Diane Keaton
Sybil Stone, The Family Stone
Age: 59
Birthplace: Los Angeles
Essential Filmography: The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979), Reds (1981), Father of the Bride (1991), The First Wives Club (1996), Something’s Gotta Give (2003)

PREMIERE: Describe your character in this movie.
She is the kind of mother that gives motherhood a good name, a woman who is extremely progressive and exceedingly modern, who gave her whole life to mothering.

Any discoveries playing this role?
Playing the role made me think about my own mother in a different light. I’m a child of the ’60s, and I was hell-bent on anything but the positive aspects of motherhood. I was really interested in having a career. So it’s bittersweet and so lovely, and every day I thought about my mother. She’s 84 years old, and she’s my role model in life.

Do you have a secret to putting a character onscreen?
I play music with a headset on right up to the very second before I have to go on. I think a lot of my directors resent it because I can’t hear what they’re saying to me. Reds was the milestone in my professional experience—when Walkmans came out.

What younger actors do you admire?
I like Catherine Keener because she’s so funny in a profoundly unique way. Laura Linney’s deceptive; she pulls you in when you least expect it. Rachel McAdams is the wave of the future; it’s not fair that she should be so beautiful. Laura Dern is underrated and spectacular, a very moving and deeply personal actress.

If you weren’t acting, you would be . . . ?
I really wish that I could have been an architect. But it’s just a fantasy. I really think there was nothing for me to do but exactly what I’m doing.