Molly Ringwald breaks free from 'mom purgatory' in 'Feud: Capote vs. The Swans'

TONYA MOSLEY, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Tonya Mosley. My guest, Molly Ringwald, is having a full-circle moment. When she was 3 years old, she made her stage debut in Truman Capote's "The Grass Harp." Now decades later, she stars as one of Capote's loyal friends in the new Ryan Murphy series "Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans." Set in the 1970s, the series is about the late novelist, screenwriter and actor Truman Capote and his high-society friend group known as The Swans, composed of wealthy wives of successful men. The group implodes after Capote turns the women's real lives into a thinly veiled work of fiction. Ringwald plays Joanne Carson, ex-wife of talk show host Johnny Carson and one of Capote's most loyal friends with him until the very end of his life.

Molly Ringwald grew to fame representing Gen X angst in '80s films like "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club" and "Pretty In Pink." In 2022, Ringwald starred in Ryan Murphy's "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story," playing the murderer's stepmother. In addition to acting, Ringwald is a jazz musician, author and translator of several books from French to English.

Molly Ringwald, welcome to FRESH AIR.

MOLLY RINGWALD: Thank you for having me. It's an honor.

MOSLEY: In "Capote Vs. The Swans," you play Joanne Carson, talk show host Johnny Carson's second wife. And to set that up for everyone, when Joanne divorced Johnny, she became an exile from the Hollywood elite, which meant that she was not one of Truman Capote's Swans, these high-society women he loved. But as he himself was exiled from writing about this secret world of high-society women, he saw your character, Joanne, for refuge.

I want to play a clip, and in this clip I'm about to play, Truman, who is played by Tom Hollander, comes to Los Angeles to attend Thanksgiving at Joanne Carson's home after he's been excluded from a socialite guest's elegant high annual celebration. And disappointed, Truman and his boyfriend drive up to Carson's house. The boyfriend is angry to have to go to this party and stays in the car, and Truman goes out to greet your character, Joanne Carson. Let's listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FEUD: CAPOTE VS. THE SWANS")

RINGWALD: (As Joanne Carson) Hi, honey.

TOM HOLLANDER: (As Truman Capote) Oh, hi. I come bearing gifts.

RINGWALD: (As Joanne Carson) Ooh, gracias. Thank you. Thank you.

HOLLANDER: (As Truman Capote) Happy Thanksgiving.

RINGWALD: (As Joanne Carson) Mwah, mwah (ph). Why is your friend sitting in the car?

HOLLANDER: (As Truman Capote) John wants me to buy him a house in Malibu. Little prince pauper is pouting. Once he realizes there's a Manhattan waiting for him, he'll come in. When's dinner?

RINGWALD: (As Joanne Carson) In an hour, but there's lots of snacky drinky things. I hope you like nachos...

HOLLANDER: (As Truman Capote) Ooh.

RINGWALD: (As Joanne Carson) ...And tamales.

HOLLANDER: (As Truman Capote) I love (laughter).

RINGWALD: (As Joanne Carson) Do you know what that is?

(LAUGHTER)

MOSLEY: I love where he doesn't even answer. He's like, aha. Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

MOSLEY: That was a scene from the new FX series "Capote Vs. The Swans." Molly, what drew you to this role, and how did you prepare for it?

RINGWALD: I was really interested by Truman Capote, and I loved, you know, everything about that story. You know, I mean, those Swans, those women - if you're - you know, I've always been intrigued by fashion, and they're all such incredible, you know, fashion icons. And I was just really excited that this was being made. I was surprised that it had never been made up until this point.

MOSLEY: Can you summarize for us who the Swans were and why they were called the Swans?

RINGWALD: The reason why they were called the Swans - I actually don't know. But I've sort of always assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that it was because of a character who actually isn't in this series. One of the Swans was Marella Agnelli, and she had this very long neck. And I think...

MOSLEY: And describe who she was. She was a socialite. Yes.

RINGWALD: She was an Italian socialite, and she was one of the Swans. And I kind of always assumed that that's why he called them the Swans. I could be wrong, but the Swans were just basically these very glamorous women who were married to these mostly important businessmen. And the series has been called the original "Housewives." That was kind of how they marketed it, which I thought was sort of brilliant in that all of the - you know, the housewives of, you know, "The Real Housewives" are all these women who actually are really successful themselves. Like, they - now they have - you know, most of them have their own businesses and - very successful women.

