‘It’s awfully nice’ to be awarded an honorary Oscar, Gena Rowlands says

Gena Rowlands has attended the Academy Awards only twice — when she was nominated for lead actress for the acclaimed 1974 drama “Woman Under the Influence” and the 1980 crime thriller “Gloria,” both directed by her late husband, John Cassavetes.

“I didn’t think for a minute I was going to get it,” she said with a laugh.

But the versatile actress will finally get her Academy Award on Saturday night. Rowlands, Debbie Reynolds and Spike Lee will be the recipients of honorary Oscars at a star-studded Governors Awards ceremony in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland.

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The honorary Oscar, according to an academy news release, is given for “an extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the academy.”

It’s not hyperbole to say that Rowlands has had an extraordinary career. Since her big-screen debut in Jose Ferrer’s 1958 drama “The High Cost of Loving,” Rowlands has earned glowing notices for her film and TV work, especially her 10 collaborations with Cassavetes and the two films directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes, “Unhook the Stars” in 1996 and “The Notebook” in 2004.

Rowlands has won three Emmys — for the 1987’s “The Betty Ford Story,” 1991’s “Face of a Stranger” and 2002’s “Hysterical Blindness.” In January, she earned the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.’s Career Achievement Award.

Of the honorary Oscar, she said: “I think it’s awfully nice.”

She spoke more of her love of working with her husband and the ways in which she sees him in son Nick.

“He is much like John in his direction,” she said. “He loves actors and doesn’t throw himself around.”

In the case of the hit film “The Notebook,” Rowlands loved the “whole idea of love lasting forever.”

“The kids — Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling — were such good actors,” she said. “I was happy to work with Jim Garner.”

The atmosphere on the set, Rowlands said, was harmonious. “Everyone said it must be hard to work for your son. I guess when you feel loved, everything is easy.”

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“‘Woman Under the Influence,” which starred Peter Falk as her husband, was the greatest triumph of the Cassavetes-Rowlands collaborations. Besides Rowlands’ nomination for lead actress, the film received an Oscar nod for Cassavetes’ incisive direction.

“I liked the script very much,” Rowlands said. “It was sort of a difficult role. But I like difficult roles.”

And on set, Rowlands said, she didn’t get any special treatment because she was married to Cassavetes. “I was part of the acting group. He treated me no differently.”

Rowlands was having a problem with the first scene in the film, so she asked Cassavetes a question.

“I usually don’t ask questions,” she said. “I said, ‘I am sort of stuck.’ He said, ‘Gena, before you go any further, I wrote the picture with you in mind. You said you liked it.’ I said I loved it. He said, ‘You said you wanted to do it.’ I said, ‘I do.’ And he said, ‘Then do it.’ ”

His simple, direct response “was the most freeing wonderful piece of advice. You didn’t have to depend on anybody or anything anybody said. It was yours do with as you saw. It was like someone gave you a gift.”

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