There’s an unspoken rule that actresses in Hollywood should strive for physical perfection, or at least the illusion of it. But Ellen Barkin never was one to play by the book, and she is not about to start now. For her VIOLET GREY photo shoot, which took place at New York’s historic Carlyle hotel, the 60-year-old actress asked that her appearance not be altered or retouched, come what may (blemishes, undereye circles, the odd errant hair). It was a brave, even provocative, decision that required no small amount of self-confidence.

In other words, it was very Barkin.

Born in the Bronx and educated at New York’s prestigious High School of Performing Arts, the actress has forged a critically-lauded career playing steely, hard-luck heroines in such hits as Diner (1982), Sea of Love (1989), and Ocean's Thirteen (2007). She’s also enjoyed considerable success on Broadway, most recently in The Normal Heart (2011) for which she won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Her latest film, The Cobbler, co-starring Dustin Hoffman, Adam Sandler, and Steve Buscemi, premieres at the Toronto Film Festival next month.

Offscreen, Barkin lives up to her shoot-from-the-hip persona. In the below interview she chats candidly with good friend, journalist and author Carole Radziwill, about such hot button issues as aging, cosmetic surgery, and dating younger men (she has two adult children with ex-husband, Gabriel Byrne). She also opens up about her decision to have longtime stylist, Serge Normant, chop her chin-length bob into a Jean Seberg-esque pixie cut on the set of the VIOLET GREY shoot.

Unabashedly imperfect, Barkin is, in her own words, “owning it”.

BARKINS' BON MOTS
Barkin never shies away from speaking her mind. Here are some of her quotable remarks (bon mots) from her two-hour conversation with Radziwill.