But when the Swans happened, it was a different time, and these women were not really allowed to have their own careers. They really kind of lived adjacent to these powerful, successful men. But, yeah, it's a good question to know exactly why he called them the Swans. And it's also interesting that some of the women were Swans, and some were not, you know? Like, Joanne Carson was married to Johnny Carson, who was a powerful man, but I don't think that she actually was a Swan. I mean, actually, she called herself an ugly duckling (laughter), even though she was not.

MOSLEY: Well, how did you prepare to play Joanne Carson? Did you study the real Joanne Carson?

RINGWALD: You know, it wasn't that easy because there is not a lot of material on her. So, you know, of course, I went down multiple rabbit holes online just to, you know, look at, you know, what she looked like. I actually don't really look anything like the real Joanne. You know, we're physically quite different. I think she was more petite and had really dark brown hair and big, blue eyes. But what I got from her was a real kindness and love for Truman, like, really unconditional love. I think she's kind of, like, the only person in his life that seemed to really love him unconditionally. And then I knew a couple people that knew her. I don't think I ever met her. I think I would remember. But my friend Ally Sheedy, who I did "Breakfast Club" with, did know her. And Annie Potts, who I did "Pretty In Pink" with, also knew her. And they both really said the same thing, which was that she was just this really incredibly warm person, so I really kind of leaned into that.

MOSLEY: So much of the Swans' lives revolve around keeping up appearances and image and maintaining a reputation. Every move is kind of predicated on what will others think. And I thought it was really perceptive that you said that the world Capote was part of is very similar to kind of what you see in your kids' lives. You're the mother of two middle schoolers. And when you said that, I was like, oh, my gosh, yes. This is very middle school.

RINGWALD: It is. It is. I mean, you know, that's pretty much what my personal life is about. You know, outside of my career, I'm at home, mothering my kids. And, you know, every night, we do family dinner in our house, which is really thanks to my husband. He's the one that really keeps the family dinner. And it's not easy, you know, when you have teenagers, doing family dinner, but it's the one time that we all connect. And, yeah, almost every family dinner is about the politics that go on at school and which clique and, you know, who's in which clique and - you know, and how to navigate that. And, you know, when one person falls out of one clique, where do they go? I mean, it's like - it's exactly like the Swans in that - you know, it's exactly the same, I think.

MOSLEY: Well, as you mentioned, this is your second time in a Ryan Murphy film, in the Ryan Murphy universe. Do you like working with the same director or producers over and over again? I mean, you had this similar experience in working with John Hughes, the late filmmaker, for the movies that were iconic in the '80s, "The Breakfast Club," "Pretty In Pink" and "Sixteen Candles." It almost feels like maybe it's - it's like following a boss from job to job, in a way.

RINGWALD: I really love working with the same people as long as I like the people (laughter).

MOSLEY: Yeah.

RINGWALD: As long as they're good and, you know, if I have a positive experience, yeah. I mean, I stopped working with John after, you know, the three movies that I did with him. I was supposed to do one more and then it didn't end up happening.

MOSLEY: "Some Kind Of Wonderful."

RINGWALD: Well, I was asked...

MOSLEY: Yeah, in 1987.

RINGWALD: No, I was asked to do "Some Kind Of Wonderful," which was directed by Howie Deutch, who also directed "Pretty In Pink." And he asked me to do it, but I didn't because at that point I was really worried about, you know, people never seeing me in another project. So that was my feeling, was that I had to work with somebody else because I was going to get typecast. But you know what? I got typecast anyway, (laughter) so I should have just kept working with him.

MOSLEY: Well, I mean, I want to talk to you a little bit about that because you were the poster child for a generation. You were on the cover of Time magazine. You were a household name. But you've done so much more since then. How do you reconcile or deal with the fact that for a certain generation of people, you will always be seen as a teenager?

RINGWALD: I don't know. It sort of depends on the day. You know, there's been times where I've been really frustrated by that. I feel like people always think that I'm younger than I am or older than I am (laughter), you know?

MOSLEY: Really?

RINGWALD: Yeah.

MOSLEY: The older is interesting, yeah.

RINGWALD: Well, older just because, you know, I've been around for so long, you know? And I also started really young. You know, a lot of times, people - you know, I'm the same age as a lot of people that became famous in the '90s, but they'll think that I'm older because I was famous in the '80s.

MOSLEY: Yes. Yes, that makes sense.

