'He's so gorgeous': Jane Fonda says her 'knees gave way' when Tom Brady walked into her trailer
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jane Fonda couldn't help but shower praise on Tom Brady after meeting him on the set of their upcoming movie '80 For Brady'.
The 85-year-old film icon starred alongside fellow actresses Lily Tomlin, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno in the sports comedy that features a cameo appearance by the NFL legend. Fonda recounted her meeting with 45-year-old Brady and how she became starstruck during the film's premiere screening at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on Friday night, January 6.
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"Tom Brady, I think he went into all of our trailers individually," she recalled during a post-screening Q&A, per Variety. "And when he walked into my trailer at the end, my knees gave way." The 'Barefoot In The Park' star gushed, "I had to hold onto something. I mean, he is gorgeous. He is so gorgeous." In '80 For Brady', Fonda, Moreno, Field, and Tomlin play four best friends who are Brady fanatics and travel together to Houston, Texas to see the New England Patriots take on the Atlanta Falcons in the 2017 Super Bowl. Patriots overcame a 28-3 deficit to win the game, making Super Bowl LI the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. Several NFL stars appeared in the movie in addition to Brady, including former tight end Rob "Gronk" Gronkowski, retired wide receiver Julian Edelman and former wide receiver Danny Amendola.
Field told the audience after the screening how she was waiting to meet the star athletes before they arrived. "I was the one out there welcoming everybody," the 76-year-old actress remembered. "There was no one else," 82-year-old Tomlin quipped, adding, "No PAs out there, just Sally." Field continued, "I was out there, ‘Hi, guys! I’m so glad you’re here!" adding, "I wanted them to feel comfortable. I was a fan and I was out there welcoming them." Fonda subsequently lauded Brady for his good manners. "Tom was so gracious when he first came on the set to buy lunch," she said.
"It was the first time he went to each of our trailers, which were our dressing rooms, and he introduced himself as though we didn’t know who he was," the two-time Oscar winner continued. "But again, a true gentleman. He was gracious. And I had one of those huge football sweatshirts waiting for him because my nephew is an enormous fan, and he was so gracious. And [Tom] wrote on it for him, and my nephew now has that on the wall in a frame. [Tom] just has very good manners like that."
Fonda also gushed about the 7-time Super Bowl Champion on the red carpet ahead of the screening. "He was kind and humble, which is hard to believe considering how brilliant he is at what he does, but it’s true. He was also sweet and polite," she told The Hollywood Reporter. "My knees actually got weak when he walked into my trailer. I’m in awe of that kind of skill. When somebody is the best in the world at what they do, you have to honor that and respect it. I was just awestruck."
Tomlin also complimented Brady on his acting skills. "He’s a good actor," she told THR. "He’s very personable and unassuming." The 'Grace & Frankie' alum described the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback's performance during a long scene they share in the film. "Just looking at his face and his eyes and watching him listen to me as an actor trying to reciprocate in the same way. I felt like I was that [real-life] woman from Boston who was in her 80s," she said, adding, "I felt, in fact, as though he was my son when I had to do this speech with him."
'80 For Brady' is expected to hit the theaters on February 3.