Brian Truitt

USA TODAY

Glenn Close has shared screen time with helmeted Martians, a whole mess of Dalmatians and one doomed bunny rabbit — so a talking raccoon and a tree aren't that much of a stretch in terms of co-stars for the iconic actress.

"I like to think that anything's possible," says Close, who stars opposite a motley crew of misfit space heroes in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Movie audiences made the film an instant hit over its opening weekend, with Guardians pulling in $94 million at the box office, an August record. So they saw what Close did in the film, a space opera with fresh characters and a lot of heart.

"It reminded me of the original Star Wars in that it introduced this great cast but it also had this offhand 'We don't take ourselves so seriously' aspect of it," Close, 67, says.

"You don't only get introduced into this wonderful world that has a look all unto its own, but the characters make you laugh. You feel some sort of empathy toward them, and people love that and want it."

Marvel Studios comic-book movies have a streak of master thespians dropping in to play an integral character. Anthony Hopkins played Odin in two Thor films, Robert Redford was the scheming Alexander Pierce in April's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Michael Douglas stars in the upcoming Ant-Man, and Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury is a staple of almost every Marvel film.

"The proliferation of Oscar-winning actors and filmmakers speaks to the higher quality of comic-book, superhero and action films over the past few years," says Dave Karger, chief correspondent for movie-ticket site Fandango. "Appearing in these films is also a great way for these award-winning stars to increase their profile and become bigger box-office draws."

Close's Nova Prime is the kind of Jackson or Judi Dench role that she's always wanted to play, says the six-time Oscar nominee and three-time Emmy winner.

She heads up the Nova Corps on the planet Xandar and is trying to negotiate peace with the alien race of Kree. However, Ronan the Accuser, a Kree fanatic working for the cosmic villain Thanos, would rather wipe out Xandar than break bread, and he gets ahold of a weapon of mass destruction.

To save her world, Nova Prime gets some help from the Guardians, comprised of space outlaw Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana), tough guy Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), gun-toting Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and tree-creature Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel).

Guardians marks Close's first sci-fi film since 1996's Mars Attacks!, in which she played first lady to Jack Nicholson's president. She says she enjoys sci-fi moments like when she was standing around a large futuristic console while filming Guardians in England and director James Gunn told her to imagine a holographic war going on in front of her — added in later through computer-generated effects.

"It's like what we used to do when we were kids: Let's pretend," Close says. "For me with acting, I take it to its basic: It's literally playing. Even in the darkest thing, you have to know how to play as an actor and an artist. These movies really bring that out in people."

Gunn says he loved having her around, and that she's one of the warmest people he knows.

"She was a movie star on a set of movie stars, who was so down to earth she'd chill out in the on-set tent with the day players chatting instead of going to her trailer," Gunn says. "And her acting, Jesus. Glenn has thousand-pound eyeballs, which add weight to everything she says. I don't know if there's a better quality a film actor can have."

Because she's done so many serious roles, in movies such as The Big Chill, Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons and Albert Nobbs, plus the TV series Damages, Close doesn't think she's often considered for roles such as Nova Prime, so she makes sure to look out for them.

"I just have to let people know that I always have been up for anything. I love to do stuff that's different. That's what I love," says Close, who voiced Homer's mom on The Simpsons and played a bisexual international photographer on Will & Grace.

Close admits she's often highly critical of herself, so she was worried that having dark eyes and red lipstick would look too much like her Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians. And Close wondered how tongue-in-cheek she should go with Nova Prime since the fate of the universe is at hand. (She does get off a few of the movie's choice one-liners.)

While she's not wearing the Nova spacesuit from the comics — "That I hope I never have to get into, unless they put my head on somebody else's body," Close says with a laugh — she does sport Nova Prime's impressively geometric hairdo, a specially designed wig that she says reminded her of Saturn's rings.

"It's so out there, I don't know if people will like this one, but it's really great. Now I've really bought into it," Close says.

"This is a great sculpture, a whimsy on my head. I like to think that Nova Prime has that in her, and hopefully we'll be able to see that in the future."

Close's next project takes her back to Broadway with the Edward Albee play A Delicate Balance (opening Nov. 20), yet she's also ready to return to Xandar for the Guardians sequel (due out July 28, 2017) and continue to introduce herself to a new generation of young movie fans.

"When you play a character who they love and are amused by, hopefully they'll see more of you," Close says. "Especially at this point in my career, it's fantastic.

"To be in the beginning of literally a whole new universe for people is really fun."