RINGWALD: Yeah, so I feel like those films are always - you know, they're iconic and they're special. I don't like to use the word iconic because I feel like it's overused, but they really are (laughter). Those films are really iconic.

MOSLEY: Let's take a short break, Molly. If you're just joining us, I'm talking with Molly Ringwald about her new role in the FX series "Capote Vs. The Swans," about the high society women he loved and betrayed. We are also talking about her career. We'll continue our conversation after a short break. I'm Tonya Mosley and this is FRESH AIR.

(SOUNDBITE OF JERRY GRANELLI'S "AIN'T THAT A SHAME")

MOSLEY: This is FRESH AIR, I'm Tanya Mosley. If you're just joining us, we're talking to actor and author Molly Ringwald, who stars in the new FX series "Capote Vs. The Swans." Ringwald grew to fame representing Gen X angst in the '80s films like "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club" and "Pretty In Pink." And she starred in several movies and TV shows throughout her career, most recently in "Riverdale," a TV series based on the Archie Comics, and Ryan Murphy's "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story."

I want to actually play a clip from "Pretty In Pink," which came out in 1986, because you've written quite a bit about your experiences during that time period and working with John Hughes, and also just reflecting back on the time period as we move forward in time, especially during the #MeToo movement. In this clip that I'm about to play, this is from "Pretty In Pink." You played a high school senior, Andie Walsh, who lives with her working-class father in a Chicago suburb. One of the rich, popular kids, Blane, played by Andrew McCarthy, falls for you and eventually asks you out to the prom before pulling away at the last minute after being pressured not to date you by one of his friends, played by James Spader. So in this scene, your character, Andie, confronts Blane about why he's ignoring her. Let's listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PRETTY IN PINK")

RINGWALD: (As Andie) I called you three times, and I left messages.

ANDREW MCCARTHY: (As Blane) Yeah, well, I didn't get them. My family, they're real irresponsible about that stuff, you know?

RINGWALD: (As Andie) I waited for you this morning.

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) Yeah, where?

RINGWALD: (As Andie) Parking lot. I saw you, and I thought that you saw me.

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) No.

RINGWALD: (As Andie) What about prom, Blane?

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) Andie, I'm having a bad day. Can we talk later?

RINGWALD: (As Andie) No. What about prom?

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) Come on, why don't we just meet after school?

RINGWALD: (As Andie) No. What about prom?

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) Andie, come on.

RINGWALD: (As Andie) Just say it.

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) What?

RINGWALD: (As Andie) Just say it. I want to hear you say it.

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) Andie, please. All right?

RINGWALD: (As Andie) I want to hear you say it.

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) A month ago, I asked somebody else, and I forgot.

RINGWALD: (As Andie) You're a liar. You're a filthy [expletive] no-good liar, and you don't have the guts to tell me the truth. Just say it.

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) I'm not lying.

RINGWALD: (As Andie) Tell me.

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) What?

RINGWALD: (As Andie) Tell me.

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) What do you want to hear?

RINGWALD: (As Andie) Just tell me.

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) What?

RINGWALD: (As Andie) You're ashamed to be seen with me.

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) No, I am not. I am not.

RINGWALD: (As Andie) You're ashamed to go out with me. You're afraid.

MCCARTHY: (As Blane) No.

RINGWALD: (As Andie) You're terrified that your best friends won't approve. Just say it.

MOSLEY: That was a scene from the 1986 cult classic "Pretty In Pink." I was very young when I saw this film, Molly. And I still, at that scene, it takes me back to high school and rejection in that same way.

RINGWALD: (Laughter) I know. It actually makes me emotional.

MOSLEY: It does, huh?

RINGWALD: It does because I feel for her. And I also can't help but hear my kids in it. That's what I really love about - I mean, I have written extensively about the issues that I have with certain elements of the films and, you know, what I don't agree with and the elements that don't age well. But the fact that he would write a movie, that John would write...

MOSLEY: John Hughes, yeah.

RINGWALD: That John Hughes would write a whole film, you know, about a girl getting uninvited to prom and how huge that is. You know, in the life of a teenager, that is huge. And of course, like, hearing myself, you know? I hear my younger voice and, you know, it takes me back.

MOSLEY: You actually watched - it was "The Breakfast Club" with your daughter several years ago.

RINGWALD: Yeah. I did.

