Julianne Moore reflected on her decades-long career in a conversation with Variety‘s Angelique Jackson during a Kering Women in Motion Talk at Cannes on Saturday, discussing everything from female representation in film to how she selects her roles.
The Oscar-winning actor, who is receiving Kering’s Women in Motion Award at this year’s festival, kicked off the talk by saying that the prize is “a thrill and a tremendous honor.”
“As an actor, you’re part of a gig economy… you’re going from one job to the next,” she said. “When you realize you’re being celebrated or asked to speak about what’s behind you, it’s like wow. This is something I created in my life. It’s a nice point of reflection and wonderful honor.”
Moore has been an advocate for women’s representation in the industry since the start of her career. When asked about a recent study reporting that the number of women in lead roles dropped to 37% among 2025’s highest-grossing movies, down 10% from 2024, Moore noted the issue is “not endemic just to the film industry, it’s global.”
“I mean, there’s not representation in C-suites, there’s not representation in media, there’s not representation in higher education. There are lots of places where we don’t have the representation we deserve. So I feel like it’s a bigger problem,” she said. “And how do you change that? I don’t know. It’s like, how does a mouse get through a wall? One bite at a time. You do it slowly, steadily, mindfully, making choices, speaking up, using your privilege, hiring more, talking about alliances, changing things for us on set.”
