Longtime actress Charlotte Rampling generating Oscar buzz for '45 Years'

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Actress Charlotte Rampling has been in front of the camera for decades, but this could be the year she finally sees her work rewarded with an Academy Award nomination.

Her film "45 Years" is earning lots of Oscar buzz as the awards season approaches, and it's a long time coming for a woman who has been a star for half a century and a fashion icon almost as long. She has starred opposite the likes of Paul Newman and helped Woody Allen recall his "Stardust Memories."

Rampling has made more than 80 feature films in total, but she has never earned an Oscar nod. Now, the gold derby website, which keeps track of the Oscar race, reports that she looks like a lock due to her performance in "45 Years."

The British actress, who turns 70 next month, has been called chilly, even cold, and remote is another word that has been used to describe her, but in reality she is much more lively.

It the film, a secret from her husband's past comes to light just before the couple is to celebrate 45 years of marriage.

"Kate goes through a major transformation, and I just have been through so many transformations in my life," she said. "They are actually what has made me, and transformations are a willingness to change."

Rampling has never shied away from risk, and her breakthrough role came as a Holocaust survivor in a twisted relationship with a Nazi who became "The Night Porter." The star made the occasional Hollywood movie, such as "The Verdict," but for the most part the star found success on her own terms.

"It was a road less traveled," she said. "It was not going to be a road that a lot of people go down."

Then, as now, Rampling was know for what critics called "the look" -- the way she communicates so much without saying a word. But don't call her aloof. Mysterious, maybe, or how about intelligent?

"It's actually having something to say, you know?" she said. "And people can read it behind the eyes."

Rampling said the secret to her remarkable longevity has been her willingness to take time off from making films to just live her life and recharge. So many words have been used to describe the actress, but the best may be "authentic."