In a career spanning five decades and three Academy Awards, Meryl Streep has shared the screen with the greatest actors of her generation. Yet, after a recent night on Broadway, the legendary performer admitted she was left questioning her own craft, joking that she saw a performance so masterful it made her want to walk away from acting for good.
The 76-year-old icon, who recently starred in ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2‘, heaped extraordinary praise on actress Laurie Metcalf for her role in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman‘.
Meryl Streep’s Stunning Praise for Metcalf’s Performance
In an interview with People Magazine, Streep confessed that watching Metcalf portray the long-suffering Linda Loman left her stunned. “I don’t know how to act,” Streep admitted with characteristic humility. “When I see people do it, I think, ‘How did she do that?’”
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The three-time Oscar winner recalled attending the performance recently, expecting to see a solid production. Instead, she witnessed what she considers a masterclass in the craft. “I just saw Death of a Salesman last night. I can’t believe Laurie Metcalf just blew my mind… all of them!” Streep said. “And I thought, ‘I better just retire, because I don’t know how the f— she did that.’ What an artist.”
When asked if she went backstage to speak with Metcalf, Streep delivered a punchline that underscores her reverence for the ‘Lady Bird‘ and ‘Roseanne‘ star. “I kissed her feet,” Streep quipped.
A Masterclass That Left a Legend Speechless
Streep’s comments are particularly striking given her own status as the gold standard of screen acting. However, the actress explained that she has always operated on instinct rather than a strict technical formula, which makes Metcalf’s precise stagecraft even more awe-inspiring to her.
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“I go into everything, not knowing how people do it. And you sort of feel and listen and pick it up as you go along,” Streep explained. “But I don’t have a method—when you say ‘Oh, you went method,’ I don’t even know what ‘the method’ is. I never studied it.”
Metcalf’s performance as Linda Loman, the devoted wife of the tragic salesman Willy Loman, has earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play. In preparing for the role, Metcalf told People that she focused on making Linda an active participant in the family’s tragedy rather than a passive victim. “How can Linda be a functioning, really true partner for Willy if she was merely standing on the sidelines?” Metcalf asked. She concluded that Linda is “the catalyst that sets things in motion.”
Not the First Time Meryl Streep Has Considered Quitting
Interestingly, this is not the first time a project has made Streep contemplate retirement. During the press tour for ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2‘, Streep revealed that she almost turned down the role of Miranda Priestly in the 2006 original because she was “ready to retire.” She only accepted after testing the studio’s willingness to double her salary, a gamble that paid off instantly and became a career “lesson.”
But while the Prada payday brought her back to work, the artistry of Laurie Metcalf has made her question why she bothers. “So yeah, I don’t know how to do it,” Streep reiterated, praising the subtle genius of Metcalf’s portrayal. For Streep, watching a peer perform at that level is not a source of jealousy, but of deep professional admiration.
Broadway audiences have just a few more weeks to catch Metcalf in ‘Death of a Salesman’ before the limited engagement ends. As for Streep, fans can rest assured that while she may be joking about retirement, her return as Miranda Priestly in ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ is currently playing in theaters worldwide.
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