Looking at Constance Zimmer’s acting credits over the past three decades, you might assume the actress, who has had roles in HBO’s Entourage, Netflix’s House of Cards and Lifetime’s UnREAL, only picks series she knows will be cultural and ratings hits. But that’s not quite how she does it.
“When I did UnREAL, I had never even read the script,” Zimmer admits of the drama in which she starred as the conscienceless boss of Shiri Appleby’s young, impressionable reality TV producer. “I was just told what the character was going to be and how we were going to collaborate to create this woman that I had never been given the opportunity to portray. And I went with that.”
When the role of Ann Messina Freeman, the mother of Carolyn Bessette (Sarah Pidgeon) and Lauren Bessette (Sydney Lemmon) in FX’s Love Story, came to her, Zimmer did at least read the script for the character, but it only took one scene — and her admiration for the real-life John F. Kennedy Jr. and his partner, whose romance is at the center of the series created by Connor Hines and executive produced by Ryan Murphy — to get on board.
“When I read the wedding speech, I said, ‘If this is all I do in this show, it’ll be worth it,’ ” the actress recalls. “I’ve always chosen the shows I’ve been on based on the characters I get to play because that’s all I have control over.”
Zimmer certainly chose right again this time. Love Story captivated audiences with its ’90s nostalgia, becoming the most watched limited series ever on Hulu and Disney+. Though she only appeared in three episodes, her character’s impact lingered, particularly when it came to evoking the mother’s shattering reaction to losing her two daughters and John, who’s played by Paul Anthony Kelly, in the finale, “Search and Recovery.”
“That Love Story was able to show more of the Bessette side was a wonderful thing to be a part of,” says Zimmer. “It was really sad, but it felt very cathartic for people who didn’t know them, for people who knew them, for all of us that watched their story unfold in real time.”
After filming for the show wrapped in November, Zimmer lost her own mother, adding an unexpected relatability to her portrayal of Ann as a viewer.
“When I was watching the show, I had a whole new grief that I was unpacking and that I still unpack every day,” she says. “I cried all over again for the shocking loss of my mom. It became cathartic for me, watching myself and dealing with grief and being able to allow myself to feel it all.”
One especially touching moment in the finale, which focuses on the aftermath of the trio’s deaths, features Grace Gummer’s Caroline Kennedy and Ann bonding over their shared loss. Having worked with Gummer on season two of Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom in 2013 helped put Zimmer at ease while filming the taxing scenes.
“After every take, we would both look at each other and just say, ‘Thank God for you,’ because you needed to have two actors in that scene who were ready to fully live those emotions with absolutely no judgment and no filter,” she says. “I don’t know if I could have done it without somebody who has the grace of Grace Gummer.”
Looking back on her portrayal in Love Story, the 55-year-old, whose screen credits also include Boston Legal, Grey’s Anatomy and Shameless, says it’s her half century of lived experience that best prepared her for the role. It’s also why she believes Hollywood still needs more stories centered on women of a particular age.
“There are not enough. We need to see more women, specifically over 50, who find their strength in the wisdom that they’ve learned through their lifetime,” Zimmer says. “To be able to put that into a role, it’s not a coincidence.
“I don’t think I could have delivered a performance like that five years ago, I’ll be honest,” she continues, “and that is because just in the past five years, the experience, the understanding, the growth that I have had really comes with age. We need more powerful women over 45 — I would like to say over 50 — showing the empowerment and strength that comes with aging. That is not a bad thing. That is an incredible thing.”
This story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
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