Susan Sarandon is a woman after my own heart, because she’s an amazing actress, a feminist who loves men, a mother, a leftist who is not afraid to express her political opinions.
I loved her comedic and fearless performance in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Read here my article about the 50th anniversary of this cult film.
She was great in Pretty Baby (1978) with Brooke Shields and Atlantic City (1980) with Burt Lancaster, both directed by French master Louis Malle, who was her lover.
She was daring in The Hunger (1983) by Tony Scott playing Catherine Deneuve’s lover
She was appropriately bewitching in The Witches of Eastwick (1987) with Jack Nicholson, Cher, and Michelle Pfeiffer.
You believed that in Bull Durham (1988) by Ron Shelton she loved Kevin Costner, when he said: ”I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.” While in real life she fell for Tim Robbins, and had two sons with him, John Henry and Miles.
It was not until 1990 that I interviewed Susan Sarandon, the first of more than 20 times. It was about White Palace by Luis Mendoki, but we also talked about Thelma and Louise (1991) by Ridley Scott with Geena Davis, which she defined “a female buddy picture like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with cars.”
My interview was published in Venice, Los Angeles Arts and Entertainment Magazine, when I served as Film editor from 1990 to 1999. Click here to see.
I never forgot what Sarandon said she had learnt from the women generals who liberated Nicaragua: “Machismo is something that’s passed on from mothers to sons like hemophilia.”
I next talked to her about Lorenzo’s Oil (1992) co-starring Nick Nolte and wrote a text for Marie Claire, Italy. Sarandon was glad about Bill Clinton having been elected President and about Hillary bringing “capable women inside the administration.”
In 1995 I wrote for Marie Claire an interview with Susan Sarandon about The Client (1994) by Joel Schumacher and Little Women (1994) by Gilliam Armstrong.
In 1996 I interviewed Sarandon about Dead Man Walking directed by Tim Robbins, where she played Sister Helen Prejean opposite Sean Penn as a prisoner on death row. Click here to see text published in the Italian weekly Gioia.
Also for Gioia I wrote an interview with Sarandon about Stepmom (1998) costarring Julia Roberts. Click here to see layout.
In 2000 I wrote for Marie Claire an interview with Sarandon about Anywhere But Here (1999).
In 2002 was my pleasure to write a Face to Face interview for Gioia featuring Susan Sarandon with her daughter Eva Amurri, whose father is Italian director Franco Amurri. They talked about The Banger Sisters costarring Goldie Hawn. See it here.
I loved the way a terminally ill Sarandon asked her sons to help her die in Igby Goes Down (2002).
I interviewed Susan Sarandon many more times, for movies like Shall We Dance (2004) with Richard Gere, Bernard and Doris (2008) with Ralph Fiennes, Tammy (2014) with Melissa McCarthy, The Meddler (2015) with Rose Byrne, and several others.
I even liked her in her latest film Nonnas (2025), because I identified with her character, as an Italian “nonna” (grandmother) myself, custodian of my family’s recipes.
I am looking forward to Sarandon’s performances in The Accompanist and The Echo Chamber.
When this last movie premiered at the Venice film festival on September 6, her tall sons stood proudly next to their mother.
As for her activism, Susan Sarandon never stopped.
On June 14, 2025 she participated in the “No Kings” march against Trump.
On September 24, 2026 she was arrested at a demonstration against Netanyahu.
If you’re ready to cry, as she does, watch here what Sarandon said about Gaza on March 22, 2025, quoting Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States.
“To be hopeful in bad times is not foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage and kindness.
“If we do act in however small a way, in defiance of all that is bad around us, that is in itself a marvelous victory.”
Susan Sarandon turned 80 on October 4. Happy Birthday!