Dame Joan Collins on Jackie, #MeToo, & ‘American Horror Story’

on Larry King now Dame Joan Collins why do you keep keep on keepin on you could retire you could go off into the watch watch the dog I probably could have I got residuals from dynasty but since I don't I have to keep up a certain lifestyle that I have gotten used to tell me about being made Dame this was given to me by Prince Charles a future king and it was a huge honor it's a huge oh you can't go any higher than that they were sword that's like they do not yeah they do they shake hands and they pin on a wonderful pinion Prince Charles said about time to plus some people said well why didn't should come out with this before why didn't you tell us before I said I did I wrote it in 1978 in my first autobiography past imperfect but you didn't report to police nobody did I did report it because it people would just have laughed at you it's all next on Larry King now [Music] welcome to Larry King now and today's special guest is a dear friend the actress author producer entrepreneur Dame Joan Collins she's appeared in more than 60 films and over a hundred television shows including of course dynasty which remains one of the most highly rated television dramas in history for her work Joan has won two Golden Globes and a People's Choice Awards while also receiving several Emmy nominations on September 12th Joan will be back on the small screen in FX's American Horror Story apocalypse good to see you darling it's good to see you too daddy why do you keep keep on keeping on you can retire you could go off in two then watch what I probably could if I got residuals from dynasty but since I don't I have to keep up a certain lifestyle that I have gotten used to I also have got three children three grandchildren a lot of God children and I like my lifestyle so but honestly Larry I really love working I really do enjoy acting I enjoy it and when you enjoy what you do well I think so I mean my brother told me that people who retire in England like rain aged 65 or 70 they usually don't last longer than about 18 months yeah to do so I think it's much anyway the fact of the matter is I never think about how old I am I just think you know am I going to be able to do this do I like it do I like the role and I do we're going to talk about apocalypse in a little bit tell me about being made Dame my friend Elizabeth Taylor was Dame I know and I've worked with Elizabeth and she insisted on everybody called her Dame which I don't do I was made first of all I was made an OBE which is the year most excellent Order of the British Empire for acting which was in 98 and I was given that by the Queen and that is quite a nice honor in Britain but then when I was asked to be a Dame that is like the highest honor that you can give to a tooth yes which people don't understand they understand sir like I said to Michael Caine do they call you mr. Caine or do they call you sir Michael he said well it depends sometimes they call me normally they're coming mr. Caine and this was given to me by Prince Charles of future King and it was a huge honor I mean it's a huge em you can't go any higher than that they were sword that's like they do they do or do they do you they shake hands and they pin on a wonderful pin which they don't pin it because it's got a special kind of sticky thing that they just stick it there and it stays and then they say to you and Prince Charles said about time to which I thought was rather wonderful and we chatted I've met him a lot of times merciful terrific though your country I know I know so you get the Order of the British Empire and and the commander of the British Empire so it's the most what it's wonderful em a brooch and then there's a huge heart-shaped pin that you pin on your hip but you can only wear them when it's sort of a grand occasion and so there aren't that many correct occasions well you're a hell of a dame thank you you recently won Best Actress at the LA short films festival for your role in Jerry you what was Jerry well I can't say what Jerry is is the name of the person but it was a short film and in it I was completely I can only say hideous I had prosthetics on and lines on my face I was made to look like an elderly widow who was looking for love who has to go through advertisements in newspapers that say man 65 looking for woman who enjoys bicycling and going to the beach and so she has these various dates with these different people it was a short film it's a short film why did you do it because it's everybody always thinks that I'm glamorous and everybody always thinks that I only want to do roles in which I look good and I'm an actress I I will do anything that I enjoy the role so I did it didn't pay very well so if you like it you'll do it yes if I like it and also if it suits where I'm going to be I don't really think I'd want to go to Prague for three months like some actress and actresses that I know do it was really great to do American Horror Story because it's in LA where I live I want to talk about that a couple of seconds what do you look for now when you get a script I look for a character that I can inhabit and that I can feel an affinity to Laurence Olivier said once that he didn't know how to play Richard the third because it was such a horrible character and his director can't remember who it was said you must find something in the character that you can relate to that you really like because you can't play a person that you don't like because everybody likes themselves well most people like themselves so I always look for something that I can like about the person also that it's an interesting interesting part yeah nobody looks in the mirror and says I'm bad of course no not even serial killers that's right yeah after the break Dame Joan Collins will look back at her most memorable roles including Alexis Carrington in the dynasty and inflation tell us what to expect from the new season of American Horror Story stay with us on this edition of Larry King down the backward Dame Joan Collins on September 12th will sear in FX's American Horror Story apocalypse in our next segment we'll be asking about it when you broke in you and your famous sister Jackie did she do you a hit actress before sure she was before she was a hit author yeah well I cuz I started at the age of 17 Ashley I started at 9 I I made my first stage appearance