At 70, Geena Davis Is Just Getting Started: From ‘The Boroughs’ to Budapest

At an age when many in Hollywood begin to slow their pace, Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis is accelerating. Fresh off the production of her critically acclaimed Netflix series The Boroughs and the heavy lifting of organizing the annual Bentonville Film Festival, Davis has traded the quiet of domestic life—which included a recent trip to Washington for her son’s college graduation—for the bustling sets of Budapest. There, she is currently filming the upcoming feature The Kellys alongside action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger.

For Davis, this relentless schedule is not a burden; it is a victory lap. "It’s fantastic. I’m so busy and it’s incredibly rewarding," Davis tells Gold Derby. "I don’t know that I expected at 70 that things would just blow up in this fabulous way like this. So, I’m going to keep going."

The End of ‘The Boroughs’ and the Birth of ‘The Borosians’

The landscape of modern television is often defined by its volatility, and this week brought news that hit fans of genre-bending sci-fi hard: Netflix announced it would not be renewing The Boroughs for a second season. Executive-produced by the Duffer Brothers, the series boasted an ensemble cast of industry titans, including Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters, Denis O’Hare, and Bill Pullman.

Despite the cancellation, the mood among the cast is one of profound gratitude rather than bitterness. Davis views the show’s reception as a triumph. "One of us said, ‘Well, if this had been a limited series from the beginning, if it had been planned, we’d be ecstatic with the reception that it got,’" Davis shares. The cast became so close during production that they have unofficially dubbed themselves "The Borosians," a moniker that signifies a professional bond they expect to last a lifetime.

A Career Built on Audacity

Davis’s current professional renaissance is the result of a mindset she adopted long before she became a household name. She recalls a formative moment during her freshman year of acting school, when a professor delivered a sobering lecture to the class: "You’ve chosen a very difficult profession; only 1% will ever be able to earn a living as an actor."

While most students might have been paralyzed by the statistic, Davis’s reaction was one of detached curiosity. "I swear I went, ‘Oh, these poor kids,’ because nobody was talking about me," she laughs. "I decided before I ever acted that I was going to be incredibly successful."

That early, unshakable confidence has carried her through decades of iconic performances, from Thelma & Louise to A League of Their Own. Today, that same drive is fueling her current projects, ensuring that her presence remains as vital in the 2020s as it was in the 1990s.

Inside ‘The Boroughs’: A Collaboration of Icons

The chemistry on The Boroughs was not merely a result of good casting; it was built on decades of prior professional relationships. Davis notes that the set felt like a "love fest," largely because she had worked with many of her co-stars before. Bill Pullman, who played her husband in A League of Their Own, returned to share the screen with her once more, as did Ed Begley Jr. Furthermore, her long-standing friendship with Alfre Woodard—dating back to a sitcom they filmed in the 1980s—provided a foundation of trust that permeated the entire production.

Showrunners Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews were clear about their vision from the start: they wrote the character of Renee specifically for Davis. "When we met, they told me, ‘Well, that’s great because we wrote it with you in mind.’ How often does that happen? I didn’t know if that would ever happen in my life," Davis says.

The role was so tailored to her that the production inadvertently leaned into the iconography of her past. In one notable instance, the prop department struggled to find a car for the show that didn’t look like the iconic 1966 Thunderbird from Thelma & Louise. "Will [Matthews] told me they had explicitly instructed the crew finding the vehicle that, no matter what, it couldn’t look like the Thelma & Louise car," Davis explains. Despite their best efforts to avoid the comparison, the aesthetic nods remained—a tribute that felt fitting for a show exploring themes of legacy and resilience.

Action, Intimacy, and Breaking Character

The Boroughs allowed Davis to showcase a range of skills, from high-stakes action to quiet, intimate drama. One standout moment involved a choreographed fight sequence that required precision and trust. "We had a stunt coordinator and practiced the fight for days," she recalls. "There’s a part where I punch him, turn around to get away, and then kick him in the face. I actually connected! It was gentle, but we have a production still where my leg is completely flattened against his face."

Beyond the stunts, the show offered deep emotional resonance. Davis’s character, Renee, develops a complex relationship with the character Paz, played by Carlos Miranda. "We hit it off immediately," Davis says. "We became incredibly fond of each other from minute one; we just had a natural chemistry."

When asked about who was the most difficult to keep a straight face with, the answer was immediate: Alfred Molina. "I decided my favorite goal every single day would be to make him laugh because he has the most wonderful laugh," she admits.

Themes of Longevity and Representation

Perhaps the most important aspect of The Boroughs for Davis was its refusal to treat its older characters as "past their prime." In a media landscape that often sidelines older actors, the series presented a group of characters who were vibrant, capable, and profoundly confident.

"Something that was very important to me was showing that these characters are not done," Davis emphasizes. "We are at an age where you’re still vibrant and living life. Nothing has really changed. We don’t try to recruit outside help to save us—we’re going to fix this ourselves."

This sentiment resonates with the reviewer who noted that only Geena Davis could have played a character as "cool" as Renee. It is a sentiment that validates her career-long mission to provide complex, powerful representations of women on screen.

Looking Forward: The Bucket List and Budapest

With The Boroughs behind her, Davis is fully immersed in the world of The Kellys. While she is tight-lipped about the specifics of her role, she hints at the tone of the film: "It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, there’s a lot of shooting, and things are blowing up." Her initial experience on set has been positive, describing Schwarzenegger as "an absolute doll."

As for what remains on her professional bucket list, Davis is looking toward history. "I would love to play a real historical figure at some point," she says. "I really want to play Eleanor Roosevelt. She was famous her entire life, so I can’t age out of the ability to play her!"

The Implications of a Persistent Star

The trajectory of Geena Davis’s career serves as a masterclass in professional endurance. By choosing projects that challenge her and by maintaining the same level of enthusiasm she possessed as a young student in acting class, she has redefined what a "second act" in Hollywood looks like.

The cancellation of The Boroughs may mark the end of one chapter, but for Davis, it is merely a transition. Whether she is leading a sci-fi ensemble or sharing the screen with an action legend in a high-octane thriller, she continues to prove that success is not a destination, but a continuous process of evolution. As she navigates the film sets of Europe and the boardroom of the Bentonville Film Festival, one thing is certain: Geena Davis is nowhere near finished.