure God 00:21:00.940 --> 00:21:04.900 negotiates. Huh. Just brilliant. That era wasn't 00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:07.319 without some internal conflict, though. She worked 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:11.140 on the indie dramedy Buffalo 66 in 98. And there 00:21:11.140 --> 00:21:13.460 were reports of difficulties, tension between 00:21:13.460 --> 00:21:15.900 her and the notoriously difficult director and 00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:19.740 co -star Vincent Gallo on set. Oh, OK. But her 00:21:19.740 --> 00:21:22.599 ability to inhabit these powerful, complicated, 00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:26.680 often antagonistic matriarchal roles that led 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:29.500 directly to one of her most distinctive. modern 00:21:29.500 --> 00:21:31.940 collaborations. Wes Anderson? Wes Anderson. Starting 00:21:31.940 --> 00:21:35.019 with the Royal Tenenbaums in 2001, she played 00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:37.740 Etheline, the detached but elegant matriarch. 00:21:37.880 --> 00:21:39.740 Their visual styles are just a perfect match, 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:42.119 aren't they? Her angular features, her deadpan 00:21:42.119 --> 00:21:44.740 delivery, her ability to embody that complex 00:21:44.740 --> 00:21:47.619 internal life within a rigid, stylized external. 00:21:48.059 --> 00:21:50.680 She was the ideal Anderson muse. And the backstory 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:53.259 to the casting is pretty funny, too. Right. Anderson 00:21:53.259 --> 00:21:55.220 kept giving her photographs of his own mother, 00:21:55.380 --> 00:21:57.420 who was an archaeologist similar to Etheline's 00:21:57.420 --> 00:22:00.279 character. had to ask him. Wes, am I playing 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:02.420 your mother? He denied it, apparently, but the 00:22:02.420 --> 00:22:04.319 personal resonance was clearly informing her 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:06.779 performance as that cool, intellectual, often 00:22:06.779 --> 00:22:09.519 quite disappointing parent figure. That set also 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:11.460 brought some professional confrontation, didn't 00:22:11.460 --> 00:22:14.240 it, with Gene Hackman? Yeah. Co -star Gene Hackman 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:16.559 was known for being, shall we say, difficult 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:19.819 on set around that time, led to palpable tension, 00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:22.880 and in one scene, Houston was required to slap 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:25.640 him. And she didn't fake it. She opted to skip 00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:28.759 the choreography, slapped him for real, saw the 00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:31.039 imprint of her hand on his cheek. She recalled 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:33.539 thinking immediately, he's going to kill me. 00:22:33.740 --> 00:22:37.119 Wow, that's bold. It became this defining anecdote 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:39.380 of her professionalism, I think, and her willingness 00:22:39.380 --> 00:22:42.680 to maybe defy a difficult male colleague to get 00:22:42.680 --> 00:22:45.339 a moment of genuine authenticity on screen, a 00:22:45.339 --> 00:22:47.980 necessary show of force, perhaps, for the scene. 00:22:48.099 --> 00:22:49.980 She continued working with Anderson, didn't she? 00:22:50.250 --> 00:22:52.150 In the Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou in the 00:22:52.150 --> 00:22:54.690 Darjeeling Limited. Yep. Life Aquatic in 2004, 00:22:54.869 --> 00:22:57.069 Darjeeling Limited in 2007, where she played 00:22:57.069 --> 00:22:59.029 the mother of the three estranged brothers who 00:22:59.029 --> 00:23:02.130 becomes a nun. Peter Travers called her performance 00:23:02.130 --> 00:23:05.089 in Darjeeling dynamite. So the partnership continued 00:23:05.089 --> 00:23:08.009 to yield really powerful results. Her TV output 00:23:08.009 --> 00:23:11.009 in the 2000s and 2010s was equally strong, too. 00:23:11.269 --> 00:23:13.670 She won a Golden Globe and a Satellite Award 00:23:13.670 --> 00:23:16.329 for playing the pivotal women's suffrage leader 00:23:16.329 --> 00:23:19.529 Carrie Chapman Catt. Right. In the 2004 HBO film. 00:23:19.559 --> 00:23:22.839 film Iron Jawed Angels, which really demonstrates 00:23:22.839 --> 00:23:25.740 her capacity to shift so seamlessly from that 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:28.400 