By Brian Gallagher For Dailymail.com 4:02 am Mar 14, 2023, updated 7:51 am Mar 14, 2023
Tilda Swinton is done with COVID-19 masking protocols on film sets and reveals she now refuses to wear a mask on set.
The 62-year-old London native, who was spotted at Paris Fashion Week in January, was seen delivering a keynote address at the SXSW film festival in Austin, Texas on Monday afternoon.
She began her program at the Austin Convention Center by noting that she was so happy that the pandemic had progressed to the point where all viewers were no longer required to wear masks.
Her last time at SXSW was nine years ago in 2014, suggesting she didn’t see anyone wearing masks when she first attended the festival.
“We’ve had various challenges, especially in the last few years, and some of them have to do with people’s beliefs about sitting in large spaces,” Swinton began before turning to the audience.
No mask: Tilda Swinton is done with COVID-19 masking protocols on film sets and reveals she now refuses to wear a mask on set. Progress: She began her program at the Austin Convention Center by noting that she was so happy about this pandemic that it had progressed to the point where everyone in the audience no longer had to wear masks
‘Look at you. I bet none of you wear a mask too. I mean, who would have thought that would be possible?’ Added Swinton.
“There was a time… I mean, did people in Texas even wear masks? I have to ask,” Swinton said with a smile, while some in the audience laughed as she added, “I don’t know, it’s a big world and people do things differently everywhere.”
“Actually, I’m in the process of filming a picture in Ireland and I’ve been told – full disclosure and I’m sure this will be recorded and people in Ireland could hear – I’m to wear a mask at all times, and I am don’t wear a mask because I’m super healthy and have had COVID so many times and I’m so full of antibodies and have confidence,” Swinton said.
She added, “It’s very nice to see all your faces unmasked, but yeah, a few years ago we couldn’t imagine sitting in a room like this, could we?”
Swinton admitted she wondered “how long it would be” before people could safely congregate indoors again, and had concerns that “those who thought they were going to be sitting in one big place to look at a big screen would be a bit dated would be kind to gain traction and that would tip it over the edge and people would just forget the power of the magic carpet.
The actress said that this “magical thing happened” where a lot of people said one of the biggest things they missed during the pandemic was going to the theatre.
She added that she thought it was “the only good thing about the pandemic that it made people reject the people who said the theaters were on the way out.”
Her comments come just over a year after she revealed in an interview with The Guardian that she had been suffering from COVID for months.
No masks: “Look at you. I bet none of you wear a mask too. I mean, who would have thought that would be possible?’ Adding masks, Swinton said, “There was a time… I mean, did people in Texas even wear masks? I have to ask,” Swinton said with a smile as some in the audience laughed as she added, “I don’t know, it’s a wide world and people do things differently everywhere.” Magical: The actress said that this ” A magical thing happened,” which many people said one of the biggest things they missed during the pandemic was going to the theater. Missing films: The actress said that this ‘magical thing happened’ was what many people said was one of the biggest things she’s missed going to the theater during the pandemic
She said she couldn’t get out of bed for three weeks in August 2021 after contracting COVID.
“I was coughing like an old man who smoked a pipe for 70 years and had a nasty dizzy spell. I got off it relatively easily, but the worst part is how it affected my brain,” she admitted.
“I did two films that required me to learn a lot of lines. One was the Wes Anderson, and he likes it when you talk like a speeding train,” Swinton said.
“I’m usually pretty quick to learn and pick up, but this was like chewing a really big piece of gum. I couldn’t remember my lines,’ she admitted.
When asked if she’s still coping with the long COVID, Swinton admitted, “More or less, but I still forget things. I have to train my brain.’
The actress was at SXSW for the world premiere of her new film Problemista, in which she stars alongside writer, director and star Julio Torres and RZA.
She also has two other films opening in 2023, Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, starring Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie and Scarlett Johansson, and David Fincher’s The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender.
Swinton is also slated to star in the musical The End, starring George McKay about the last human family.
Long: She said she couldn’t get out of bed for three weeks in August 2021 after contracting COVID. Star Julio Torres and RZA New Movie: She also has two more movies arriving in 2023, Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City starring Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie and Scarlett Johansson and David Fincher’s The Killer starring Michael Fassbender Coming Soon: Swinton is also linked with the star in Musical The End starring George McKay about the last human family