Kate Beckinsale Reveals Her Favorite Ava Gardner Film and What Drew Her to the Iconic Star
Kate Beckinsale recently opened up about her admiration for legendary actress Ava Gardner, revealing her favorite performance by the Hollywood icon. As an actress who portrayed Gardner in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator , Beckinsale shared her deep appreciation for Gardner’s work and how she prepared for the role.
Gardner, a celebrated star in the 1940s and ’50s, was known for her striking presence and iconic voice. She also had a well-documented romance with billionaire Howard Hughes, which was featured in The Aviator , where Gardner’s character was brought to life by Beckinsale. Beckinsale discussed how challenging it was to play a real-life person, especially one as famous as Gardner, knowing the high expectations attached to such portrayals. As she put it, getting it right could lead to award nominations, but getting it wrong would result in criticism and a tarnished legacy.
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To fully immerse herself in the role, Beckinsale revisited several of Gardner's performances, seeking to capture the essence of the actress's style and spirit. She revealed that one movie, in particular, stood out to her. “I had to watch Mogambo so many times,” Beckinsale confessed. Directed by John Ford and released in 1954, Mogambo featured Gardner as a wealthy New York woman who becomes involved with a big-game hunter during a trip to Africa. Beckinsale noted that it became her favorite Gardner film, surpassing even The Barefoot Contessa , which had initially been her top pick.
Beckinsale was drawn to Gardner’s distinctive voice, which she found to be a significant part of her appeal. The actress revealed that she is particularly sensitive to vocal patterns and wanted to ensure that she captured Gardner’s deep, husky voice accurately without slipping into imitation. This challenge, as Beckinsale explained, was important to her as she sought to portray Gardner authentically, without turning the character into a parody. Director Martin Scorsese shared this desire, avoiding gimmicks like prosthetics or exaggerated features in order to stay true to the spirit of the characters.
While Beckinsale’s portrayal of Ava Gardner in The Aviator was widely praised, she did not receive an Academy Award nomination, despite the film’s success and multiple Oscar wins. Interestingly, Cate Blanchett, who played Katharine Hepburn in the same film, earned an Oscar for her performance. This reflects the competitive nature of portraying real-life figures and the fine line actors walk between homage and caricature.
Ava Gardner’s career spanned decades, and she remained a prominent figure in Hollywood until the 1980s. Her legacy includes numerous memorable roles, including a Golden Globe-winning performance in Mogambo and a notable role in The Night of the Iguana in 1964. Despite her tumultuous personal life, including marriages to Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra, Gardner’s impact on cinema remains undeniable. She passed away in 1990 at the age of 67, leaving behind a body of work that continues to inspire both new generations of fans and actresses like Kate Beckinsale.
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