What is Diane Lane doing now? She is still acting and advocating for environmental conservation
Karwai Tang/Getty Images After Diane Lane starred alongside Laurence Olivier in A Little Romance, he declared that she was the next Grace Kelly. Lane didn’t quite live up to Laurence’s prediction, instead carving a journey unique to Diane Lane – a 40-year journey defined by reinvention and punctuated by a series of memorable and award-worthy performances.
Lane isn’t your typical Hollywood star. She has not achieved blockbuster fame or pioneered big-budget films, but she’s always there, making an impact. For instance, she’s played Martha Kent in Superman movies since 2013, which certainly isn’t a spectacular role, but one that keeps reminding people of the fantastic career of Diane Lane.
Diane Lane keeps acting and advocating for environmental conservation
Mark Seliger/Parade Diane Lane finally lived up to her father’s prediction that she would become president. In Y: The Last Man, she played a congresswoman thrust into the presidency after an apocalyptic event wipes out all men except one.
Lane told Today that she wanted to bring ‘humanity’ to the role of a woman president looking to lead her country through a pandemic. “Oh my gosh, life imitating art imitating life imitating art,” Lane told The Independent.
The pandemic gave Diane much-deserved rest. Unlike the rest of the world, Diane didn’t learn a new language, dive into baking, or discover a new hobby. Instead, she sat before a screen and tried to catch up on shows and films. She said:
“Shamelessly and gratefully [watched television] because I had a lot to catch up on and this is my profession. I need to be more aware of the young talent that’s coming up and the amazing new directors and shows that people love and I didn’t get to see. I mean, it’s so many. Downton Abbey!”
Kevin Costner had a role ready for Diane as soon as it was safe to return to acting. Costner and Diane play a married couple in the emotional 2020 film Let Him Go (Costner also plays her husband, Jonathan Kent, in Man of Steel).
The film handed Diane her first unofficial directorial debut as she helped out in production. “He [Costner] said, ‘This is your movie’ and he’s so generous like that,” Diane said.
Lane’s variety makes her resume all the more impressive, and at 56, she looks set to appear in more diverse roles. Diane told USA Today that theme matters in the parts she picks, but she won’t bore herself by selecting similar roles all the time. She explained:
“I also think about what is the larger theme, and does it linger in a good way, or does it linger in a dark or harsh way? But at the same time, variety is the spice of life, and some days you want a movie that challenges you in a different way. I mean, I don’t want to wear the same shirt every day, and I don’t want to watch the same movie every day.”
Aside from acting, Lane does plenty of environmental activism. “It’s not just recycle or get the plastics out of the ocean,” she told Today. “I want us to wake up together and hold hands and make it a positive movement because we don’t have a time for pessimism.”
Lane is glad that her daughter chose acting way later than she did
Jim Spellman/WireImage Diane’s father, Burton Eugene Lane, a Manhattan drama coach, introduced Lane to acting and made her believe that she could become successful. At age six, she earned a spot in the La MaMa traveling theatre and started sharpening her acting skills.
Lane doesn’t feel like she had much say in becoming an actor, but she doesn’t regret choosing the career. “I don’t mind it,” Diane told The Washington Post. “I’m very grateful and lucky that I can live up to being picked.”
She told Today that being a child star wasn’t easy, but she survived. Lane opines that it’s easy to make poor choices when thrust into the limelight at such a young age. She told Today:
“It is a gauntlet of potential bad choices that you are not even supposed to be aware enough to make. It’s all luck or some person in the background who’s a marionette and you are the puppet and there are strings being pulled that allow you to have good fortune.”
Lane’s daughter, Eleanor, won’t experience any of what her mother went through as she chose acting well into her 20s. “I’m so glad she waited to be ready on her own terms,” Lane told The Washington Post. “Because I was hijacked.”