at 9 in a show called a doll's house which is an absent play I played a boy and then I went to stage school and then I went to Rada the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and I got discovered and I was in movies by the time I was 17 when Jackie was still like 14 she used to write all the time Larry she did oh my god you should see some of the things she wrote when she was 11 and 12 she has such an insight into people I found some of her writing recently you know she died it'll be three years in September and it was extraordinary the understanding that she had a people that she could write about these are the people the different generation I mean grown-ups that she would write about when she was 11 and 12 we were always close yeah we were very close because at that particular time not only did I want to be an actress I also wanted to be a dress designer so I used to design her characters so she would say this is Jason he's a hippie and he's in a green dress and a green outfit and so I would draw them they would be cut out and pasted in these books and I'd found these books after she died and they are extraordinary because the writing her first of all her writing her cursive writing was extraordinarily good and my drawings us were pretty good she never told people she was stick right never told anybody only her children you didn't know no I knew I never forget when she told me I was in the South of France and I she said I've got I've got Stage four breast cancer and it's I saw her two days before I know I saw a week before she came to London she came to London for my a big party that we had and I don't know it was tragic I still I still dream about her did you think dynasty would be the hit it was never in a million years when my agent Tom Coleman called me I was in on holiday with my daughter who is recovering from a head injury and he said I've got this gig for you in LA he said it's called dynasty I said what's dynasty a Chinese restaurant he said no it's a show it's been on for a season and they needs some spice and he says about a six-week gig so the six weeks turned into nine years why did it work I think the characters were a great combination I think the character of Linda was a wonderful mirror opposite image of me you know the sweet blonde as opposed to the devilish brunette and fighting of Blake that was you know the stalwart rather Square guy the children were all very good-looking and I think the main thing is that everybody was very good-looking very well-dressed very rich and miserable and I think related to that you've seen so many changes what do you think of what's going on now the me - movement well well you must have experienced a lot of that come on any actress who was in movies and the fifties sixties seventies yeah of course I did in fact I wrote about it and some of my earlier what a biography zone in fact I wrote about it when I wrote about it recently and I mentioned it in an article some people said well why didn't you come out with this before why didn't you tell us before I said I did I wrote it in 1978 in my first autobiography past imperfect but you didn't for to police you didn't make an issue of it nobody did know what I did report it because it people would just have laughed at you and not taking you seriously and just said well that's the way it is I I talked to an older actress my first film I was seventeen I just turned 18 and the producer was chasing me all over the studio all the time and all the inappropriate things that you hear about today trying to corner me and one night I went into the wardrobe department because they knew and they had me in a cupboard full of clothes while he came in and said where's Joan I want to drop her home because at that time I didn't drive I had to take a bus and a tube and then get my car and they had me and then one of the actors came in and said I'll take you home and he took me home in his car and he made inappropriate advances which was I have to tell you Larry I pushed a lot of it to the back of my mind because I really only think of good things in life I try to but the me to movement it's all come out a lot in in my in my consciousness and one day maybe I'll write about it a bit more but it was shocking it was shocking but you know what you used to do used it I was very good at with the me in the nether regions you know and the Snapple in the face oh yeah I fought back I fought back a lot as I got older but you know when it's the producer of the movie who's chasing you around and you're only just turned 18 yeah when you're Harvey Weinstein yeah well I know exactly so that was shouldn't have shocked you they don't think anything shocks me anymore no yeah some of it's shocking but I I want to know I haven't seen exactly what happened after the break Dame Joan Collins we'll talk about strangest fan encounters best piece of advice she ever got proudest accomplishment and of course we'll talk about her role in apocalypse that's all ahead on Larry King not backward Dame Joan Collins terrific maybe one of my favorite people we both frequent a place called crags if you're in Los Angeles go to crags try and get a reservation okay tell me about American Horror Story this they're all hits that this has been a hit what was it like to work for mr. Murphy well I haven't seen mr. Murphy on the set in fact I met run at the Vanity Fair party in February and he said I really want you to be in my show I'm gonna write a great role for you and I thought it was the usual Hollywood BS you know and it was all very nice and he was charming Swedes and I went off and as I went off I saw Angelica Huston and she said I saw you talking to Ryan was he talking to you about being an American Horror Story and I said yeah and she said yeah I was talking to me about it - why is she in it - I don't know it wasn't so far not to know oh you're still shooting it oh yeah yeah we're still shooting we're shooting until the end of October as ryan hasn't directed it not yet no yes sir I did him with the OJ Simpson thing well that was oh that's right you were in it you're playing you played yourself off I love that and Sarah party all right okay who do you play in the pot what can you tell us about apocalypse well all I can tell you is this incredibly frightening I've been frightened on this set several times and I play at least three or four different characters