Angela Lansbury’s legacy lives on.
The legendary actress died on Oct. 11 at age 96. But, in 2010, she sat down with the New York Times for what she intended to be her final interview. “She spoke with us with the understanding the interview would be published only after her death,” the NYT tweeted Oct. 11. Twelve years later, per her wishes, the outlet has released the video.
In it, the six-time Tony winner admitted, “I was too good of an actress. I was primarily an actress and not a pretty face.”
In the end, the legacy Lansbury wanted to leave is simple. “Through my acting I hope enabled people to get out of their own lives and be transported into other areas of life that they otherwise would never have,” she said. “Life is so hard for so many people.”
While she is best known for her role as Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote, Lansbury had a career that spanned seven decades and went from silver screen to stage to television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her roles in 1944’s Gaslight and in 1946 for The Picture of Dorian Grey.
She lost the trophy both times, but saw the bright side in her last interview: “Owning an Academy Award too early is a deterrent because you don’t know what to do next.”