Anjelica Huston works through grief with work

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Anjelica Huston plays a mother whose son is diagnosed with cancer in “50/50,” which echoed her late husband’s struggle to survive.

Updated: November 24, 2011 12:27AM

Mourning the loss of a loved one is a personal journey. When Oscar winner Anjelica Huston lost her beloved sculptor husband, she didn’t turn to long walks, therapy or solitude.

She worked.

In fact, she signed on for the film “50/50” (opening Friday), where she plays a mother facing the loss of her son (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) after he’s diagnosed with cancer.

Ask Huston how in the world she could delve into that subject matter while she was grieving her own loss and she just sighs. The daughter of legendary film director John Huston says, “It’s a lucky thing if you’re an artist. You get to put your heart and life into your work. It can also be very cathartic.”

Huston married sculptor Robert Graham in 1992. As in her new film, a unexpected medical diagnoses changed everything.

“My husband was probably sick for 12 years but just didn’t know it,” she says. “It was very mysterious. His kidneys suddenly collapsed and he had a heart attack.

“That’s when doctors found out he had a very rare vascular disease,” she says in a quiet voice from her suite at the Toronto International Film Festival. “We found out in August and he died in December, all the time not knowing which way it would go.”

“It was one of the hardest experiences in my life to watch someone I adored deteriorate. The not knowing which way it would go was devastating. The day-to-day uncertainty was horrible.”

Doing “50/50” after his death helped her get through the experience.

“My own medical experience was very fresh with me — and it was an honor to bring it to this beautiful movie.”

1 How did you do bedside hospital scenes with your screen son? It must have been like opening a wound.

It’s true that the hospital thing in real life was in my bones. But honestly, making this movie was a way to release it. I knew that this film was based on a real-life story of Seth Rogen and his friend who had cancer. This was one of those rare opportunities to get to say what you’re feeling in real life through a character. Yes, I had been through my husband’s death the year before, and it was right there with me. I had a lot to unload and I was very lucky to put it into my work. Otherwise, where do you take it? I guess you can take it to a psychiatrist’s office. I chose to rise above my real horrible situation through work.

2 What advice do you have for others who are in your “50/50” situation? You play a caretaker who doesn’t know what to do to make it better, which is so common.

Nobody really knows what that caretaker role is like until you go through it. I went through it with both of my parents. Then I had to face the mourning and the loss of both parents and then my husband. I think this movie for me is a love letter to the situation. As a caretaker, I know the powerless feeling you have in these medical situations. The fact that this movie is a comedy about it was remarkable. Crazy stuff still happens during these medical emergencies. There will be absurd moments when you’re in a life-and-death situation. I think it’s always about making brave choices for everyone.

3 Next month, you’re starring opposite Steve Martin, Owen Wilson and Jack Black in “The Big Year.” What was it like to be with the guys?

Oh, that was also a wonderful release. I play a woman who takes them out to sea in my boat. It’s going to be a divine film and one of the first about professional bird-watching. All I can tell you is that those three actors were so fantastic with me. And I know there is probably a whole secret world of bird-watchers who are about to get their moment.

4 You’ve recently moved to New York to start filming your mid-season TV series “Smash” about Broadway. It’s being billed as “Glee” for grown-ups.

It’s going to be really good. Debra Messing, Kat McPhee and Jack Davenport are in it. We have original songs, cute boys and we’re filming all over the city. Yes, it’s being called the adult “Glee,” and I also think of it as a great drama. I play Eileen Rand, a Broadway producer. She’s a strong businesswoman who is going through an ugly divorce. She’s a mover going through hard times, but she’s also tough. I just don’t want her to be bitchy. But it is good to see a woman who is strong and a grown-up making tough decisions with a good heart

5 Will you sing on the series?
I don’t know. We’ll see. They’ll have to get me very drunk to make that happen! Then again, we’re in New York. A few martinis and I might be belting on Broadway!

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