Julie Andrews on Timeless Appeal of 'The Sound of Music' and Her Love for Lady Gaga

Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music

The Sound of Music’s 50th anniversary has indeed been golden, and Julie Andrews is enjoying every moment. The celebration started last month when the Oscars paid tribute to the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, with pop queen Lady Gaga bringing the crowd to its feet with a stirring medley of the film’s musical favorites. This week the musical got a re-release on DVD and Blu-ray with a snazzy new collector’s edition. And later this month the TCM Film Festival will reunite the film’s cast in Los Angeles for a special screening as its opening-night gala.

Andrews sounded eternally grateful for the half-century of adulation the film has received when Yahoo Movies talked to her this week. The actress now 79, fondly recalled playing the effervescent governess Maria, who wins over the hearts of the mischievous Von Trapp kids, as well as Christopher Plummer’s strict military dad. She also revealed that one of her very favorite things, as it turns out, is Lady Gaga: Andrews was bowled over by the singer’s performance, especially considering a nervous Gaga told Andrews it was “one of the hardest things she’s ever done.”

Read on to see what else Andrews had to say about Sound of Music turning 50.

If you think back to 50 years ago, when you’re just signing on The Sound of Music — a movie based on this hit Broadway show with all these catchy songs — was there ever any doubt that it would become something so celebrated?

No one could have predicted that it would be this special, and that 50 years later I’d still be helping to promote it and speaking to you. That’s above and beyond anything one can imagine. It’s just amazing that it has had such a life, and has given me such a life.

And this is a film that for a half-century now has been being discovered by new generations. Have the reactions you’ve gotten to it changed at all over the course of time?

I think they stay pretty consistent, and that is amazing. Mostly, people just want to tell me, if they meet me, how much they enjoyed the movie, that it meant so much to them in their lives, or in many cases, believe it or not, spurred them into a theatrical career or a career in the arts in some way. I’ve never had anyone be disparaging or mean. They’re always welcoming.

Have you ever snuck into any of the sing-a-long screenings of the film?

[Laughs] No, I’ve been tempted once in a while, but I thought, “Well, it could be disastrous.” People have called me from screenings and said, ‘You should be here.’ But I’ve never done it.

Understandable, there might be riots. Now, about Lady Gaga’s Sound of Music medley at last month’s Oscars: What did you think of her performance?

Wasn’t that something? I thought she was terrific. She really hit it right out of the park, and gave such a fabulous rendition. She was so generous with it, and literally sang her heart out, and then handed it to me on a platter and walked off stage.

Were you familiar with her work?

Yes, I’ve been a fan, but I’d never met her — the first time I really met her was when I walked on stage. I’d spoken to her once on the phone, beforehand, because we knew we were going to do this, and she wanted to be sure that I was OK with all of it, and had my permission, and of course she did. But the actual first meeting was onstage. I was so thrilled for her. And she had already gotten a standing ovation. I just wanted to give her a big hug, which I did.

Her performances can be pretty bold. Were there any reservations that it might get too gaudy?

I had no idea what to expect. But the moment she began singing, I knew it was going to be OK. That first song [“The Sound of Music”] is not that easy, and she was apparently singing them all in my keys. I said, “Why? They’re so high! They sound high even to me these days.” And she said, “I wanted to honor you and make you proud.” So that was so dear that she even went that far. It was lovely of her. … She did say to me that this was one of the hardest things she has ever done. I think she was understandably nervous. But it mattered to her to do it well. She was terribly brave, in front of not only an entire Academy Award audience, but the entire world as well.

Could you possibly play favorites between Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, if you had to choose?

No. First of all, they’re slightly different animals, and came at slightly different times in my life, although fairly close to each other. One, Poppins was the first film I ever made, and I began to learn how to be in a movie, and that kind of learning was huge. And then I made a black-and-white movie [The Americanization of Emily] and then suddenly The Sound of Music. I think it’s all about the wonderful people I’ve worked with, like [Sound of Music] director Robert Wise, who was a wonderful man. And we subsequently made Star! together, so we became great friends over the years.

You’ve done voice work recently in movies like Despicable Me and the Shrek films. Any plans to get back in front of the camera?

I hope so. I do get offered lovely things once in a while, but sometimes I’m not able to do them because of another engagement or something comes up. Or I’m not in the right place in the right time. But who knows? I’m very open to it. I’m hugely busy. I’m writing my own children’s books for my little company [The Julie Andrews Collection] with my daughter Emma, and it’s a great pleasure to do that. And I go out and do a lot of speaking engagements. And a lot of our properties are beginning to be developed for theatre or film. I have books still to write that I’ve been contracted for… I’m also beginning to direct [theater] a bit, which I love. I’m somehow busy on any given day doing so many things.

Well, to quote your own movie, do you think you’ve lived the life you were born to live?

[Laughs] I could never have known that I was born to live this life. It has been so wonderful. Think about it, I’m the girl that was asked to be in the movie. That was a gift to me. As I say over and over again, how lucky could a girl get?