Cross-dressed for success

Though Janet McTeer has been a working theatre actress since her teens, and has collected a mass of awards and accolades, including a Tony award, Laurence Olivier Theatre award, a Golden Globe and two Oscar nominations, cinema-lovers would be forgiven for only becoming familiar with her work in the past few years. Having acted the socks off Daniel Radcliffe and Ciaran Hinds in last month’s horror film The Woman In Black, she’s about to make another serious impression on audiences with her Oscar-nominated performance in Albert Nobbs, where she plays Hubert, a woman who lives a rich, fulfilling life – while posing as a man.
Having just turned 50, the recent surge in intelligent, complex roles available to her marks an inspiring shift in the priorities of Hollywood; an industry that has a reputation for placing more value on twentysomething blondes who can fill a push-up bra than on more mature actresses. The times, they are a-changing.
“There aren’t nearly as many roles for women as there are for men, and I know I’m very lucky that I get offered many of the roles that are. But you just have to look at the Oscars – of the 10 women that were nominated for ‘Best Actress’ or ‘Best Supporting Actress’, over half of us were over 40. It’s just not quite as true as it was. It’s a bit like people who get divorced at forty and say, ‘My life is over, I’ll be alone forever!’ It’s bollocks! Life does go on after middle-age – even for women!”
But the irony of both McTeer and Close being nominated for roles where they play women living as men isn’t lost on the actress – especially given her history with the Academy Awards. In an odd little twist of fate, McTeer lost out on her first Oscar nomination (for the 1999 film Tumbleweeds) to Hilary Swank’s cross-dressing performance in Boys Don’t Cry.
“It is a weird little pattern!” she laughs. “Now I’ve done the woman-as-man thing, I’ll have to find another really transformative role to catch the Academy’s attention. I suppose next time I’ll have to play somebody short!”
The actress admits her tall stature helped her get into the feel of the role – that, and having a couple of very manly showbiz mates to draw on for inspiration.
“Liam Neeson and my good mate Brendan Gleeson were my two muses! It was a combination of those two, because I’m tall, but I’m not massive, and in the film I wanted to look like a Viking. And they’re two Viking men if ever I saw them! But there’s a warmth too, those big-barrelled personalities and pushed-out chests! I just love their energy and tried to bring it out.”
McTeer’s Hubert proves to be the most compelling character in Albert Nobbs. As Glenn Close’s cross-dressing Albert and the supporting characters display deep dissatisfaction and dishonesty within their lives, Hubert’s marriage becomes the only healthy, loving relationship onscreen. Hubert is never described as a lesbian or cross-dresser and loves, and is loved, because of his (or her - McTeer uses both pronouns to describe her character) ability to see beyond people’s outer labels to their inner humanity.
“That was very important. I’ve always hated labels. It’s bullshit, people making assumptions on what little information they have. And the idea that people can just define themselves by what they have in their heart and what they have in their mind, rather than their sexual choices, sexual preferences or what they choose to wear is my idea of Utopia and it doesn’t really exist – maybe more than it used to, but still in certain places if you were discovered to be a homosexual you’d be stoned to death, even now. That’s a terrible and a terrifying thing. So the idea of playing a character who’s just the nicest human being, happy as Larry, with no great baggage, and is just a really together, gorgeous person was a delight – they just happen to be living as a man.
“That’s my political manifesto!” she jokes. “But I do feel it’s very important, generally and within the function of the piece.”
And as for the acclaim and Academy Award nomination – McTeer’s taking it all in her stride.
“I am quite grounded about it all, because to be honest it’s all quite silly – in the loveliest possible sense. You do this piece of work for a pittance, for the love of the beast, because it really was such a tiny movie. Then a year-and-a-half later you’re at all these very glamorous award ceremonies wearing 50 times the amount I was paid to be in the movie! But while it’s silly and mad, it’s also a great honour and very, very flattering. But really, it’s just a damn good party – and I’m going to enjoy it, win or lose!”