Credit: Far Out / FOX
Wed 27 May 2026 17:15, UK
Gillian Anderson has achieved more success in her career than most actors could ever hope to accomplish within their lifetimes, and she’s not even retired yet.
Anderson had already earned several accolades for her stage work before she earned the role of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully on The X-Files, which became a global phenomenon and kicked off one of the most successful science fiction franchises of all time.
Anderson would have been able to rest on her laurels for The X-Files, but she continued to take on challenging parts in other exciting television shows, including Netflix’s Emmy-winning historical epic The Crown, for which she picked up many accolades for playing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – while many aspiring actors might cite Anderson as one of their heroes, she expressed admiration for an industry legend whose work is in a class of its own.
“There is a lot of Meryl Streep’s earlier stuff, whether it’s Kramer vs Kramer or Out of Africa or Sophie’s Choice, her performances are so present and raw and naked and exquisite,” Anderson said. “I have no doubt that most actors have her as their number one idol.”
Streep is so widely considered to be the greatest female actor of all-time that it’s easy to forget how influential her early work was, especially the roles that Anderson referred to – Kramer vs Kramer was the first mainstream American film to tackle divorce in a realistic way, and it became a sensation that both won the Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’ and topped the box office as the highest-grossing new release of 1979.
It was Streep’s first major performance, and she won the Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actress’. While there have been many reports about the disputes between Streep and Dustin Hoffman on set, they created a complex depiction of estranged partners that was ahead of its time.
Anderson also referenced Streep’s role in Sophie’s Choice, which is the film that won her a second Oscar, and her first in the ‘Best Actress’ category. Sophie’s Choice isn’t just a classic that became one of the most praised films of the ‘80s, but something so iconic that it actually coined a phrase that is frequently used today. It’s a performance that is, as Anderson said, “present and raw” because of how sincere Streep’s emotionality was.
Further reading: Cutting Room Floor
Anderson’s reference to Out of Africa is somewhat interesting, given that the film has a reputation of being an undeserved ‘Best Picture’ winner in a year that also included Witness and The Colour Purple. That being said, Streep took on a challenge with her performance and did some of her best acting, as her chemistry with Robert Redford made for one of her strongest onscreen romances.
Streep and Anderson have found themselves in a similar place, given that Hollywood seems to finally be learning that there are profits to be found in making films that center and highlight older women. Streep just recently returned to play Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada 2, which is one of the biggest hits of the year thus far; Anderson has been getting rave reviews for her performance in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival.
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