In 'Dying of Politeness,' Geena Davis says Susan Sarandon taught her to speak up

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Books, Arts

4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 25 October 2022

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

Geena Davis is no stranger to the spotlight. But in her new memoir, Dying of Politeness, the Academy Award-winning actor remembers growing up full of insecurities and self-criticisms. She tells Rachel Martin that acting gave her the "ability to be somebody else" – and over time, she gained her confidence by watching none other than her Thelma and Louise co-star, Susan Sarandon, walk through the world with her head held high.

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. Okay, okay, okay, I know I'm super
0:07.4	late for it, but I just saw Thelma and Louise for the first time the other weekend. I know this
0:12.2	will be old news to most of you, but Gina Davis is absolutely incredible in that movie.
0:18.7	She's funny and vulnerable, but defiant in this magnetic way that you really understand
0:24.0	why someone would want to follow her to, you know, you know.
0:28.4	She's got a new memoir called Dying of Politeness, and she talked to NPR's Rachel
0:32.6	Martin about how each of her big movies taught her something important about life.
0:37.7	And when they get to the Thelma and Louise section,
0:40.3	she talks about learning to find her own agency and strength
0:43.8	and ability to speak up for herself.
0:46.5	But it wasn't anything about the role that taught her those lessons.
0:49.6	It was being around Susan Sarandon.
0:51.8	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
0:56.5	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.
1:01.0	On our new show, Sources and Methods.
1:03.0	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people
1:06.4	helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:10.7	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:16.2	For an Oscar-winning actor, Gina Davis has suffered from a lot of self-doubt over the years.
1:22.2	It's a theme in her new memoir, which is titled Dying of Politeness.
1:26.1	One of Davis's first jobs was in retail, and she soon got noticed after modeling in a shop window.
1:32.0	A casting director saw her photos in a sales catalog, and all of a sudden, she was in a movie with
	...

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