‘Far From Heaven’ Star Julianne Moore Slammed Online for Comments About Avoiding Action Films With Guns and Explosions

During a recent Kering Women in Motion talk during the Cannes Film Festival, Julianne Moore spoke about the kinds of films she wants to focus on at this stage of her career.

During the conversation, Moore explained that she has become less interested in stories that rely on violence or big dramatic spectacle. She said her focus has shifted toward more emotionally grounded work, especially as she reflects on what is happening in the world right now.

She said, “Particularly now at a time when things are really rough globally, it’s very difficult for me to invest in a story that I think is pretend, where I feel like the depth of the emotion, the measure of it, doesn’t measure up to what’s happening in the world. And I don’t feel like I want to engage in it.”

Moore added that she pays close attention to scripts and often reacts to how stories handle stakes and emotional weight. She said she prefers material that feels real rather than exaggerated or built around shock value.

She explained, “I don’t like easy stakes.”

She went on to be more direct about the kinds of elements she is not drawn to anymore in scripts, including violence and spectacle-driven storytelling.

She said, “I don’t like someone being murdered. I don’t like explosions and guns. I don’t like histrionics. I don’t like things that raise the stakes without real feeling underneath.”

She added that she finds this kind of storytelling difficult to connect with as an actor, saying, “That’s like noise. I don’t know how to play it. I don’t want to watch it.”

After clips of her comments circulated online, reactions were mixed. Some social media users criticized Moore, pointing out that she has appeared in several films that include violence and weapons. Others defended her, saying her comments were about creative preference rather than rejecting her past work.

Moore has built a long career in both dramatic and commercial films. She won an Academy Award for Still Alice and has been nominated multiple times for roles in films such as Boogie Nights, The Hours, and Far From Heaven. She has also appeared in large franchise films like The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.

She was attending the Cannes Film Festival to receive the Kering Women in Motion Award, which honors actresses who have made significant contributions to film and society.