It's so good to see you. I miss seeing you.
-Oh, nice to see you, too. You look great.
-I love your background. -Thank you.
It looks like I'm going to get
my picture taken at school, right?
Like, watch. Look. -[ Laughs ]
I would have went with lasers,
but, yeah, that works just as well.
-Yeah, yeah. -We're back in the studio.
I know that you just started filming, right?
You went back to set? -Yeah.
After six months away, we went back to work.
So, when everything shut down, I had 10 days left
on this job that -- I was doing this show
I was doing for Apple based on a Stephen King book.
And, so, suddenly, they were like,
"Okay, let's go back."
And so we're all back and finishing it,
which is exciting, you know?
-How does it feel? How does it feel to be back?
-It feels great to be with everybody,
and the protocols are intense, but it's all working.
And everybody -- You know, the camera's on the crane
and everybody wears a mask
and we're all tested really frequently.
And the first couple of days felt, you know, weird,
and then you just get used to it.
And then they're like, "This is just how we do it."
I think we're just remarkably adaptable as human beings.
We're like, "Okay, you know, this is how it's going to work."
-Soap operas were one of the first shows to come back.
And I know that you got your start in the soap operas.
Did you see how they're trying to adapt to keep everyone --
They're using mannequin heads if they're doing a kissing scene.
-I want to do that. I would do that.
See what I mean about being adaptive?
I would do that in a minute. It's a whole other level, right?
-It's creative. I love it.
-I don't want to kiss that actor.
Bring in his mannequin. -Yes.
-And then I'll show you how it's done.
-Yes! Get in there.
Next time you come on, we'll both have mannequin heads.
We'll see who is the better mannequin-head kisser.
-That's right.
I don't want just the head. I want the whole mannequin.
-The whole mannequin? Oh, I see. See?
You're an actor. Yeah, exactly. -Yeah.
-You get right in there.
Julianne, we're actually highlighting
small businesses tonight, and I know you're a New Yorker.
The city has so many great small businesses.
What's one of your favorites?
-My favorite small business is Casa Magazines,
which is a magazine store, an old-fashioned magazine store,
on the corner of West 12th and 8th.
And it's like -- First of all, there are almost
no magazine stores left anymore,
because magazines sort of disappeared.
So it's almost like going into, like,
a vinyl store or something.
But there are magazines from all over the world and newspapers.
And the guys who work there are great,
and I absolutely love it.
So I want to shout them out and tell everybody to go to
the West Village and buy some magazines.
-Yeah, do it. -Yeah.
-I was just going to ask you about
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
-Yeah.
-We're all sad because she passed away on Friday.
I know you're an activist.
What did she mean to you? -Oh, man.
I mean, I think everybody thought --
First of all, I think we all thought
that she was superhuman, that she would live forever.
So, obviously, it was a huge, huge shock when she passed away.
But she's somebody who's been so, I think, inspirational
for all of us as human beings and has lit the way
for so many and really fought her entire life for fairness.
I mean, really, that's what she's about.
When she talks about gender equality,
she's really talking about making it
more fair for everybody, for men and women, for all of us.
-Yeah. You've been an activist for many years.
Where did your activism come from?
-I think probably my parents.
You know, my dad was in the Army,
and I think that when you work within a structure
like that, you have a huge sense of social responsibility.
You know, it's -- He's a patriot,
and it's really about, you know, serving your country.
And my mother was a psychiatric social worker,
so she worked with people
and talked about their problems and the social problems.
I think that I was raised with an idea that you were --
Yeah, you had civic responsibility.
-That's pretty cool.
I didn't know your mom was a psychiatrist.
-Yeah, a psychiatric social worker.
Yeah. -Wow! That's fascinating.
-Yeah, it's interesting, right? I know, I know.
-Did you go to her for every advice
and, like, get, like, the --
Were your friends like, "Hey,
can I talk to your mom for a little bit?"
-I know.
Well, I think what's interesting --
like, I didn't think it had anything to do with my
being an actor.
Now, of course, I look back and I'm like, "Yeah,
I mean, I had a father who was in the military
and a judge who talked about, you know,
intention and crime all the time,
and a mother who talked about emotions
and the family dynamics and stuff,
so it was really just all about behavior every night.
-Yeah. And look what you've done.
