Glenn Close with sister Jessie
Glenn Close is America’s most visible advocate against stigma involved in mental illness. On October 21, she and a team of like-minded people from the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation, Fountain House, and IMHRO launched a public service announcement in which she appeared with her courageous sister Jessie and nephew Calen, both of whom live with mental illness. The informative stigma-busting website advertised by the PSA, BringChange2Mind.org, received 2.75 million hits on its first day and is now overflowing with stories submitted by people at large who live with their own conditions. Having been involved with the PSA, I’ve had the privilege to meet Glenn and her family. Words can’t express how much I admire them. Join me now for an interview with this wonderful lady.
BKS: Glenn, I remember the evening before the PSA shoot you told me you were a little nervous. Even though I could tell that Jessie and Calen were fully ready to do it, I can imagine that exposing your family’s personal information for the good of people everywhere must have been a bit of a scary prospect. What was going through your mind the evening before the shoot?
GC: I was grateful that both the Staglin and the Close families could get together the evening before we all were due to show up at Grand Central Station to shoot our PSA. I was nervous on several levels: Having been in the movie business for over twenty-five years, I knew that shooting something in a vast and public venue like Grand Central was not an easy task. Although we had wonderful support from the Port Authority, we were under a strict time constraint and had a lot to accomplish in twelve hours. We not only had to shoot the PSA, using over 100 volunteer extras, but we had to also shoot individual interviews and a “Making Of” piece as well—and feed and accommodate our cast and crew in a highly public place.
I was also nervous because I was aware of what we were asking of those loved ones, living with mental illnesses, who had had the courage to show up and out themselves on what was going to be a national spot. My sister, Jessie, and her son, Calen, had flown all the way from Bozeman, Montana. They do not travel very often and lead quiet lives, so I did not take their willingness to subject themselves to the inevitable stress that travel entails these days for granted. Jess was able to bring her little service dog, Snits, with her so that helped a lot, but it was a daunting proposition for both of them.
My nervousness was tempered by my sense of wonder and excitement due to the fact that we had actually pulled it off—we were actually going to make the PSA, directed by one of the best directors in the world—Ron Howard.
BKS: Now, the public’s response to the PSA has been overwhelmingly supportive, and millions of people have been touched by your and your family’s message. How does that make you feel?
GC: The fact that so many people have responded to the BringChange2Mind campaign is deeply gratifying to me. It’s just the beginning, but our goal is to erase the fear and shame around mental illness so that it is something we can talk about openly and embrace as just another aspect of the human condition. I feel joyous about it. It feels so right. As an actress, I have always felt that my craft should only connect me, more and more deeply, to my fellow human beings. I’ve always felt that if I’m feeling something, there are thousands, if not millions of people, who must be feeling the same thing. So I’m not surprised that our campaign has gotten such immediate and passionate response, because mental illness affects most of us and it is a great relief to us all to be able to fling the doors of silence open and talk about it.
BKS: I can tell you really love and admire your sister and nephew. You said on one TV interview that Jessie was your hero. Do you feel that the experiences you’ve shared with them in the PSA shoot and afterward have brought you closer together?
GC: Calen and Jessie are my heroes because they have faced their illnesses with great courage and fortitude. They live with huge challenges—day in and day out—and they are managing the delicate balance of meds and lifestyle that enables them to be highly productive, creative individuals. Jessie is a writer who is near to completing a book and Calen just had a highly successful exhibit of his paintings. The whole BringChange2Mind campaign would never have happened if it weren’t for them because they inspired me to actually try to do something for them and all those living with mental illness, which for me translated into helping to tackle stigma. That desire led me to Fountain House, to the incredible advertising team, “its the Watsons”, to the Staglins and to the formation of the amazing core team that created the BringChange2Mind campaign. This whole journey has brought Jessie and me closer. It has given us a united voice and is bringing us a sense of great relief and happiness.
BKS: Now, the BringChange2Mind.org website offers visitors the opportunity to upload their stories about their own experiences with mental illness for the world to share. What would you say to people who might want to come forth, but are, as you said you were, a little nervous about it?
GC: Already many people have shared their stories with us—not only on the BringChange2Mind.org site, but also on our Facebook page. I hope that those who have been afraid to acknowledge their illness and talk about it will take heart after reading the wonderful outpourings of so many people and know that they are not alone, that there are thousands of people who understand and support them, that we are all connected.
BKS: Glenn, thank you so much. Please say Hi to Jessie and Calen.
