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The World According to Garp (1982)

After spotting Close on Broadway in the 1980 musical Barnum, director George Roy Hill knew he'd found his Jenny Fields for the movie adaptation of John Irving's oddball coming-of-age novel. But for the actress, jumping from stage to screen wasn't so simple. ''I talked really loud because I was used to projecting from a stage,'' says Close. ''And also my energy—I thought I would blow out the camera because I didn't know how to pull it in.'' The movie also marked the dramatic film debut of spark-plug-brained comedian Robin Williams, who starred as Jenny's son, Garp. ''People would say, 'Is Robin always like that?' But when he wasn't 'on,' he was very soft-spoken, and very vulnerable.'' From the beginning, Close wasn't afraid to go to the mat for her characters' best interests. ''I fought for a look that I thought was convincing when [my character] aged. My best friend, Mary Beth Hurt, was also in Garp, and her wig was terrible. And she never did anything about it. Sounds like I'm all about wigs—well, I think any actress will be nodding her head in agreement.''

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Image Credit: Everett Collection