Hollywood veteran Glenn Close has said she hopes her new film The Wife will show people that older women are “still sexy and still interesting”.

The Golden Globe-winning actress, 70, plays an alpha wife who has reached breaking point after decades of sacrificing her own talent and ambitions to support her husband.

She hopes the part will help to address ageism in the industry.

Glenn Close
(Frank Gunn/AP)

Close said: “People forget older women are still sexy and they’re still interesting.

“This story will hopefully reveal that and make people convinced there are wonderful stories to tell for my generation.

“Stories that are worth telling and that people will respond to.”

The film is based on US author Meg Wolitzer’s best-selling novel and stars Jonathan Pryce as an author poised to accept the Nobel prize for literature.

His wife Joan (Close) was also once a promising writer but put her career on the backburner to support his.

Close’s performance has already garnered glowing reviews.

“It feels incredible,” she said. “It was a very tricky part to figure out.”