MOSLEY: Yeah. What have been your kids' reaction to seeing this younger version and also playing what you say John Hughes really captured - the realities of a young person.

RINGWALD: Well, I played it for my now 20-year-old daughter when she was 10, which was really, I think, too young to watch "The Breakfast Club." But all of her friends had seen it, and, you know, she didn't want to watch it at a slumber party or, you know, she didn't want to watch it with someone else. She wanted to watch it with me. So we did watch it, and I ended up doing a piece on that experience for "This American Life."

MOSLEY: "This American Life." Yeah.

RINGWALD: And it was really interesting to watch it with her and what she got out of it because, you know, at the age of 10, she, of course, there was a lot of stuff that went over her head, mercifully, because, you know, and we didn't have to have that conversation. But what we did get out of it was that it had to do with her feelings with us. You know, that I was putting pressure on her, you know, 'cause at the time, you know, we were having a hard time with, you know, I was having a hard time with, you know, making her do her homework and feeling like, you know, oh, come on, do - you know, I wanted her to be a certain kind of student. So it was really an incredible experience to be able to have that conversation and actually feel like it changed my relationship with her, and it changed my way of parenting, basically.

MOSLEY: It changed your way of parenting.

RINGWALD: Yeah.

MOSLEY: Right. You were able to have language based on that.

RINGWALD: Yeah.

MOSLEY: That movie gave you language.

RINGWALD: Yeah. And, you know, also, when I watch the movies now, of course, I'm very curious about the parents because the parents are really - they're not seen. You only hear about the parents from what the kids feel. But you don't know what the situation is at home. I mean, all of them feel like they're being either neglected or misunderstood or outright abused. You know, as John Bender's character, played by Judd Nelson, is physically abused by his father. So, yeah, that was a really interesting experience and also pretty surreal. But it took a lot out of me. And I knew I was going to have to watch the movies again with my now 14-year-old twins. And it took me, you know, a long time to feel like I could do it again. And we just watched the movies about, I don't know, three weeks ago. And...

MOSLEY: Did you have similar insights?

RINGWALD: They loved the movie. They didn't take out their phones once, which was incredible.

MOSLEY: Is a big deal. Yeah.

RINGWALD: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I was looking. I mean, the phones were there, and I was like, how long is it going to take for them to pick up their phones? And they didn't. But it was also interesting because they are older, you know, the, you know, sexual harassment that my character Claire experiences, you know, which she is. She's harassed by John Bender the whole time. You know, that really did not resonate with them. They could not figure out why I went with him in the end. It was really sort of - like, they were just bewildered. And it didn't seem strange to me that she goes with Bender in the end, which is interesting that that doesn't seem strange. I mean, I had a great relationship with my father. I, you know, who passed away a couple of years ago. So there's really no reason why that should have been normalized for me. But it was. This idea that, oh, if somebody treats you badly or, you know, isn't complimentary or whatever, that that should be the person that you go for. But strangely, it was. And that's just not the case anymore.

MOSLEY: I thought it was just really interesting, these questions that you pose to yourself and to the audience in your New Yorker piece in 2018 where you wrote how are we meant to feel about art that we both love and oppose? What if we are in the unusual position of having to - having helped create it? What answers or thoughts have you actually come to about where those movies sit in our culture, especially now having these experiences with your children?

RINGWALD: Yeah. I do love the movies, and I'm really glad that I made them. It's not black or white. You know, those movies are not perfect, but there is so much good in them. And there are also things that are not good or there's things that have changed. The lack of diversity bothers me in those movies. Certainly the - you know, the sexual politics bother me, but they were movies of a time. To me, that is one of the dangers of this desire to erase the past. I don't personally believe that you can erase the past, but you can look at it and you can debate and you can talk about it. And I believe that talking about it and understanding it is what sets us free, not trying to erase it.

MOSLEY: Our guest today is Molly Ringwald, who stars in the new FX series "Capote Vs. The Swans." We'll be right back. I'm Tonya Mosley, and this is FRESH AIR.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IF YOU LEAVE")

ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK: (Singing) If you leave. Don't leave now. Please don't take my heart away. Promise me just one more night. Then we'll go our separate ways We've always time on our side. Now it's fading fast. Every second, every moment. So we've got to - we've got to make it last. I touch you once. I touch you twice. I won't let go at any price. I need you now like I need you then. You always said we'd still be friends someday.

