Jennifer Beals opened up about her career in a recent interview with Britain’s Guardian, including her time on “The L Word” which, she said, motivated her to become more politically involved.
Being on “The L Word” brought Beals “into contact with so many extraordinary activists who were thinking politically,” the actor, beloved for her role as Bette Porter in both the original “The L Word” and “Generation Q,” told the publication. “That started to shift my perception, and I understood how important it was to become involved, to move the needle a little bit.”
Beals also shared a revelation she experienced while in a restaurant with her husband just before filming the original “The L Word” pilot back in 2004. “I leaned over to kiss him and it dawned on me at that time: if two women had been kissing, it would have been seismic in its effect on people,” she said.
Although women who love women will likely always know Beals first as Bette Porter, the actor also spoke to the Guardian about her involvement in other projects, including the “Star Wars” spin-off “The Book of Boba Fett” and her role in the 1980s classic, “Flashdance,” in which she was cast while still a student at Yale.
“I didn’t even feel like I wanted control or impact,” she said of her involvement with the film. “I wanted joy, full stop. It was completely pleasure principle: ‘This is fun. I enjoy this. And I can feel myself expanding – it’s really exciting and totally terrifying.”
She also reflected on how Gen Z watchers of “The L Word” responded to the original by calling for its retelling and reimagining in a “Generation Q” update. “It’s so fascinating – an entire generation said: ‘Your words are not commensurate with our experience. Therefore, we will change the words.’ Whereas, in the past, people would have just tried to squeeze themselves into those words,” she said.
“In my generation, you were this, or you were that, and there was nothing in between,” she added. “This generation blew that to smithereens and it’s really exciting.”
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