An episode with Ozark star Laura Linney

Three times Academy Award nominee Laura Linney. Photo / AP

Laura Linney, who stars in the Netflix drama, Ozark, talks to Michele Manelis about her life as a new mum, her career ... and mone.

Ozark touches on numerous themes, one of which is money. What does money mean to you?

Well, that is a potent question, and it's one that everyone has to deal with at some point. As my life has progressed, my relationship to money has changed drastically. I didn't grow up with money, so it was something that I didn't really think about because I was happy in my life and loved by my parents. So I never felt that I didn't have, nor did I feel that I was entitled to it.

And now?

Now I am suspicious of money. I am grateful for money, I am a little scared of money, and I am respectful of money. I try to enjoy it when I indulge in things and not feel too guilty about buying something. So I am sort of all over the place about money, as I think most people are.

What is your weakness? What do you splurge on?

I don't collect art but I try and buy one piece of art for every large job I get. Usually it's a painting.

You have a 3½-year-old son. How did you survive the terrible 2s?

The 2s were great, quite wonderful. The 3s are a little more Napoleonic. They are a little more savvy, communicative and they can also become more frustrated. You have to be patient, and being 53 helps for me. I don't think 30 years ago I had the patience that I have now, or the interest quite frankly. It's wonderful time in my life.

You had a baby late in life, how has this experience been for you?

I have found it nothing but a joy. I am so deeply, deeply grateful and I love every second of it. It has completely surpassed my most positive expectations. And people said to me, "Oh, your life is going to change; your life is going to change." I was like, "Good! I want my life to change". I don't feel like I am missing anything. It's funny. I can remember friends of mine envying me for being childless because I could travel and work wherever I wanted to work, and so I don't feel like I am giving anything up.

What characteristics would you like your son to inherit from you and your husband?

Well, my husband has a great sense of joie de vivre. He is an extrovert and he loves people. He loves to engage and he connects very easily and has a real appetite for life. So, I know our son already has that a little bit. And I am much more of an introvert so I do hope that his disposition is such that he is thoughtful.

Laura Linney and Jason Bateman star in Ozark.

How have you felt you changed as a person?

I know that when I look at my child, my face does something that it has never done before. The muscles in my face are doing things that I have never experienced. So I think I am physically different honestly, and a little stronger, because I am picking up a big, huge child. But how it's changed me on a larger side, there's just much more joy in my life, there's no question about that, there's just much more joy.

What about forgiveness, another main theme in Ozark, are you good at forgiving people?

Probably to a fault. I think I forgive too easily. I don't forget, so it's not the healthiest way to be, quite frankly. And forgiveness is hard. Real forgiveness is very, very hard. I don't think I've seen it too often in an authentic way. I don't think I have experienced it completely and it takes me an awful lot to get angry at someone. You really have to push me hard and once I am over that line, I am over the line and then it's very hard for me to come back.

What do you know now that you didn't know in your 30s?

The older you get, I think you are more aware that time can be squandered. And there is a lot in our culture that wants you to squander your time. There is so much that is good about the internet and then there's a lot of it that appeals to the inner addict in all of us that appeals to the procrastination that is in all of us. I think there is a lot of time that you would want back at the end of the day.