What was it like as a young woman in Hollywood?
My father was concerned that, being a young pretty girl, I was going to get ‘#MeToo-ed’. He was right, as that did happen. Then an agent saw what young girls were put through. He had a very good way of dealing with that and said, ‘Just kick them in the nether regions, darling.’ Little tricks for getting out of tricky situations. I did not see a future Hollywood legend when I looked in the mirror when I was younger. I always wanted to be an actress, but in the theatre. Even though I loved movie stars, I wanted to be on the stage.
So, you started out treading the boards…
Yes, I passed my test at RADA aged 15, did three months at rep and learned all the ropes… I also started to do teen modelling, and I got discovered. I was whisked off when I was 20 and it was fantastic. I was not treated at all like a precious young starlet. I did not want to go to Hollywood, I wanted to be in the theatre. I got offered $1,000 a week, but I wanted $2,500 a week. My agent said I was ‘insane’ and said I should stay in England and learn my craft. But they gave me the money and I got to play top roles. I was very lucky. I don’t spend too much time in Hollywood, now.
Are stars better behaved today?
I think people behave themselves, but I can’t speak for Generation Z. The parties I go to now are kind of… dull. They are like Red Carpet things in which everybody does behave. If you don’t behave now you are going to get cancelled. I like young stars, with lots of glamour. I think Nicole Kidman is fabulous and Margot Robbie is one of the great beauties.
You met Frank Sinatra once, didn’t you…?
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| Joan with Roger Moore & Oscar Lerman |
I was once seated between Frank and Gregory Peck at Roger Moore’s birthday party. Frank Sinatra was a tiny bit past his prime when I met him. Barbara Sinatra was sitting beside him saying, ‘Have you taken your pills, Frank?’ He said, ‘That woman never stops!’ He was around 80 then and had a tough life. I thought he was amazing. Back then you had three things going for you in Hollywood and it was youth, beauty and a contract. Those
were solid advantages.
We were invited to the top parties every Saturday night, it was magical.
And Roger Moore…
We met when I was 14 and my father was his agent. I met him in the library of our home. The best-looking man I’d ever seen. He came over and said, ‘Hello, I am Roger Moore.’ I replied, ‘Of course you are.’
Do today’s stars have the same appeal as those from the Golden Age?
Brad [Pitt] and Keanu [Reeves] do. Particularly Brad, he is like one of the movie stars of the Golden Age.
Any fashion advice for Boris Johnson?
I give good fashion advice, but where do you start? The black socks and the sandals and then the shorts. No, I can’t even go there, it would take too long. He’s quite charismatic and very funny and very charming, though. Whatever you may think of him, that is my opinion.
How is your other half, Percy?
Percy is my rock, and we are joined at the hip. Hopefully, we will be forever. He is a spectacularly special man… I am sure there are many, but I just did not happen to marry them before. We became great friends before we started our romance. In my new book, Behind the Shoulder Pads, I talk about it for the first time as it is very special. He has got everything right. Husband number one was 32 and I was 18, I was a big starlet and he tried to demean me. He was rough and hit me a few times. We had an abusive relationship, which lasted a year.
Any guilty pleasures, Joan?
I tell you what I do like, these days… In the afternoons on Channel 5 at 2.15pm, they have old-fashioned movies like My Horrible Neighbour Next Door or My Mother Stole My Boyfriend. They’re good for relaxing. Any time somebody gets shot, they don’t show the blood, or the body.
You have a quick tongue, don’t you…
I have always spoken and said what I thought. I can’t be a hypocrite. I can’t say, ‘Oh you look gorgeous!’ when someone looks hideous, which is what happens in Hollywood. It is embarrassing, I
think.
● Behind The Shoulder Pads will be published in September. For details of Dame Joan’s live shows, see joancollins.com/live/
Plain-speaking Joan Collins talks Old Hollywood, famous friends, dreadful hypocrites and why it’s best not to pretend others look glamorous…
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