Holland Taylor Concerned About Life Post-Pandemic, But 'Perhaps We'll Have a Better Set of Values'

Holland Taylor, perhaps best known for her roles on Two and a Half Men and The Practice, and Emmy-nominated this year for Hollywood, is staying put in Los Angeles.

Since March, when the novel coronavirus was declared a pandemic, “it’s been wild to be still for a while,” Taylor, 77, tells PEOPLE.

But, she says she and partner Sarah Paulson are fortunate. “Both of us normally have to travel for work, have constantly been filming, always leaving a bag halfway packed in the foyer at our house.”

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They have had the occasional socially distanced outing — say, Sandra Bullock’s birthday party she and Paulson attended, along with Jennifer Aniston. “We all stayed six feet apart outside and just shared our gratitude at all we have and that we got to see each other. Sandy Bullock is an extraordinary person. She is a very, very, big person, a very serious-minded person. And also as fun as a basket full of puppies when she wants to be.”

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Like many couples, the pandemic has allowed (or forced) the two to get to know each other better. “Of course, Sarah and I didn’t need to be brought closer together. We have a very tight, close relationship within each other’s thoughts. We share everything that’s going on.”

But, mindful of her blessings, these times are not entirely easy for Taylor.

“I’m having quite a battle psychologically coping with what’s happening in the world and in my little corner of it. The inability to be with the people I’d love to be with, along with Sarah.” Friends and family back east, she says. “People I’m close to that I can’t see and won’t be seeing in any foreseeable future. It’s very upsetting to me. Particularly in this time of my life, it’s really a shocking, destabilizing event.”

She says age plays a factor in how people can handle the pandemic. “For others, middle-aged or younger, who unconsciously know that they have a whole big life ahead of them, perhaps they feel they are not as hampered in this way.”

Still, Holland tries to see the bigger picture. "After this virus leaves, however it departs, and we are left to rebuild society, perhaps we will have a better set of values, perhaps we will aim for something that is not a continuation of empty materialism or turning a blind eye to our brother. I’m hopeful that the reaction will be a leap forward."

“Quarantine has put everything in perspective," she says. "It’s hard to think about one’s little luxury problems.”