MOSLEY: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Tonya Mosley, and my guest today is Molly Ringwald. She stars in the new FX series "Capote Vs. The Swans." In it, Ringwald portrays Joanne Carson, ex-wife of talk show host Johnny Carson and one of novelist Truman Capote's most loyal friends. Ringwald grew to fame in the '80s, starring in the John Hughes teen movies "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club" and "Pretty In Pink." More recently, she was in the TV series "Riverdale," based on the characters of the Archie Comics, and Ryan Murphy's "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story." Ringwald is also an author and has translated two books from French to English, including "My Cousin Maria Schneider," a memoir written by the niece of the late actress, who starred with Marlon Brando in the 1972 movie "Last Tango In Paris."

Molly, I'd love to talk with you a little bit more about how you choose what roles to play because they're so varied when I look at your career beyond the '80s. You appeared most recently in Episode 3 of Season 1 of "The Bear" as a meeting coordinator for Al-Anon. And to refresh people's memory who's seen "The Bear," "The Bear" is about a chef named Carmen in the fine dining world who returns home to run a family sandwich shop after his brother dies by suicide. And Carmen goes to an Al-Anon meeting to try and understand his brother's struggles with addiction and suicide. And in this scene I'm going to play, we hear Molly's character sharing her story. Let's listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE BEAR")

RINGWALD: (As moderator) It's hard to hear it, so I just keep saying it. I didn't cause it, can't control it. I can't cure it. A lot of my life, I thought I was just a victim. And because my husband drank so much, this would happen or that would happen. The short term was always so awful. I thought if I just could throw out his liquor, you know, hide whatever he was on, that would fix it. You can't curb that kind of chaos until the thinking changes, until the foundations change, until the chemistry changes. And it's difficult. I know I played a part in his abuse, and I'm really mad at myself for that. But if there's anything good that came out of it, it's that it made me realize that the best thing for me to do is just to try to keep my side of the street clean. Instead of trying to fix everything, just remove myself from any situation that is or could become toxic.

MOSLEY: That was a scene from the FX Hulu series "The Bear." And, Molly, it's a very small scene, but it's so powerful. You're only in this series for a short period of time, but how did you how did you come to this and choosing this role?

RINGWALD: I was offered that which - you know, I knew that it was going to be a cameo. I knew that it wasn't a character that - you know, that came back. I mean, she could come back. In fact, I hope she comes back. But I was sent the script. I was sent a couple of scripts, and I watched the first episode, I think, but it hadn't aired yet. But I was so taken with it. I was so taken with the writing and everything about it, and I just said I wanted to do it. And I did, and I'm so happy that I did. And I'm so happy that the series, you know, has done well. But I just knew that it was going to be great.

And also, it's really interesting that that monologue that I have is one of the only monologues that I've ever had that I didn't change one word - not one word. It was so well-written. I mean, even that one line where I say, but, and then I say, but - you know, that - it sounds so natural, but it was written that way, and it was such a pleasure to do because it was so well-written. And - you know, and those kind of opportunities don't come along, or they haven't come along a lot for me, you know, where something is so well-written that it makes the acting so easy.

MOSLEY: This role, as you said, was brought to you. Why do you think they chose you for this role? - because you killed it, but it also, as you said, is a cameo. But it's also so powerful in driving the story and moving it forward in our understanding of the main character.

RINGWALD: Yeah. I mean, nobody would really expect to see me in a role like that. In fact, a lot of...

MOSLEY: Right.

RINGWALD: ...People didn't even recognize me.

MOSLEY: That it was you, yeah.

RINGWALD: Yeah, because I look very different and, you know, very unglamorous. I think she was - you know, I have almost no makeup on, and, you know, the lighting is a bit harsh. You know, but it was right for that character. And to me, it was just - it was such a compliment that people didn't recognize me. Whatever they think that I am because of those movies - you know, that they're remembering that an actor plays different people than themselves, you know? And that's, of course, a delight for me.

MOSLEY: When you say that you don't often get roles like this or that scripts that you're given don't have this kind of depth and meat, what is it? What are the types of roles that are passed across your desk in years past that you just say, no?

RINGWALD: I've been in mom purgatory for years.

MOSLEY: You went from being a teenager to a mom. Yeah.