so it's not just one character what do you mean well what do I mean what do we mean I mean it's a you know in the first one first couple I play a character called I can't tell you the name and then in the fourth and fifth I play another character and then I play another character it's scary some some are you enjoying it yes it's great fun because it's unexpected and the thing is I know I said that I always want to know what I'm doing but Jim a Ryan Murphy well he's the Aaron Spelling of his day really isn't he yeah you would say go anywhere where you point mister we play a little game of if you only knew oh I just throw some questions at you funniest fan encounter oh yes a photograph of this guy that he sent to me saying I want to marry you I'm in jail for a crime I did not commit and here's my photo and the picture was a guy lying naked on his bunk in jail what's the best piece of advice you ever got certainly the best beauty advice I ever got was not to ever lie in the Sun and put my face in the Sun and I so I don't good tip what's the worst piece of advice where will we find you on a day off probably and watching American movie classics what was the most starstruck you've ever been strangely and horribly enough it's meeting my first husband because he was a big movie star in England who I had a crush on meeting him I was totally starstruck married him stupidly what was his name his name was Maxwell Reid and he was like a big star then someone from yesteryear you'd like to have shared the screen with yesteryear think one of the things the Brits get wrong about America I hope they think everybody's a Yankee what do Americans get wrong about Great Britain they think we all tall aren't this someone from history you'd like to take to lunch Churchill yeah personal greatest accomplishment I think my three children and being able to have a career that's survived in 60 years I've been 61 years really on the air 61 years we're the same age yeah we don't tell you you don't tell your age oh the same Oscar Wilde said any lady who would tell her age would tell you anything he got it right do you have any regrets in your career um no ever turn anything down you'll regret it yeah I did turn a movie down once I was engaged to a young actor called Warren Beatty who was just starting out and heard of him yeah and no we're very friendly Warren and me he's a nice guy I like that he was a nice guy and I got the script and the studio wanted me to do it I was under contract Fox and Jerry Wald was begging me to do it and I said I really don't want to do it and he didn't want me to do it Warren and I turned it down and Mary you got the best actress at the Oscars it was called Sons and Lovers I remember do you yeah really you turn that down yes one baby wouldn't let you do it he said that it was crap it actually wasn't I don't know why you know these were the days when to go away on location it was a big deal you know and it wouldn't have met me going away and we were together and I didn't really want to do it and he did I was vacillating when we were joined Dame Joan Collins will answer your questions from social media American Horror Story apocalypse comes out September 12th we'll be right back on Larry the backward Dame Joan Collins American Horror Story FX's American Horror Story the title of this one apocalypse begins on September 12th we'll have some fan questions for you Dan Collins on Twitter how do you feel about Nicole's nicolette sheridan playing alexis in the dynasty remake well so many people have played Hamlet and King Lear what does it matter do you know her I yeah she was a great friend of my sister's yeah Nicolette sure yeah we met several times Jackie's parties what do you think of their doing dynasty again I don't know I haven't really I don't know what do you think we'll see okay Raul pale three or five on Twitter who's been your favorite character to play well two on stage Amanda in private lives the Noel Coward play I love doing that I did it on a tour I did in the West End I did it on Broadway and of course Alexis lives in the great play it's wonderful yeah Metro Punk jrt on Twitter do you prefer acting in television or movies well this is hardly any difference you know anymore no no no there's no difference at the azf on twitter what was it like working on Star Trek with William Shatner oh my goodness I never realized that that was going to be one of the most iconic episodes of Star Trek ever he was very charming to me he and Leonard Nimoy they were very nice and I really did it because my daughter who was then like for said when I was talking to my agent and I said Star Trek what's that and he said mommy must do it you must do it it's fabulous show so it was fun that was one of the best ever one of the city on the edge of forever it was called and I played a missionary worker I was so good I should have had a halo David Maher on Twitter I asked Bill Shatner if he'd like to do some Shakespeare and I was wondering do you think you'd like to do Shakespeare do you know something no it's too difficult to learn I did do it for my entrance examination to rather I did the shores Cleopatra no Shakespeare's Cleopatra yeah Alex Townsend on Facebook who is your favorite co-star of all time Paul Newman I loved him first of all I loved him as a friend he was a really he and Joanna were really good friends and second of all he was just so much fun to work with really yeah he's a good great actor and I really resent it when people say that he wasn't but there's one of those things because he was so good-looking people could never see that he was a really good actor he really was yeah Nancy Sands on the Larry King now blog what's the key to longevity luck yeah luck but also taking care of yourself you have to take care of yourself you have to eat right you have to exercise you have to have a very positive thought process I wake up every morning and I think I'm so lucky like it's so good I'm so happy you beat the game yeah I know your arms ladies big thanks to my guest Dame Joan Collins be sure to see Joan in American Horror Story apocalypse September 12 on FX as always you can find me on Twitter at Kings things and I'll see you next time [Music] you

Channel: Larry King

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Id: n1scsMOQR_A

Length: 23min 44sec (1424 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 12 2020