After hitting major film stardom in the ’80s, Michelle Pfeiffer was a very rare presence on television screens — unless you count sitting in the audience for her Oscar nominations or a very occasional guest shot like playing herself on The Muppets or a brief voice-over on The Simpsons. She didn’t surface at all on the small screen until 2017, when she got her first Emmy nomination for playing Ruth Madoff opposite Robert De Niro in The Wizard of Lies. Then we saw her as Betty Ford in The First Lady in 2022.
Suddenly Pfeiffer seems to be everywhere this season with a leading role in Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ drama The Madison, for which she already has completed shooting a second season, and in a supporting role opposite Elle Fanning in Apple TV’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles, which marks the first major collaboration she has done with her husband David E. Kelley. There is Emmy buzz for both shows, and Pfeiffer has won raves.
She joins me for this episode of my Deadline video series The Actor’s Side to talk about both of these shows, the reasons she decided to jump into TV in such a big way this year and much more. With a filmography that includes Scarface, The Witches of Eastwick, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Batman Returns, Dangerous Liaisons, Married to the Mob and many others, there also is much to talk about in her extraordinary career. That includes Tequila Sunrise, in which she co-starred with Kurt Russell, who is now reunited with her on The Madison. It also includes a recent dive into the Marvel universe with a role in Ant-Man, an experience she is not afraid to give an opinion about. And then there’s her Catwoman role in Batman Returns, which she says was “like a dream come true.”
To watch our conversation and to get the “actor’s side” of things from Michelle Pfeiffer, just click on the link above.
Join me every Tuesday and Thursday this season for a new episode of The Actor’s Side and every Monday and Friday for a new Behind the Lens.
