“That was the hook,” said McDormand. “It was the power of being a really shy and slightly suspicious seventh grader who was able to stand in front of a group of people and keep their attention.” She also loved that Shakespeare’s female characters were as hungry for power as men: “It’s like I used to say to Joel, ‘Why don’t you write better roles for women? In fact, why don’t you just write a role for men and then let me play it? ‘”
She married Coen shortly after making her screen debut in 1984 in the noir “Blood Simple”, which he directed with Ethan. Twelve years later, the Coen brothers would give McDormand his main role, which could only be played by a woman: Marge, the cheerful “Fargo” pregnant police chief.
This film made her famous, a condition that McDormand considered a fire to be put out: after hiring an advertiser, she almost immediately instructed him to refuse most orders.
“I made a very conscious effort not to do press and publicity for 10 years in what other people would think would be a very dangerous time in an actress’ career, but it was worth it for exactly the reasons I wanted,” she said. “It brought me back to a mystery about who I was, and then, in the roles I played, I could take the audience to a place where someone who sold watches or perfumes and magazines couldn’t.”
For her, “Nomadland” is the culmination of this effort to remain intact in the public eye. “That’s why it works,” she said. “That’s why Chloé endured thinking about doing this to me, because of what I created for years, not only as an actor, but in my personal life.”
We walked back through the city, and as we climbed a hill covered with brush and eucalyptus, McDormand drew a final line: “So, I’m going to go through my house and then I’m going to leave you,” she said. . She asked if I had plans for dinner and pointed me to a farm stall where I could stop by on the way home. “They have wonderful little jewels and some good old arugula,” she said, “but no eggs now because the chickens are all cold.”