This year, her 87th, The New York Times called Lois Smith, “a great actor at the height of her powers.”

Her take:

“Conventional wisdom has it that when you get to be an old person, there are fewer roles and the roles are less interesting. But that has not been true in my case.”

On learning sign language for I WAS MOST ALIVE WITH YOU: “It was so much fun to take that on….And to discover you can forget your lines in two languages.”

On being described by Linda Winer as a movie star and a Broadway star: “I think of myself as an extremely fortunate actress who has managed to have some real success.”

On the importance of sleep: “I love to sleep….I tend to sleep between matinees and evening performances….I like a nap during an ordinary lunch hour.”

On filming FIVE EASY PIECES. “What comes to mind immediately: We all stayed in the same motel on Vancouver Island. And every night we all ate together. We all talked about the day’s work and about the coming day’s work and any alterations that might come up….Everyone shared…. Everyone worked collaboratively…The good stuff….That’s not so common.”