Meryl Streep Knows You Love Her

Meryl Streep is the Beyoncé of acting. Or Beyoncé is the Meryl Streep of music; both work. Either way, Meryl Streep is a living legend, revered across her craft and beyond, and widely considered "the world's greatest living actress." But have you ever wondered how this almost mythological reverence of Meryl Streep affects, well, Meryl Streep? Because she knows about it, of course, and she's recently talked about what it's like carrying the weight of one's own lofty reputation around. Here's what Meryl Streep said about her fame in a recent interview with The Associated Press:

It’s not anything that’s valuable. Increasingly, it's more of an obstruction to be gotten through. I’m not sure there isn’t a point of critical mass where it's hard to have that stuff go away in order to be seen fresh as a character that you’ve poured yourself into. I don't know. I just can't seem to stop because I really like working.

Legit. Then in the same interview she once again demonstrated her commitment to her craft, this time in reference to the zillion-pages long (that might be a slight exaggeration) monologues she had to do for August: Osage County:

I looked at it almost like an Olympic (event): OK. Everybody says you’re so good? Well, (expletive) show me! Do it for Benedict Cumberbatch! Do it for Abigail (Breslin) down there at the end!

"Do it for Benedict Cumberbatch" is indeed an A+ motivator for life in general.