Naomi Watts remembers being told that by the time she turned 40, her acting career would be finished.
Now 56, she is fresh off a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Babe Paley in “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.” In March, she’ll star in the movie “The Friend,” based on the National Book Award-winning novel by Sigrid Nunez. And her first book, “Dare I Say It,” out Tuesday, delves into her experience being told at 36 that she was going into early menopause, and navigating that.
“It was shocking to me that half the population was told to zip it through an inevitable time of life,” Watts said of the stigma and silence surrounding perimenopause and menopause. She eventually threw herself into the conversation “lock, stock and barrel,” explaining, “I got sick of holding the secret, which I did for a long time.”
In a video call from Los Angeles, during that brief moment between the glamour of the Golden Globes and the devastation of the fires, Watts spoke about her love of pickleball, her admiration for David Bowie, and her conviction that peppermint tea and milk do not mix.
These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Pickleball
I’m obsessed with pickleball. Everyone seems to think that if you say you love pickleball you’re really leaning into the old age thing, but I’ve seen people in their 20s in New York getting fired up about it.
Games
Over the Christmas break I played a ton of cards and Bananagrams. I also play this game called Snatch, which is like an aggressive version of Bananagrams. I get pretty competitive, but only when I’m playing games. I think that’s from having a big brother and competing to win. I’m also on a Wordle chain, and whoever wins the day before gets to choose the word. I do that every single day and I’ve only missed a few here and there since we started. My stats are very impressive.
‘Emilia Pérez’
I just watched this Jacques Audiard film and loved it. It’s so innovative and wild, with so many ideas and visuals going on at once. I’d seen his older film “Rust and Bone” with Marion Cotillard, which I also loved. All of the actors in “Emilia Pérez” are just fantastic, and Zoe Saldaña got recognized at the Globes the other night. It’s just a fantastic piece of filmmaking.
Properly Brewed Tea
I drink it all day. I love builder’s tea, strong black tea like PG Tips. It’s got to be made right, though. I have to educate the Americans about how to make it. It has to be drunk with milk. When you order tea in a restaurant or on a plane and they bring you the hot water and the bag together, it’s all wrong. It’s not going to work. You pour the hot water over the bag. Then sometimes when you order tea with milk, they get confused and they bring you a peppermint tea with milk, and I’m like, This is poison!
Le Pavillon de la Reine
I love everything about Paris. I love its romance, I love the walking, I love the restaurants. I like to stay at a place called Le Pavillon de la Reine. It’s a boutique hotel with a fireplace, so it’s lovely in winter.
Cooking
One of my favorite things is to eat at home with friends and have a great meal and great conversation. I tend to do roasts, so a lot of roast chicken and veggies. My mom is a good cook, so I learned a lot from her. She’s not a recipe person, she’s a trial-and-error person — you have to be practiced at that. I didn’t learn to become a good cook until I had kids.
Staying Moisturized
I have horribly cracked feet in these dry winter months so I use lots of Eucerin Intensive Repair lotion to moisturize my skin. I put lotion on at night before bed, and it really helps.
Dogs
I’ve had dogs all my life, and I don’t understand people that don’t love dogs. I barely understand cat people, and I always root for dogs. I like cats; I’m just allergic to them. If you have a cat, though, you better have a dog, too, because at least they’re nice to you.
Representative Sarah McBride
I’m a big fan of her work as an activist and politician. What she’s doing is wonderful. I’m impressed by how she handles everything with such grace despite the fact that she’s always under attack, for all the wrong reasons. She’s working on fighting against L.G.B.T.Q. discrimination, and I think that’s super important.
David Bowie
The first album I ever bought was “Hunky Dory,” and all those songs — every single one — is amazing. “Changes” is the biggest and best in my nostalgic brain. It’s so interesting to think of what he’d be doing now. I wish he was still around. I really do. When you see those little clips and interviews of him way back when, he just knew so much. He was onto something.
