Moreno acknowledged that having a good attitude has contributed to her longevity—in show business and in general—”probably quite a bit.”
Summing up her approach, she explained, “I call it spreading joy. If I see someone on the street who has a beautiful jacket on, I don’t mind just stopping and saying, ‘Excuse me, that is a beautiful jacket, you have good taste.’ I found in my life that that makes people very happy.”
Doing things that people tend to not do for each other anymore, like holding a door open or giving someone a hand at the supermarket, are among the little gestures that go a long way.
“And people don’t know who I am,” she added. “Don’t assume that everybody knows who Rita Moreno is. They just know that somebody was very kind to them at the supermarket and helped them with their packages. I love doing that because I know it makes the day of that person.”
The Prank is in theaters now.