Melanie Griffith Is 'Really Joyful' After Splitting From Antonio Banderas
— -- Melanie Griffith is in a new phase of her life.
After splitting from her husband of more than two decades, Antonio Banderas, the actress is focused on "finding great work and having a good time."
"My kids are almost grown. I'm getting divorced. I'm just happy," she told IndieWire. "I'm really joyful. Life is good."
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Griffith, 56, said that in January, she'll do "Pippen" on Broadway, and she's also working on a comedy with Bob Saget. She's also promoting a short film, "Thirst," in which she plays an alcoholic prostitute. The experience was cathartic.
"I had a reputation with people in my industry as being a wild child, being a drug addict and an alcoholic. After being sober for five years, this part comes along and felt like if I could act it out and do it — not for anyone else, just for me -- to do that harsh of a life of an alcoholic, I would be able to get it out," she said. "I found it difficult to watch myself the first time, because I went, 'Oh my God, I look so old!' Stupid s**t like that. Then the next time I watched it, I cried, because I could separate myself from myself and look at the story."
One movie she won't be watching soon, however, is "50 Shades of Grey," at the behest of its star, her daughter, Dakota Johnson. She did say that she saw the "Room of Pain," on set, so she has a little bit of an idea what she's missing.
"She's amazing — so good. It's just so beautiful to see her doing this," gushed Griffith. "She had her mom and her dad and her grandmother and she's just taken us all and thrown us away. She's like, 'Here I am.'"
