Julianna Margulies is having a terrific resurgence in popularity. She's more gorgeous than ever and her work on The Good Wife is not only amazing, she's also getting recognized for it - with a Golden Globe and SAG win, and an Emmy nomination.
But Margulies has another side, and that side is "hot lady", which is thoroughly displayed in the January issue of Harper's Bazaar. She's interviewed by none other than her formidable co-star Alan Cumming (who was a wonderful addition to the show later in the first season).
Margulies shares a few tidbits about what she think is sexy, as well as some information about how repressed Alicia Florrick seems to be. You can view excerpts from the interview, as well as the photo spread below.
AC: Your character on The Good Wife, Alicia, seems kind of closed in terms of her sexuality. Do you find it weird to play someone like that?
JM: It's a challenge because she's so far from who I am. I'm not saying I'm a crazy sexual person, but she's such a repressed Wasp. I think the beautiful part of this journey she is on as a woman is that now she's finding out who she is through her work and also discovering what sexy is to her.
AC: When do you feel sexy?
JM: It depends what mood I'm in. When I'm tired, I don't feel very sexy. I feel sexy when I'm happy. If I'm going out on a date with my husband, I want to feel sexy. I want him to see me that way. So I think you have to make an effort. When you're in love, you feel sexy. It's an endorphin that comes out, but in a different way than endorphins after you've worked out. I never feel that sexy after I work out [laughs]. Well, maybe after the shower.
AC: Speaking of the gym, didn't you come back to work after the summer with a ridiculously pert booty?
JM: I became obsessed with this step machine. Apparently they've been around forever. I can now do it backwards without hands. Within five minutes, you're sweating and you can literally see your bum lift up. I'm one of those strange people: I really love going to the gym.
AC: You seem to have a really good handle on how to balance your work, your marriage, and your child.
JM: It's tricky being a working mom. You feel guilt all the way around. You want to be there for your husband, be there for your kids, be great at your job, all that stuff. But at the end of the day, if you put everyone in front of you, what happens to you? I think all these 1950s Leave It to Beaver housewives suddenly woke up and went, "What about me? Fuck you all. You know how hard this is? I've had dinner on the table, I've figured this out, and now you're sleeping with your secretary?" I do believe the balance lies in yourself. I can't say I can do it all, because I can't.
AC: Your character, Alicia, obviously chooses to stay with her politician husband despite his cheating. How would you bounce back from that as a woman, sexually?
JM: Personally, I don't know how you could. It's not just hearing about your husband cheating or being with hookers. She's seen it on YouTube, on the news. She's seen the women. How do you close your eyes and feel love for this person in an intimate moment? Good lord, I couldn't do it.
AC: You couldn't?
JM: I have never been in that situation. And where I am now with my husband and child, I can't imagine it happening. But maybe if it happened to me and the forgiveness was real and truthful and I believed it, I'd always give it a shot. I don't think you throw the baby out with the bathwater. Everyone messes up, and we're all allowed mistakes.
