Glenn Close recalls how Katharine Hepburn inspired her to pursue acting

Glenn Close has reflected on how Katharine Hepburn inspired her to get into acting.

In a new interview for People, the eight-time Oscar-nominated actress recalled how she decided to pursue a career in the arts after she saw the Hollywood icon make an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in 1973.

"I remember she said, 'No regrets, no regrets.' Fabulous," she said, impersonating Hepburn's voice. "She was so phenomenal, so herself. So the next day I went to the head of the (theatre) department (at my college) and I said, 'Please nominate me for a series of auditions.' And from that, I got my first job that fall."

Close went on to share how she met Hepburn at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1990 and later received a "fantastic" letter from the Guess Who's Coming to Dinner star.

"Aren't we lucky to be in this terrible profession, this terrifying profession, and, let's face it, this delicious way to spend your life?" the 77-year-old quoted of Hepburn's note.

The legendary leading lady died at the age of 96 in 2003.

Elsewhere, Close offered some words of wisdom for anyone considering becoming an actor.

"When people say, 'How do I start?' I say, 'I don't think there's any rule for it,'" she mused. "It's hard. You have to have incredible resilience, certainly in the beginning because you will have disappointment after disappointment, rejection after rejection. You have to have a crazy engine that keeps you going."

Close is currently promoting her new film, The Deliverance. The supernatural horror film, also starring Andra Day, begins streaming via Netflix on Friday.