Billy Crudup<\/a> recognizes many familiar aspects of the acting life in his new movie \u201cJay Kelly<\/a>.\u201d One that stands out more than others, however: the theme of waiting for your life to start.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like an American phenomenon. We are an ambitious country with an incredible amount of opportunity. And so your proximity to somehow hitting it big is imaginatively closer,\u201d Crudup says. “If you’re constantly waiting for the great break (that’s) going to happen or you’re going to hit the jackpot or you’re going to get the promotion or you’re going to get the part, whatever it is, you’re going to miss out on life that’s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Directed by Noah Baumbach, the meta dramedy \u201cJay Kelly\u201d (in select theaters Nov. 14, streaming on Netflix Dec. 5) centers on the title movie star (George Clooney<\/a>) as he realizes that, for a while, he\u2019s put his A-list acting career ahead of friends and loved ones. A confrontation with Timothy (Crudup), a standout from when they were both in drama school together, sends Jay on an international trip of important self-reflection.<\/p>\n Join our Watch Party! <\/strong>Sign up to receive USA TODAY’s movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Former drama school friends Timothy (Billy Crudup, left) and Jay (George Clooney) have a tense confrontation in the Netflix meta dramedy “Jay Kelly.”<\/p>\n \u201cThe provocation of his mentor dying and his children literally leaving makes him wonder, \u2018Was it all worth it?\u2019 \u201d Crudup, 57, says of Clooney\u2019s character. \u201cHis daughter responds with, \u2018\u2019What if it wasn’t? What if it didn’t mean anything?\u2019 That just crushed me.\u201d<\/p>\n Crudup remembers \u201cvery early on in my career\u201d having to miss major events because he got acting jobs. One incident that especially affected him was being unable to attend the wedding of his best friend from college \u201cbecause I had a couple days on a movie that I think I ultimately got fired from,\u201d says the New York native and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill grad. Crudup had \u201cthe realization that, as much as I wanted this career as an actor and being given opportunities, if I didn’t keep an eye on it, I was going to miss out on my life.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s why he\u2019s kept up the tradition of having an annual golf trip with \u201ca bunch of knucklehead friends of mine from about first grade,\u201d Crudup says. \u201cIt’s all stupid. They’re stupid. Golf is stupid. The whole thing’s stupid. But it kept everybody together yearly.<\/p>\n \u201cThe truth is, you don’t always have the agency,\u201d he adds. \u201cSometimes you have to work, and you can’t say, \u2018I would like those three days off – that Friday, Saturday and Sunday I’m going to be in Orlando.\u2019 But when I could for the first number of years, like around (2000\u2019s) \u2018Almost Famous,\u2019 I did, and that has made a world of difference in my life.\u201d In September, Crudup and 11 of his pals reunited in Charlottesville, Virginia, for their golf weekend: \u201cI think we’re close to 30 years now. It’s great.”<\/p>\n Billy Crudup (far left), wife Naomi Watts and her son Sasha Schreiber attend the ceremony for Watts’ star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in October.<\/p>\n Also, unlike Jay Kelly, Crudup\u2019s very much in the corner of his wife, two-time Oscar nominee Naomi Watts. He was by her side when she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame \u2013 if that were Jay, \u201che\u2019d ask if he could have a star, too,\u201d Crudup jokes. And in Watts\u2019 book \u201cDare I Say It: Everything I Wish I\u2019d Known About Menopause<\/a>,\u201d she writes about a time early in their relationship when he was extremely supportive during a moment they were getting intimate and she became embarrassed about wearing an estrogen patch. (On a Oprah Winfrey TV special, Winfrey quoted Crudup\u2019s line to her: \u201cI have gray hairs on my balls.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n Crudup was more than cool with her including that.<\/p>\n 1<\/span> of 20<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Cynthia Erivo takes flight again as the magical Elphaba in “Wicked: For Good.” Check out our exclusive peeks at the anticipated movie musical sequel and all the other new films you need to see this holiday season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt was important for her to try to make clear for people who are going through the experience of menopause or premenopause that this is a common human phenomenon and families deal with it the way families deal with it,\u201d he says. \u201cBeing open about it is probably going to help you probably not suffer as much. At the very least, you cannot feel lost in it. You might not be able to mitigate all of the things that come along with menopause, but at least there won’t be the haunting (feeling) that you can’t talk about it with anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n As for Crudup\u2019s work life, he\u2019s got plenty going on before next year\u2019s golf weekend. The Tony- and Emmy-winning actor stars in a London stage version of the classic Western \u201cHigh Noon\u201d starting in December, there\u2019s a fifth season of \u201cThe Morning Show\u201d to film, plus he might have a supporting actor Oscar campaign thanks to the buzz from a key scene in \u201cJay Kelly.\u201d (It involves the very dramatic reading of a menu.)<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that’s me and my mom mostly starting that online,\u201d Crudup deadpans. \u201cThe experience of being a working actor is all I was really gunning for, and I am gifted with having some incredible opportunities right now. I’m happy as the clam where I am.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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From ‘Zootopia 2’ to ‘Running Man,’ exclusive peeks at the holiday season’s top movies<\/h2>\n