Naomi Watts believes David Bowie was on to something

Naomi Watts remembers being told her acting career was over at 40.

Now 56, she just received a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Babe Paley in Feud: Capote vs. the Swans. In March, she will star in the film “The Friend,” based on the National Book Award-winning novel by Sigrid Nunez. And her first book, “Dare I Say It,” out Tuesday, looks at her experience of being told at 36 that she was entering early menopause and how she coped.

“It was shocking to me that half the population was being told to push through an inevitable phase of life,” Watts said of the stigma and silence surrounding perimenopause and menopause. She finally jumped into the conversation and explained, “I was tired of keeping the secret, which I did for a long time.”

In a video call from Los Angeles, in that brief moment between the glamor of the Golden Globes and the devastation of the fires, Watts talked about her love of pickleball, her admiration for David Bowie and her belief that peppermint tea and milk do the trick not mix.

These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Pickleball

I’m obsessed with pickleball. Everyone seems to think that when you say you love pickleball you’re really leaning toward the age thing, but I’ve seen people in their 20s in New York get upset about it.

games

During the Christmas holidays I played a lot of cards and bananagrams. I also play this game called Snatch, which is like an aggressive version of Bananagrams. I get pretty competitive, but only when I’m playing games. I think it’s because you have a big brother and you’re fighting to win. I’m also a member of a Wordle chain and whoever wins the day before gets to choose the word. I do this every day and since we started I’ve only missed a few here and there. My statistics are very impressive.

“Emilia Perez”

I just saw this film by Jacques Audiard and loved it. It’s so innovative and wild, with so many ideas and images emerging at the same time. I had seen his older film “Rust and Bone” with Marion Cotillard, which I also really liked. All the actors in Emilia Pérez are amazing and Zoe Saldaña was honored at the Globes the other night. It’s just a fantastic piece of filmmaking.

Properly brewed tea

I drink it all day long. I love builder tea, strong black tea like PG Tips. However, it must be done correctly. I have to teach Americans how to do it. It must be drunk with milk. If you order tea in a restaurant or on a plane and they bring you the hot water and the bag together, everything is wrong. It won’t work. You pour the hot water over the bag. Sometimes when you order tea with milk, they get confused and bring you peppermint tea with milk, and I think: That’s poison!

Le Pavillon de la Reine

I love everything about Paris. I love the romance, I love the walking, I love the restaurants. I like to stay at a place called Le Pavillon de la Reine. It’s a boutique hotel with a fireplace, so it’s lovely in the winter.

Cook

One of my favorite things to do is eat at home with friends, have a great meal and have great conversations. I tend to do roasts, so a lot of roast chicken and vegetables. My mother is a good cook, so I learned a lot from her. She’s not a recipe person, she’s a trial and error person – you have to be practiced at that. I didn’t learn to be a good cook until I had children.

Stay hydrated

I have terribly cracked feet during these dry winter months, so I use a lot of Eucerin Intensive Repair Lotion to keep my skin moisturized. I apply the lotion at night before bed and it really helps.

dogs

I’ve had dogs all my life and I don’t understand people who don’t love dogs. I barely understand cat people and am always looking for dogs. I like cats; I’m just allergic to them. However, if you have a cat, you better have a dog too because at least they will be nice to you.

Representative Sarah McBride

I am a big fan of her work as an activist and politician. What she does is wonderful. I’m impressed with how she handles everything with poise, even though she keeps getting attacked, and for all the wrong reasons. She is committed to fighting LGBTQ discrimination, and I think that’s super important.

David Bowie

The first album I ever bought was Hunky Dory, and all of those songs – every single one – are great. “Changes” are the biggest and best in my nostalgic brain. It’s so interesting to think about what he would do now. I wish he was still there. I really do. If you look at these little clips and interviews from back then, he just knows so much. He was onto something.