Amy Madigan Says This One Rule Keeps Her 42-Year Marriage to Ed Harris Thriving

In a town where publicity marriages can flame out faster than a weekend box office, Amy Madigan and Ed Harris are still doing the thing, 42 years later. While Madigan is in the thick of awards season for Weapons, she and Harris gave a rare, un-fancy peek at how they keep it together: no tricks, just the work.

'No hacks' and happy to say it

At the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Madigan told People that there is no secret sauce to their longevity. It was refreshingly straightforward and basically the opposite of a PR platitude.

'We just love each other, and we work really hard at that and in our work.'

She said Harris was especially taken with her turn as Aunt Gladys in Weapons, seeing pieces of the woman he has known for decades stitched into that performance. Madigan, 75, also credited her family for getting her through the season: their daughter is cheering her on with a simple 'You can do it. Hang in there.' And when the endless glam grind starts to wear her down? Her crew tells her, 'It’s okay,' even when she jokes that she does not want to sit for hair and makeup again.

Ed Harris, proud spouse, reporting from Sundance

Over at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, Harris told the Associated Press he is very proudly 'the husband of an Oscar nominee' and thinks Madigan 'blew everybody’s mind' as Gladys. He also shouted out writer-director Zach Cregger as 'a really good filmmaker,' praising the way the movie is constructed and how the story unfolds.

Harris admitted he was largely in the dark while she shot Weapons in Atlanta. She would text him photos from set and he would just tell her, 'Okay, babe. Go for it.' As for the current whirlwind, he noted awards season can be particularly hectic for women, but said she is hanging in there. The plan now is simple: keep going and see what happens on the big day.

Quick context

• Madigan and Harris married in 1983; 42 years and counting.
• Madigan is 75 and earned her second Oscar nomination for Weapons (2025), playing Aunt Gladys in Zach Cregger’s horror-mystery.
• She spoke to People at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards about their relationship and family support.
• Harris celebrated her nomination at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, telling the AP he is 'very proud of her' and praising Cregger’s filmmaking.
• Madigan’s family — including the couple’s daughter — is keeping her grounded through the awards-season chaos, pep talks and all.
• For the resume line-readers: Madigan’s early credits include Love Child, but the headline here is Weapons and that second nomination.