Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon interview

On the face of it, Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon have a lot in common. Both have thirty years in the film business behind them with Academy Awards on their mantelpieces (Hawn won the Best Supporting gong in 1969 for Cactus Flower, while Sarandon took the main award in 1995 for Dead Man Walking). They're both involved in long-term, high profile relationships with actors Kurt Russell and Tim Robbins respectively (neither couple is married - although it's a little known fact that Hawn was previously married and divorced three times), and they are now parents of kids who are starting to make names for themselves on the big screen: Goldie's Kate Hudson won acclaim for her portrayal of a groupie in Almost Famous, while Eva Amurri, Sarandon's daughter with Italian director Franco Amurri, appears alongside Mom as one of her daughters in The Banger Sisters.

So it comes as a surprise to learn that the two stars didn't know each other before the film was made. "The project already had Goldie attached by the time I came on board", explains Sarandon, who stars as the now prim and proper Lavinia who is shocked to re-encounter her old sparring partner Suzette (Hawn). The two clearly bonded, as this light comedy has genuine appeal and shows them working effortlessly together.

Sarandon admits that she would also have jumped at the chance to play the Suzette role, fake boobs and hazy background included. "It certainly would have been fun playing the free loose woman with the fun wardrobe - all I got to wear was beige suits", she says. "But as I learnt in Thelma and Louise it's important for both actors to drive the situation equally".

Both also admit to helping and learning from the daughters. In Sarandon's case, she has been protective of her daughter since Eva started attracting interest from major agencies. Hawn also benefited from her daughter's experience in Almost Famous. "She'd actually met a lot of women in the groupie world, and she was able to pass on one or two pieces of advice to me about their behaviour and lifestyles".