RINGWALD: Yes, yes. And I always like to say that I sort of skipped being the sexy aunt or - you know, like, I don't know. I really do feel like I went from a teenager to mom. And it was like all they wanted me to play was a teenager for years. And I felt like there were a lot of parts that I missed out on because I was sort of too young. Like, there were a couple of movies that I had gotten close on and that I didn't get, and it was heartbreaking to me, but a lot of what I heard was, well, she's really too young. Yeah. And then all of a sudden, it was the mom. And - you know, and I am...

MOSLEY: Nothing in between. Yeah.

RINGWALD: Yeah, and there was nothing in between. And I am a mom, and, you know, there's nothing wrong with being a mom, and I love being a mom. But I want to play somebody who pushes the story along, you know, where I'm not just sort of patting my kid on the head and saying, you'll figure it out, honey, you know? And I have played a lot of those because I'm a working actress, and it's also how I earn my living and help pay for my family. So, you know, I take what is offered, but I can't say that the opportunities have just been, you know, coming my way. You know, so I've also been, you know, creating my own opportunities and - you know, and then sort of taking what I could as an actor. But I feel like that's changing, so I'm really grateful for that.

MOSLEY: If you're just joining us, I'm talking with Molly Ringwald. She's in the new FX series "Capote Vs. The Swans," about the high society women that novelist Truman Capote both loved and betrayed. We'll continue our conversation after a short break. This is FRESH AIR.

(SOUNDBITE OF AMY RIGBY SONG, "PLAYING PITTSBURGH")

MOSLEY: This is FRESH AIR and today we're talking to Molly Ringwald. She's in the new FX series "Capote Vs. The Swans." Ringwald grew to fame in the '80s, starring in the John Hughes teen movies "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," and "Pretty In Pink."

In your 20s, after experiencing this tremendous success as a teen, you moved to Paris.

RINGWALD: That's right.

MOSLEY: And while living there, you - there was a lot that happened to you. I mean, how would you describe your time in Paris in the growth of who you are and, like, identifying who you were outside of this child actor that, you know, you had been all of your life?

RINGWALD: Yeah, I think that it was really important for me to do. And, you know, I'm actually processing that now because I'm in the process of writing a book, a memoir about my time in Paris. So I'm still kind of figuring that out, but it was something that was important for me to do as a human being. I felt like I had really - I was burnt out and I was uninspired. And everything that I liked about acting and moviemaking and all of that, it seemed to have sort of evaporated. And I wasn't doing the projects that I really wanted to do. And I felt really isolated and alone.

And then I realized that - well, I didn't realize that I had to move to Paris. It sounds way more courageous, you know, if I actually just said, you know, I'm moving to Paris and take my suitcases and go and that's it. But it didn't really happen that way. I went to Paris on a movie. And then once I was there, I was so happy and felt so good that I decided to stay.

MOSLEY: You're still pretty immersed, though, in French culture. I mean, namely, you mentioned that you're a writer, you've written a book of your own, but you also translate books from French to English. What drew you to translate. And translation, just by - I just want to make a note, I mean, that's some intense work.

RINGWALD: (Laughter) Yeah. Yeah, it is. My first translation is a book called "Lie With Me," which is a gay love story that takes place in the 1980s. And I never, ever would have thought that - I mean, as strange as it is for people to think of me as a translator, it's equally as strange for myself. It was nothing that I ever thought that I could do or nothing that I sought out. It was something that came to me by Valerie Steiker, who acquired the book when she was an editor at Scribner, and it was her idea. And she took me out to lunch and said, I have this crazy idea. I think that you should translate this book.

And she knew that I had some experience in France because she had edited an essay that I wrote for Vogue magazine when she was there. And my first response is, no, I could never do that. That's the craziest idea that I've ever heard. But I took it home and I read the first couple chapters, and I really liked it. And I thought, what a challenge, you know? And I thought I would be able to do it, and I thought I would be able to do a good job.

MOSLEY: You translated one that - just more recently, "My Cousin Maria Schneider: A Memoir," which was written by Vanessa Schneider, who was Maria's younger cousin. And just to lay this out for a second, Maria Schneider was a 1970s movie star who catapulted to fame in the film "Last Tango In Paris." She was traumatized by one particular scene in "Last Tango In Paris" that kind of marked her for the rest of her career. Can you explain what happened on the set?