eccentric character work to grounded historical 00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:31.660 performance. And she found huge commercial success, 00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:34.819 maybe unexpectedly, as the voice of Queen Clarion 00:23:34.819 --> 00:23:37.319 in the Disney Tinkerbell franchise. Yeah, a role 00:23:37.319 --> 00:23:39.779 she voiced multiple times between 2008 and 2015, 00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:43.200 a massive commercial counterpoint to her darker, 00:23:43.220 --> 00:23:45.920 more dramatic work. Quite a range. A major late 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:48.880 career dramatic success was the film 5050. in 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:51.640 2011. She played the mother of a young cancer 00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:54.130 patient played by Joseph Gordon -Levitt. Yes, 00:23:54.250 --> 00:23:56.650 her twisty performance, as critics called it, 00:23:56.730 --> 00:23:59.809 really captured the confusion and maybe misplaced 00:23:59.809 --> 00:24:01.910 priorities of a mother dealing with that kind 00:24:01.910 --> 00:24:04.089 of crisis. Really strong work. Then she took 00:24:04.089 --> 00:24:06.369 on a regular series role as Broadway producer 00:24:06.369 --> 00:24:09.509 Eileen Rand in the NBC series Smash from 2012 00:24:09.509 --> 00:24:11.970 to 2013. Which was a significant commitment for 00:24:11.970 --> 00:24:14.049 her, a decision she credited with helping fill 00:24:14.049 --> 00:24:16.730 a void after the death of her husband. And her 00:24:16.730 --> 00:24:19.529 career just keeps evolving, never losing that 00:24:19.529 --> 00:24:22.259 distinctive edge. Most recently, She had that 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:25.339 truly memorable role. And let's face it, that 00:24:25.339 --> 00:24:27.720 feels like all she accepts now is the director. 00:24:27.859 --> 00:24:30.220 And John Wick. Yeah, and John Wick. Chapter three, 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:33.099 Parabellum in 2019. That heavily bejeweled, formidable 00:24:33.099 --> 00:24:36.160 Russian ballet instructor. Perfect casting. And 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:38.960 we know she's still working. Set to lead an Agatha 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:42.119 Christie limited series towards zero. And starring 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:43.960 with her brother Danny again in The Christmas 00:24:43.960 --> 00:24:47.500 Witch Trial of La Bafana. It's just this incredible 00:24:47.500 --> 00:24:50.599 career characterized by these huge public professional 00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:53.079 highs and, well, some intense private drama, 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:56.200 too. Let's maybe turn our attention to her offscreen 00:24:56.200 --> 00:24:58.779 life for a bit, which often intersected with 00:24:58.779 --> 00:25:00.640 that whole celebrity culture of the late 20th 00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:03.099 century. Right. The defining personal relationship 00:25:03.099 --> 00:25:05.680 was, of course, that long, very complicated on 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:07.720 -again, off -again 17 -year period with Jack 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:10.559 Nicholson. Which famously ended in 1990 when 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:12.700 Nicholson fathered a child with the actress Rebecca 00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:15.789 Broussard. Exactly. Following that very public 00:25:15.789 --> 00:25:18.650 break, she married the sculptor Robert Graham 00:25:18.650 --> 00:25:22.490 in 1992. They seemed to share this really creative 00:25:22.490 --> 00:25:25.609 life together, lived in that stunning house he 00:25:25.609 --> 00:25:28.309 designed in Venice, California until his death 00:25:28.309 --> 00:25:31.289 in 2008. And Houston's been very open about her 00:25:31.289 --> 00:25:33.789 desire to have a family, stating she tried to 00:25:33.789 --> 00:25:35.589 have children multiple times, but ultimately 00:25:35.589 --> 00:25:38.779 doesn't have any. Her memoirs also gave some 00:25:38.779 --> 00:25:41.839 insight into earlier confirmed romances, figures 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:44.559 like James Fox, David Bailey, even Prince Albert 00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:47.140 of Monaco, showing the kind of breadth of her 00:25:47.140 --> 00:25:49.619 social circle back in the 70s and 80s. And she 00:25:49.619 --> 00:25:51.619 also detailed having an affair during the shooting 