Gena Rowlands is a theater legend. The 94-year-old star’s unbeatable career spans six decades, with several Academy Award nominations as well as roles in many classic films.
If you’re of a certain age, there’s a good chance that one of the first times you saw Gena on the big screen was in the hit 2004 romantic drama. Notebookadapted from the book of the same name by Nicholas Sparks.
In the film, Gena plays the older version of Allie, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. (Rachel McAdams, as you well know, played the younger version of Allie.)
Notebook was also directed by Gena’s son, Nick Cassavetes. Her father was the late legendary actor and filmmaker John Cassavetes, who also directed several films with Gena as A woman under the influence And Gloria.
In a new interview with Weekly EntertainmentNick revealed that Gena has also been battling Alzheimer’s for five years.
“I asked my mom to play older Allie, and we spent a lot of time talking about Alzheimer’s and wanting to be authentic,” Nick told the publication. “And now, for five years, she has suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.”
“She’s in full-blown dementia. And it’s so crazy – we lived it, she acted it out, and now it’s our fault.”
As EW points out, Gena’s mother also suffered from Alzheimer’s later in life – and in a 2004 interview with O magazineshe reflected on her role in Notebook in light of his family history.
“This last – Notebookbased on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, was particularly difficult because I play a character with Alzheimer’s disease,” she said. “I went through that with my mother, and if Nick hadn’t didn’t make the film, I don’t think I could have done it. I would have agreed – it’s just too hard.”
“It was a tough but wonderful film. »
You can read Nick’s full interview here.
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