Julianne Moore is like the Teri Hatcher of the movies. Calm down... What I mean is, she cries a lot. In private.
Her directors know she can pull out the waterworks on the spot, and at one time she might have considered writing it into her contract. The fact is she's brilliant and when Julianne cries, we cry. In private.
When playing the conflicted housewife (another signature) Cathy Whitaker in the majestic Far from Heaven, Julianne worked out with her auteur Todd Haynes that Cathy have a special place to cry. Since Cathy was a housewife and much of her pain stemmed from the home, Cathy would run outside to a tucked away corner of the yard where she could weep and still maintain that pleasant facade.
Amber Waves, Laura Brown and Linda Partridge, just to name a few, each get their hard-hitting (and private) crying jag moments. The back of the courthouse, the bathroom, the garage; it's hard to find a dry room in the house after Julianne's been there.
Even Julianne's real kids think she has a borderline personality because of this gift. Julianne says, "My kids have a vague understanding of what I do - it's pretend. We play these games where we fake cry and see who is the best fake crier. They go, 'Waah!' then say, 'I was acting!'" What she's really saying is that she always wins, but it's a master class for her kids nonetheless.