00:25:51.619 --> 00:25:54.220 of Ever After with a married man known only as 00:25:54.220 --> 00:25:57.279 Dolan in her memoir, Watch Me, highlighting the 00:25:57.279 --> 00:26:00.119 complex reality of her private life, even when 00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:02.309 she was so focused on her career. Yeah. We also 00:26:02.309 --> 00:26:04.250 probably have to acknowledge some of the more 00:26:04.250 --> 00:26:06.250 controversial incidents that touched her life 00:26:06.250 --> 00:26:08.529 during her young adulthood, navigating that high 00:26:08.529 --> 00:26:10.930 -profile Hollywood world. Like the Roman Polanski 00:26:10.930 --> 00:26:14.750 situation. Right. In March 1977, she was described 00:26:14.750 --> 00:26:17.309 as an inadvertent witness in the Roman Polanski 00:26:17.309 --> 00:26:20.089 sexual abuse case as the incident occurred at 00:26:20.089 --> 00:26:22.470 Jack Nicholson's house. And during the police 00:26:22.470 --> 00:26:25.259 search of the property after that incident, Houston 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:28.440 herself was arrested. Yes, for cocaine possession. 00:26:28.740 --> 00:26:30.960 However, she was never actually charged because 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:32.759 the search and the subsequent seizure of her 00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:35.819 handbag were legally ruled illegal. But it just 00:26:35.819 --> 00:26:38.200 demonstrates the volatile, maybe high stakes 00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:40.900 environment she was navigating back then. Additionally, 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:43.240 during a temporary break from Nicholson in the 00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:46.460 late 1970s, she recounts a frightening incident 00:26:46.460 --> 00:26:48.539 in her memoir, alleging that she was assaulted 00:26:48.539 --> 00:26:51.720 by her then partner, the actor Ryan O 'Neill. 00:26:52.089 --> 00:26:54.450 Right. These accounts really underline the personal 00:26:54.450 --> 00:26:56.950 turbulence that existed alongside her professional 00:26:56.950 --> 00:26:59.289 ascent. It wasn't all smooth sailing off screen 00:26:59.289 --> 00:27:02.609 either. On a more recent and personal note, she's 00:27:02.609 --> 00:27:05.529 publicly discussed a private health battle. She 00:27:05.529 --> 00:27:08.710 was diagnosed with cancer in 2019. Yes, but thankfully, 00:27:08.869 --> 00:27:11.190 she was reported to be four years cancer -free 00:27:11.190 --> 00:27:14.490 as of April 2025. That resilience, you see it 00:27:14.490 --> 00:27:16.390 there, and it's mirrored, I think, in her dedicated 00:27:16.390 --> 00:27:19.269 work and activism. She's been consistently vocal 00:27:19.269 --> 00:27:21.809 across various political and ethical platforms. 00:27:22.109 --> 00:27:24.769 Her human rights work is quite visible. In 2007, 00:27:24.910 --> 00:27:27.390 she took a major public stance, leading a letter 00:27:27.390 --> 00:27:29.950 campaign, urging the U .N. Secretary General 00:27:29.950 --> 00:27:33.369 Ban Ki -moon to intervene for the release of 00:27:33.369 --> 00:27:35.880 Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma. Yeah, 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:38.220 really using her platform there. And she's also 00:27:38.220 --> 00:27:40.099 maintained her connection to Irish politics, 00:27:40.339 --> 00:27:43.660 reflecting her roots. In 1995, she made a public 00:27:43.660 --> 00:27:46.099 donation to the Irish Republican political party 00:27:46.099 --> 00:27:48.440 Sinn Fein. Right. And she publicly supported 00:27:48.440 --> 00:27:51.059 Martin McGuinness in his 2011 bid for the Irish 00:27:51.059 --> 00:27:53.740 presidency. The Sinn Fein donation, especially 00:27:53.740 --> 00:27:56.119 back in 95, that was quite a politically sensitive 00:27:56.119 --> 00:27:58.640 move. Demonstrates her willingness to publicly 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:01.519 align herself with sometimes controversial political 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:04.319 causes tied to her formative years. It does. 00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:07.099 Her most extensive public work, though, is probably 00:28:07.099 --> 00:28:09.519 her dedication to animal rights, particularly 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:12.079 through PETA. They named her their Person of 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:15.339 the Year in 2012. And her advocacy there is incredibly 00:28:15.339 --> 00:28:18.680 practical, very targeted. She recorded PSAs urging 00:28:18.680 --> 00:28:20.960 Hollywood studios to stop using great apes in 00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:23.680 media and advertising. Yes. And she made that 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:26.059 notable gesture of donating her own fur coats 00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:28.519 to homeless people and animal shelters, turning 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:31.200 personal luxury items into instruments of charity. 