Jessica Lange has revealed that before she became a critically acclaimed movie star, she was involved in the 1968 Paris riots.
Beginning in May of that year, France saw seven weeks of upheaval, which included demonstrations and nationwide strikes. The civil unrest began with a series of student occupation protests against capitalism, consumerism and U.S. imperialism. The protests became so intense that political officials feared civil war and the French president, Charles de Gaulle, fled to West Germany.
During an appearance on an episode of WTF with Marc Maron Podcast published Monday, the actor explained how she became involved in the historical event. Lange revealed that when she was 18 and studying at the University of Minnesota, she met a group of young filmmakers who were about to travel to Spain and make a documentary. She decided to join them, leaving her life in Minnesota behind for the first time.
Eventually, the group made their way to Paris, which saw Lange become involved in the civil unrest happening in the city at the time. She told Maron that she would often come back to where she was living "smelling of tear gas."
Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Lange for comment on Wednesday.
"So I'm in Spain, [I'm] 18, and it's just, I mean the world just kind of broke open. And then we decided, they wanted to do, they had this idea about doing another documentary film in Amsterdam. So we threw the motorcycles on top of the old Land Rover and drove from southern Spain, from Andalucia, all the way up to Paris," she explained.
"And we rolled into Paris in May of 1968 when the city was just on fire. I mean, the students and the workers, everybody was like, you know, they were overthrowing de Gaulle's government."
When Maron asked if Lange involved herself in the protests, she said: "You bet."
"Every time there was a march going on I would be right there, you know. I mean, I didn't speak French or anything," the Tootsie actor continued.
"But you knew what was going on," Maron responded, to which Lange said: "Yeah and I'd always come back smelling of tear gas because they had the riot police out in full riot gear. But the students were building fires on Boulevard Saint-Germain, and pulling up the cobblestones."
She added: "From there we went up to Amsterdam and lived there for a while...I've never been back to Amsterdam since 1968 so I have a feeling it's not what it was...I've just never had the opportunity to go back."
After this experience, Lange fell in love with Paris and eventually decided to move there.
"When I was there I thought, 'Ah, this is where I want to live.'...I knew immediately that Paris was the place—and I ended up moving there several different times to live," the actor explained.
Lange is known for both her roles on stage and screen. She has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award.
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