Bruce Dern Recalls Walking Marilyn Monroe Home 'Across Town' in the Rain, Only to Run into Another Hollywood Icon on the Way (Exclusive)

Carita Rizzo, Angela AndaloroSun, May 31, 2026 at 9:58 AM UTC

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Bruce Dern (left), Marilyn Monroe (center), and Greta Garbo
Credit: 20th Century-Fox/Getty; Bettmann/Getty; Smith Archive/Alamy -

In the new documentary Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern, Bruce Dern looks back at over six decades in Hollywood

Speaking with PEOPLE about its release at Cannes Film Festival, Dern remembers a walk home with Marilyn Monroe during his Actors Studio years

The 2026 Cannes Film Festival premiered the documentary on May 20

Bruce Dern is sharing some of his most treasured memories from his decades-long career.

Speaking with PEOPLE at the Cannes Film Festival for the screening of the new documentary Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern on May 20, Dern recalls a special encounter with Marilyn Monroe.

"It's raining outside. I'm at The Actors Studio. I come out of The Actors Studio, and it's drizzling and Marilyn is there because Lee Strasberg allowed her to come and watch what we were doing," he remembers. "And she said, 'You know the movie you're going to do now? I can't do because my dumb husband wrote this dumb cowboy script I have to do, so I can't do it.' "

Monroe was seemingly referencing 1961's The Misfits, her final completed film, written by her then-husband Arthur Miller and starring Clark Gable. Given her commitment, Dern noted that Lee Remick ended up doing 1960's Wild River with him instead.

Bruce Dern, 1978
Credit: Nicolas Russell/Getty

"It's drizzling and there's no cabs going by 44th Street and way over near 10th Avenue," the actor, 89, continues. "And she said, 'Would you walk me across town?' to where she lived on Gracie Square."

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Dern pointed out she could take a cab, but the actress wanted to walk in the rain, so he obliged.

"We walked all the way across town, three-quarters of a mile. We get to Sutton Place, which is where she turned into where she lived, and as we approach Sutton Place, a cab comes out of Sutton Place and a woman is running behind it," he continues.

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The woman passed them just a few feet away, and while she was in a hurry, Dern notes that she "clearly saw us" before opening the car door.

"When I turned to Marilyn, she was looking. She says, 'Bruce, Bruce, don't you know who that was?'" he recalls.

Dern didn't recognize the frenzied traveler, but Monroe then said, "Bruce, that was Greta Garbo. And she didn't know who I was."

"And I said, 'You know what, Marilyn? I think she shined you on. She probably knew who you were.' She said, 'Those women don't recognize Marilyn Monroe because they were stylists.' And I guess you would call her kind of a stylist."

Marilyn Monroe
Credit: Baron/Hulton Archive/Getty

Dern says sharing his many adventures with Hollywood legends like Monroe was a motivation for participating in the documentary, directed by Mike Mendez and featuring appearances by Laura Dern, Quentin Tarantino, and Alexander Payne.

"That's why I did the movie, because somebody's got to hear about what these folks did. We're never going to have stars like that again."

Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern does not yet have a release date following its Cannes Film Festival premiere.

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