Stockard Channing opened up about the major impact that her role in Grease had on her life and career during a recent interview.
The 80-year-old actress, who starred as Betty Rizzo in the 1978 movie musical, said she “needed the gig enormously” at the time the role came along. Though Grease remains one of her best-known films, she first referred to it as “the G word” when a writer with The Times asked about it for an article that was published on Thursday, Jan. 23.
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“The depth of the impact is bizarre,” she said of the film, admitting that she has “absolutely no idea” why it remains so popular all these years later. “It’s extraordinary,” she added.
Channing told the British paper that she was navigating a tough stretch in her career at the time she landed the role following “a big, big lesson in show business.” While she gave the job her “all” and said she is still “proud” of both her work and the character she played, the “kid’s movie” was “not taken at all seriously” when it was first released.
“The money that it was making was resented,” she said. “I was resented.”
Channing said that resentment led to fewer meeting invitations for potential acting opportunities in Hollywood, a result that ultimately pushed her “back to the stage.” New opportunities did eventually come along, with Channing embracing roles in movies like 1993’s Six Degrees of Separation and 1996’s The First Wives Club before playing fictional first lady Abbey Bartlet opposite Martin Sheen’s President Jed Bartlet in the political drama series The West Wing.
Looking back, Channing said she now has a new appreciation for Grease. Over time, she came to realize how the film has “affected generations, especially of women and even some men.”
Next: Where Was ‘Grease’ Filmed? Every Filming Location for the Beloved Movie