Julianne Moore: I Joined The Hunger Games Because My Kids Are Obsessed

Julianne Moore

Mark Abrahams/More Magazine

By Andrea Billups

@princessmouse

10/27/2014 AT 02:15 PM EDT

Julianne Moore might not have joined the cast of The Hunger Games – Mockingjay, Part 1 had it not been for the film's deep fascination to her two children – and the plot's focus on controlling your own destiny.

"For a child moving into adolescence, the big question is, 'Do I have free will? Can I determine my own future?' " Moore, 53, tells More magazine for its November cover story, on newsstands Tuesday.

"[At that age], you're still with your parents. But you're asking yourself, 'Who am I?' " says Moore, who is mom to son Caleb, 16, and daughter Liv, 12, with husband Bart Freundlich.

"Most of the films I make are not for kids," she says. "My son was in line for the midnight show when The Hunger Games first came out. They both loved the books. For them, my being in Mockingjay was fairly meaningful."

Although many actresses fear aging and slow down, Moore says she is energized by the clarity the years have given her.

Julianne Moore

More Magazine

"When you're starting out in this business, you feel like you're not in charge, that you're still looking to the world for a kind of validation," she says. "But as you get older, you realize that direction comes from yourself, from your own desires and responsibilities.

Now, she says, she feel more in the driver's seat: "You choose your work. You choose your life. That's where your power comes from – and that's a great feeling."