Yeah, exactly. It's perfect.
It was perfect. -And I don't have to pretend.
-Yeah.
Your new movie, "The Glorias" --
you play well-known activist Gloria Steinem,
one of the leaders of the feminist movement.
Not a traditional biopic, though.
-No. The movie is directed by Julie Taymor,
who's virtually an experimental filmmaker, I would say.
I mean, she really -- She's so extraordinary,
the work she does.
It really is a -- So, it's based on Gloria Steinem's book
"My Life on the Road."
But there are four of us who play Gloria Steinem
at different points in her life.
So, there are two young girls,
one little girl, one teenage girl,
and then Alicia Vikander plays Gloria in her 20s and 30s,
and then I play Gloria from 40 and up.
Yeah, she's great.
So, we all sort of play Gloria at different points in her life.
So it's a portrait not just of her,
but also sort of where the world was at that time,
and it's also a portrait of the women's movement.
So I think it's really interesting.
-Had you met Gloria Steinem before making this?
-I met her, like, brief-- I saw her at a Time's Up meeting,
and, you know, she was there,
but there were a lot of us there.
And then I went to -- There was a play based on the book, too,
and I went to the play.
And she came out at the end for a talk-back,
and on her way by, she was went...
I was like, "Oh, my God!"
-Isn't that fun? -She said hi to me.
-That's the best when you get that little butterfly,
and you're like, "That was so cool."
-Yeah. Oh, she's wonderful.
-Did she come to set when you were filming?
-She did.
She was there and she was there during rehearsal and stuff.
-Is it weird?
-Oh, terrifying.
You know, and Julie asked me, too --
she's like, "What do you think about her being on set?"
I'm like, "Just don't tell me when she's watching.
I don't want to know."
-Dude, I would freak out. I don't want to know.
Dude, I would do the same thing. -Yeah, yeah.
She's incredible.
She's so generous. She's -- Yeah.
-I always feel that way even, like, when people --
Well, now we don't have an audience,
but when we do bring them back,
but anyone who wanted to come who was a friend,
I go, "You got to sit in the back, and it's got to be dark."
I would never -- Even, like, when I did stand-up,
I would never want any of my friends or anyone
sitting in the front row, 'cause I would, like --
It just throws me off.
-Oh, no, I can't bear it either.
When I've done plays, I don't like --
I'm like, "Just buy the tickets.
You know, don't tell me, please."
-Don't tell me. Yeah.
And then especially if you're being the person.
It's like, "What?!" -Oh, it's awful.
-Yeah. -Yeah, yeah. Absolutely awful.
-That's pressure right there, yeah.
Your co-star, the great Bette Midler,
said that you two became best friends working on this film.
-Because I made her,
because I've worked really, really hard on it.
-You worked her? -I worked her.
You're like, "Dude, we're going to be friends, trust me."
-We're going to be friends until it kills me, man.
She'd be sitting in the makeup chair,
and I'd go and stand really, really close to her
and talk to her the entire time and ask about her life
and talk to her about lunch and all this kind of stuff
and ask her if she wanted to hold hands or sing a song
or do a little tap dance or anything.
Anyway, so now we're best friends.
-No way. -Yeah.
-She is the most fun. -Oh, yeah.
I worked so hard.
-And it paid off. -She's the best.
-She really is. I want to show everyone a clip.
Here's Julianne Moore in "The Glorias."
Take a look.
-I refuse to feed the idea that women can't get along.
-Sometimes, we don't get along.
We argue, we fight.
And that reminds me -- I came here to tell you, in person,
you have been elected, in absentia,
to represent the National Women's Political Caucus
at the Democratic convention.
-No. No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. No.
-Betty was actually there campaigning to be elected
and she lost.
I don't want that job, Bella. That's why I didn't go.
-That is exactly why you should have that job.
-And exactly how does that make sense?
-A reluctant spokeswoman is more likely to represent the group.
-I have no desire to make an enemy out of Betty Friedan.
-Too late.
-"The Glorias" is available
on Amazon Prime Video September 30th.
Thank you so much for being here, Julianne.
And, really, I miss you.
I want to see you in person, okay, pal?
-Oh, I know. Thanks for having me.
It's so nice to see you, really. -Best to the fam, too.