Naomi Watts thinks David Bowie was on to something

On By Littum

Naomi Watts remembers being told that when she turned 40, her acting career would be over.

Now 56, she’s fresh off a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Babe Paley in “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.” In March, she stars in the film “The Friend,” based on the National Book Award-winning novel by Sigrid Nunez. And her first book, “I Dare I Say It,” out Tuesday, delves into her experience of being told at age 36 that she was going through early menopause and navigating it.

“It was shocking to me that half the population was being asked to slide it through an unavoidable time of life,” Watts said of the stigma and silence surrounding perimenopause and menopause. Finally, she launched into the “lock, stock and barrel” conversation, explaining, “I got tired of keeping the secret, which I did for a long time.”

In a video call from Los Angeles, in the brief moment between the glamor of the Golden Globes and the devastation of the fires, Watts talked about his love of pickleball, his admiration for David Bowie and his belief that peppermint tea and milk do. not mix.

These are edited excerpts from the interview.

I’m obsessed with pickleball. Everyone seems to think that if you say you love pickleball, you’re really leaning into it with old age, but I’ve seen people in their 20s in New York get upset about it.

During the Christmas holidays I played a ton of cards and bananagrams. I also play this game called Snatch, which is like an aggressive version of Bananagrams. I get pretty competitive, but only when I play games. I think it’s from having a big brother and competing to win. I’m also in a Wordle chain and whoever wins the day before gets to pick the word. I do that every single day and I’ve only missed a few here and there since we started. My stats are very impressive.

I just watched this Jacques Audiard movie and loved it. It’s so innovative and wild, with so many ideas and images at once. I had seen his older film “Rust and Bone” with Marion Cotillard, which I also loved. All the actors in “Emilia Pérez” are just amazing, and Zoe Saldaña was recognized at the Globes the other night. It’s just a great piece of film.

I drink it all day. I love builder’s tea, strong black tea like PG Tips. However, it must be done correctly. I have to educate the Americans on how to do it. It must be drunk with milk. When you order tea in a restaurant or on an airplane and they bring you the hot water and the bag together, it’s completely wrong. It’s not going to work. You pour the hot water over the bag. So sometimes when you order tea with milk they get confused and they bring you a peppermint tea with milk and I think it’s poison!

I love everything about Paris. I love its romance, I love walking, I love the restaurants. I like to stay at a place called Le Pavillon de la Reine. It’s a boutique hotel with a fireplace, so it’s nice in the winter.

One of my favorite things is to eat at home with friends and have a good meal and good conversation. I usually fry, so a lot of fried chicken and vegetables. My mother is a good cook, so I learned a lot from her. She is not a recipe person, she is a trial and error person – you have to practice that. I didn’t learn to be a good cook until I had kids.

I have horribly cracked feet in these dry winter months, so I use lots of Eucerin Intensive Repair lotion to moisturize my skin. I put lotion on at night before bed and it really helps.

I’ve had dogs all my life and I don’t understand people who don’t love dogs. I barely understand cat people and I’m always rooting for dogs. I like cats; I’m just allergic to them. But if you have a cat, you better have a dog, because at least they are nice to you.

I am a big fan of her work as an activist and politician. What she does is wonderful. I’m impressed with how she handles everything with such grace despite always being under attack for all the wrong reasons. She works to fight LGBTQ discrimination, and I think that’s super important.

The first album I ever bought was “Hunky Dory” and all those songs – every single one – are amazing. “Changes” is the biggest and best in my nostalgic brain. It is so interesting to think what he would do now. I wish he was still around. I really do. When you watch the little clips and interviews of him way back, he just knew so much. He was onto something.