Star from "Like a single day" - Gena Rowlands suffers from Alzheimer's disease
Actress Gena Rowlands (94) is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Her son, director Nick Cassavetes (65), who worked with his mother on the film "A Single Day" (2004), made this known to "Entertainment Weekly". He stated, "It's crazy that my mother played a character with dementia in the love story, and now she's dealing with it herself."
About the film, the director and actor commented, "I convinced my mother to play the older Allie, and we spent a lot of time talking about Alzheimer's and dealing with it authentically. She's been suffering from Alzheimer's for five years now." Rowlands played the older version of Rachel McAdams' (45) character in the film twenty years ago. Cassavetes further explained, "She's completely demented. And it's crazy - we lived it, she acted it out, and now we're dealing with it."
Rowlands, who was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 2015 for her career after two nominations, initially seemed reluctant to accept the role. In 2004, she told "O Magazine", "This last film - 'A Single Day', based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks - was particularly challenging because I was playing a character with Alzheimer's. If Nick hadn't directed it, I don't think I would have taken the part." She added, "It's just very heavy. It was a hard, but wonderful film."
Cassavetes also told "Entertainment Weekly" that he still considers the film to be "quite good" twenty years later. "It's always a shock to realize how much time has passed, but it makes sense. I'm just glad it exists," he said in the interview. "I'm very proud of it."
- Nick Cassavetes, who worked with his mother, Gena Rowlands, on the film "A Single Day" twenty years ago, revealed to Entertainment Weekly that Rowlands is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, a condition she portrayed in the film.
- In the same interview, Cassavetes shared that he persuaded Rowlands to play the older Allie in the film, and they spent a significant amount of time discussing and portraying Alzheimer's authentically, as Rowlands has been dealing with the disease for five years now.
- Initially reluctant to accept the role in "A Single Day" due to its challenging nature, Rowlands, who received an Honorary Oscar in 2015 for her career, had mentioned in a 2004 interview with O Magazine that playing a character with Alzheimer's was particularly challenging for her.
- Reflecting on the film twenty years later, Cassavetes told Entertainment Weekly that he still considers "A Single Day" to be quite good and is proud of it, stating that it's always a shock to realize how much time has passed since its release.