RINGWALD: Well, "The Last Tango In Paris" is a film that was written and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. And it's a story about two people - a man, who is played by Marlon Brando, whose wife has just committed suicide, and he is looking at an apartment and he meets a character, Jeanne, who's played by Maria Schneider, who's a young woman who has a filmmaker fiance played by Jean-Pierre Leaud. And they begin - Marlon's character, Paul, and Maria's character, Jeanne, began a sexual relationship. And it was Bertolucci's idea to make this movie about these two people who only communicate carnally through their bodies.

And Maria read it. And, you know, she was - I mean, she was pretty punk rock, you know? Like, she was she was out there. She was bold. She was interested. She thought it was audacious. And everybody said, you know, you can't turn up this opportunity to do this movie with Marlon Brando. It's an incredible break. And so she did the movie, and it was pretty bold and explicit. But there was one particular scene where the Marlon Brando character - Marlon and Bertolucci decided to add this new thing that was not - Maria says that it was not in the original script. And I think that's true, it was not in the original script, where Marlon's character takes her completely by surprise. It was basically sexual assault. And it was...

MOSLEY: And they wanted the authentic surprise.

RINGWALD: They wanted the...

MOSLEY: During the filming.

RINGWALD: That's right. He wanted to have her - he wanted the real response. And I've worked with directors and - you know, where, you know, you throw lines out that aren't in the script, and you do get a sort of, you know, surprise or authentic - you know. I mean, that's not completely unheard of. On the other hand, this was - it was basically sexual assault. Marlon's body was still pinning hers to the ground, and it was an assault. And...

MOSLEY: Do you look at the film differently, or even Bertolucci differently, after translating this book?

RINGWALD: Absolutely. I do. I had seen the movie before. But I, of course, didn't know that that was something that was sprung upon Maria. Yeah. It's really hard to - I went back to watch it after I took the job of translating it, and it was really painful to watch. And also knowing that, you know, the film came out and it had such a response, you know, but people were, were sort of horrified by the explicit nature of the film. And it all kind of fell on Maria. You know, she was the one that was really criticized more than anyone, I think. And I think she really struggled with that. I think it - you know, it was - basically, it was an assault. And - but what I thought was also interesting was that she really didn't blame Marlon. It was really Bertolucci that she did not forgive, you know, for the rest of her life.

MOSLEY: If you're just joining us, I'm talking with Molly Ringwald. She's in the new FX series "Capote Vs. The Swans." We'll continue our conversation after a short break. This is FRESH AIR.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MOSLEY: This is FRESH AIR. Today we're talking with actor and author Molly Ringwald. She's in the new FX series "Capote Vs. The Swans." Ringwald grew to fame in the 1980s for the movies "16 Candles," "The Breakfast Club," and "Pretty In Pink."

I want to talk briefly about other aspects of your career because you're a writer. You're an actor. Of course we know this about you, but you also are a singer. And I read that some of your first memories were singing with your father on stage. I want to play a clip of you at 6 years old, singing "Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight" with your father and his group, the Fulton Street Jazz Band. Let's listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HOT TIME IN THE OLD TOWN TONIGHT")

RINGWALD: (Singing) Come along. Get your partner. Wear your brand, brand new gown for there's gonna be a party in the the good, good old town where you know everybody and they all know you and you got to get bandits to drive away the blues. When you hear that music start to play, tap your feet and start to step asway. And when you get the rhythm, you'll want to shout hooray. Be a hot time in the old town tonight. When you hear the bells go ding-a-ling, all join round and gaily you must sing. But when the verse is through, a chorus all join in. Be a hot time in the old town tonight.

MOSLEY: That was Molly Ringwald at 6 years old, performing "Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight" with her father's jazz band.

RINGWALD: That song was a real traditional jazz song. And it's very emotional for me because, yeah, I performed with my dad since I was 3, and he passed away a couple of years ago. And...

MOSLEY: I'm so sorry.

RINGWALD: Thank you. And he was a really incredible person. And I performed with him for my whole life. And not only did I perform with him, but we had an incredible connection. He was a really amazing - he was an amazing father and incredible musician. And, yeah - it's hard. I just - I miss him a lot.

MOSLEY: Yeah. I mean, I can feel that, and I know you've talked quite a bit about your father's influence. I think you called him a big fish in a small pond as a jazz musician...

RINGWALD: Yeah.

MOSLEY: He was very well respected.

RINGWALD: He was beloved. He was not just well respected, but he was beloved.

MOSLEY: Was it natural for you and your siblings to perform with him and his band? That was something that was just a natural family occurrence for you guys - yeah - to sing together.

