ONE HOT MAMA!
STILL GOING STRONG, SINGING SUPERSTAR AND OSCAR-WINNER CHER IS BACK ON THE BIG SCREEN IN THE ‘MAMMA MIA!’ SEQUEL
The original Mamma Mia! had an impressive all-star cast, but sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again has raised the bar even higher with the addition of entertainment icon Cher as Ruby Sheridan, the grandmother of Amanda Seyfried’s Sophie. WHO talks to the 72-year-old singer-actress about joining the franchise, career regrets, her love life and her time in Australia earlier this year. What was it like joining the Mia! cast for the sequel? I didn’t know any of them except Meryl [Streep]. I had met Pierce [Brosnan], but I didn’t really know him. I was the lone person that came in by themselves and I was really nervous, but everybody was so kind.
Mamma It’s been 35 years since you and Meryl made Silkwood together. Have you kept in touch?
We’re always in touch. She did a really funny thing. I was on the set doing my song and I saw this shadowy figure lurking around, and she had sneaked on to watch me. Then afterwards, she was squealing and we were laughing and hugging each other. My assistant said she had been there the whole time, just around the corner. But we talk and email all the time.
You play a grandmother in this movie. What was your relationship with your own grandmothers like?
I think grandparents are more fun than parents. I poured my grandmother’s perfume down the toilet once and all she did was laugh and say, “Oh, isn’t she adorable.” One of my grandmothers was easier to get along with than the other. I had one grandmother that was fabulous and I was perfect, and then the other grandmother, you had to know how to behave around her and not behave like a child. And I was good at that. But in this movie, I’m not so welcome. I have to earn my way back in because I wasn’t a great role model.
You were a music star during ABBA’S heyday. Did they influence you?
They were never as popular in America as the rest of the world. And it really took me till now—i never realised how complicated they were, because they just sound like pop songs. So, I really liked the big hits. Not all of them, but I remember when I saw Muriel’s Wedding, I kind of became enamoured with them.
Looking back over your career, do you have any regrets?
We don’t have enough time! [ Laughs] But yeah, there are. I think failure is necessary and highly underrated. When you are having success, you never go, “Oh my God, why am I having this?” But when you’ve just had a failure, you think about it and want to explore it, and I think it makes you be better.
Have you had to contend with any #Metoo moments?
I had one incident with a very famous producer who I will not name. I was about 28 and wanted
to do a movie, and he called me to his house to do an interview supposedly. When I got there, several things happened, but I wasn’t anticipating this at all because I was already famous and couldn’t believe this guy was going to come off with this kind of crap. So, I just said, “I’m feeling really sick and I have to go home.” [ Laughs] But he was so obvious, and when I got home I thought, “How can he feel good about himself? How can he not know how inappropriate this is?”
On a more positive note, did you enjoy the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in March?
It was great. I was near the street, and all these gigantic Cher drag queens came [along] and I walked down with them. I have to say everybody was having such a good time and you can’t help but get swept up in the spirit of that.
How do you feel about love these days?
Having any kind of boyfriend in front of the press only leads to tears. You know, it’s never worked that well. It’s better now to hide everything.