Michelle Williams talks about how Steven Spielberg's mother "redefined" motherhood

 Michelle Williams, referring to the semi-autobiographical film

The Fabelmans starring Steven Spielberg, said she "redefined motherhood in terms of who she wanted to be."

The 42-year-old actress plays Mitzi Fabelman — a character based on Spielberg's mother, Leah, in the Oscar-nominated film.

In an interview with The Guardian, Spielberg, 76, asked Williams to play the role, beginning with the "My Week with Marilyn" actress saying: "I think the way she (Leah) looks at her children is the first thing I connect to.

She lowered them with her hands and knees, making them the most important thing in the room. It's not washing dishes, it's not vacuuming, it's not the kind of everyday life that we're all easily attracted to and overwhelmed. ”

Williams, who rose to fame for starring in the teen drama Dawson Creek, added: "She redefined motherhood in terms of who she wanted to be.

"She didn't let the times tell her what to do. She created her own culture within the family, and then her children went on to create their own culture in the bigger world as it began in their family. ”

Earlier this month, the film, starring Gabriel LaBelle and Paul Dano, won the 80th Golden Globe Award for Best Director from Spielberg.Fabelmans tells the story of aspiring filmmaker Sammy Fabelman, 16, portrayed by LaBelle, Williams as his mother Mitzi, and Dano, 38, as his father, Burt.

The film chronicles Spielberg's early life, with the official synopsis describing it as a coming-of-age story about "a young man who discovers a shocking family secret and explores the power of cinema to help us see the truth about each other, ourselves."

As an actress and a mother, Williams also reflected on the progress of women in Hollywood — something she says was evident during the filming of the Faberman family.

"I didn't have any grace or coolness, nor did my contemporaries. I grew up in the 80s. Young women are not self-aware. Now it's time," she said.

She added: "I saw this in my own daughter and I couldn't take my eyes off her. It was a glorious miracle that I never thought I would see with my own eyes in my lifetime. ”

Williams is the mother of 17-year-old Matilda, who is married to the late actor Heath Ledger and has two young children with director Thomas Kail's husband — whom she married in 2020.