RINGWALD: It was something that I did. My my sister and my brother were not musical in the same way. It was something that that - my mom actually was the one who noticed that I was a singer because I was the last of four children. My first brother died when he was 3 1/2 - and then my sister and then my brother. But - so I was the fourth kid, and there was something in the way that I, I guess, babbled in the crib or something that she said, this is different. She's singing. And she was the one who told my father that she thought that I was a singer. And so that's when we started to work together. And that was really kind of a bond that we had that was, like, our special bond.

MOSLEY: Your father was also visually impaired. And I find from personal experience that children in my life with parents who are deaf or blind have a certain maturity and emotional intelligence that seems to serve them well in life. And I was just wondering if you see that in yourself.

RINGWALD: I do. I mean, it's really hard for me to have anything to compare it to because he's...

MOSLEY: Yeah.

RINGWALD: ...The only father that I had. But I definitely think that he gave me an eye for detail. I do feel like I was - whenever I was around my father, especially when we would watch movies or we would go anywhere, I feel like I would notice things, and I was always looking for things to tell him, you know? And I was kind of like his eyes, in a way. And I kind of prided myself on that. He was somebody - I was somebody that he really liked to watch movies with because I was really good at explaining things.

MOSLEY: You all would watch movies together and you'd be the narrator.

RINGWALD: That's right. That's right. And I do feel like it gave me a certain emotional maturity. It was also just different, you know? I think my dad wasn't only blind, but he was a musician and he supported our family by being a musician. And so he had, you know, he was unlike other fathers, you know, he didn't drive. My mom did all the driving. And, you know, he - we would have family dinner together. And then my father would go to work, and he would work all night. You know, when I was growing up, he was a working musician, did piano bar and did - you know, sometimes my father would work seven days a week. And we never went on vacation. I think we took one family vacation together because my dad was always working.

MOSLEY: You kind of sit in the middle of these two things, now you watching your daughter as an actor. What kinds of advice do you give her?

RINGWALD: I try to give her - I say give her advice. I mean, it's hard, you know, with your kids because, you know, I - she and my other kids, they're going to have to discover things for themselves. You know, my Mathilda has been passionate about acting. You know, she's wanted to act since she was a kid, like me. And my husband and I made the choice not to allow her to be professional. You know, and I guess the advice that I've given her is just to learn how to act. You know, we have given her, you know, acting lessons. We've, you know, Mathilda has fantastic taste in movies. I mean, she's always had really great taste in movies, but we'll sit and we'll watch movies and we'll talk about, you know, what makes them good and what makes particular performances.

I mean, we'll watch, you know, like, Gandolfini, you know, James Gandolfini in "The Sopranos," and we'll watch monologues and we'll stop and go back and - you know, and talk about what makes that so good and so powerful. But it's also a really hard business. So I've talked about that too, because just because you're a talented actor doesn't mean that you can be successful in this career. They're almost like two different things. And it's hard because, you know, in order to be an actor - a good actor, you have to be a really emotional person and be able to access that emotion. But also being a very emotional, sensitive person is not - it's not very easy to be in a business that - where you're rejected a great deal of the - of time. So, you know, those are issues that we talk about.

MOSLEY: Molly Ringwald, I really enjoyed this conversation.

RINGWALD: Me too.

MOSLEY: Thank you so much.

RINGWALD: Thank you. And I also didn't say, too, that FRESH AIR was one of my father's favorite shows. He, like, all of, like, all the time, he was like, when are you going to do that FRESH AIR you, know? He would, you know, if there's a heaven somewhere, my dad is definitely smiling.

MOSLEY: Molly Ringwald is in the new FX series "Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans." Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, actor Mark Ruffalo. In the new movie "Poor Things," he plays a foppish rake with a terrific accent. It's a departure from his previous roles. He's up for an Oscar for best supporting actor. I hope you can join us.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EXACTLY LIKE YOU")

RINGWALD: (Singing) I know why I've waited. Know why I've been blue. Prayed each night for someone exactly like you. Why should we spend money on a show or two? No one does those love scenes exactly like you. You make me feel so grand...

MOSLEY: Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Amy Salit, Phyllis Myers, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Ann Marie Baldonado, Therese Madden, Thea Chaloner, Seth Kelley and Susan Nyakundi. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. For Terry Gross, I'm Tonya Mosley.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EXACTLY LIKE YOU")

RINGWALD: (Singing) She met me for someone exactly like you.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.