00:28:31.660 --> 00:28:33.779 She also served as an executive producer on that 00:28:33.779 --> 00:28:36.599 2020 documentary Breaking the Chain, which highlights 00:28:36.599 --> 00:28:39.160 the intense, often difficult work of PETA field 00:28:39.160 --> 00:28:41.900 workers. Right. And her advocacy efforts continue 00:28:41.900 --> 00:28:45.019 right up to the present day. Just in August 2024, 00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:47.900 she published an open letter demanding the University 00:28:47.900 --> 00:28:50.819 of Bristol end its use of those awful forced 00:28:50.819 --> 00:28:53.460 swim tests on rats and mice in its research labs. 00:28:53.700 --> 00:28:56.880 She remains this powerful, outspoken voice way 00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:59.599 outside the constraints of a film set. So when 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:02.079 you synthesize this entire journey, you know, 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:04.720 from the isolated child in Ireland to the critically 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:07.000 derided actress, the high fashion muse, the Oscar 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:09.680 winner, the independent director, the sheer force 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:11.940 of her personality. Just shines through, doesn't 00:29:11.940 --> 00:29:13.900 it? It really does. She learned to navigate that 00:29:13.900 --> 00:29:16.519 overwhelming family legacy by insisting on artistic 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:19.519 independence. Always choosing roles and projects 00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:21.799 that demanded complexity, power, and often, yeah, 00:29:21.859 --> 00:29:25.220 that element of eccentricity. She thrived by 00:29:25.220 --> 00:29:27.660 taking on characters that were visually and psychologically 00:29:27.660 --> 00:29:30.460 distinctive. That feels like the unifying thread. 00:29:30.640 --> 00:29:33.160 Whether she was playing the sinister, transforming 00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:35.700 Grand High Witch. Or the fiercely elegant and 00:29:35.700 --> 00:29:38.180 controlling Morticia Adams. Or even the ruthless 00:29:38.180 --> 00:29:41.890 head of a preschool in Daddy Daycare. Yes. Or 00:29:41.890 --> 00:29:44.630 the heavily bejeweled Russian ballet master in 00:29:44.630 --> 00:29:48.690 John Wick. She just embodies the singular, unforgettable 00:29:48.690 --> 00:29:51.450 kind of authority. And that leads us perfectly, 00:29:51.609 --> 00:29:53.490 I think, to our final provocative thought for 00:29:53.490 --> 00:29:57.049 you, the listener, to mull over. Angelica Houston's 00:29:57.049 --> 00:29:59.289 career really serves as a masterclass in the 00:29:59.289 --> 00:30:01.730 power of the character actor over conventional 00:30:01.730 --> 00:30:04.569 stardom. She often deliberately took roles that 00:30:04.569 --> 00:30:06.589 were technically supporting or had limited screen 00:30:06.589 --> 00:30:09.450 time or were purely stylistic rather than always. 00:30:09.480 --> 00:30:11.859 chasing traditional leading roles right because 00:30:11.859 --> 00:30:15.000 she made those intense singular choices the six 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:17.559 hours of makeup the painful strap from rotisha 00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:19.960 the dramatic shift in appearance for the grifters 00:30:19.960 --> 00:30:23.279 she completely defined those films She absolutely 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:26.480 did. Her career proves that true iconic status 00:30:26.480 --> 00:30:28.759 isn't just about screen quantity or conventional 00:30:28.759 --> 00:30:31.480 beauty. It's about making the most intense and 00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:34.079 singular artistic choices. The ones that stick 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:36.740 with you long after the credits roll. Yeah. She 00:30:36.740 --> 00:30:39.299 truly proved that a distinctive, powerful voice 00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:41.700 will always, always cut through any expectations 00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:42.259 of legacy.