If I were a betting man, I might put a little cash down on Jennifer Lawrence, who's hotly tipped to take home a special acting prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival for her work in Debra Granik's Ozark drama Winter's Bone. The 19-year-old Lawrence has put in good work before in little-seen films like The Burning Plain and The Poker House, but Winter's Bone immediately announces her as a major new actress. As Ree, who struggles to provide for her brother and sister while investigating her father's disappearance, the magnetically somnambulant actress suggests Scarlett Johansson gone hillbilly.
Ree may be quiet, dirty and opaque, but in real life, Lawrence is an energetic stunner. Movieline sat down with her shortly after Winter's Bone premiered at the festival.
Now, how did this role get on your radar?
My agent Tracy called and she said, "I found it." I thought I left an earring at her house or something -- "You found what?" [And she said] "This is the one. I found the most amazing script with the most amazing role. Please don't mess this up." [Laughs] No pressure! And then I read it and felt the same way. I fell in love with it and I couldn't audition for it fast enough.
Was it the sort of part you'd been looking for?
I knew that it had to be me. I know that sounds so cocky, but roles are so much like soulmates. I'm not at the place where I can pick and choose -- I audition for the comedies, Disney and everything -- but it was Ree that chose me. The Burning Plain, The Poker House, those dark roles...it's the same kind of thing, that I was made for this role and I'm not going to let anyone else do it. I flew to New York and basically forced Debra to hire me.
What did you have to do?
You don't want to know. [Laughs] It was kind of an uphill battle. The first time I auditioned for it, they didn't want me because they said I looked too pretty. Which -- I can deal with that! If I don't get a role, that's a good reason. And then when I went to New York [for the next audition], I said, "I'm gonna do a red eye, I'm not gonna shower, I'm not gonna get any sleep, so if they say I'm too pretty this time..." And they didn't. They said, "She's fine. She's OK." [Laughs] It was the only thing that really stood in my way, and a red eye and a shower will take care of that.
You grew up in Kentucky, and while that's hardly the Ozarks, is there anything from your background you could draw on?
Yes, everything. The accent, the guns, the wood chopping -- not the gutting of the squirrel...
Well, you did it very convincingly on-screen!
Yeah, that I didn't do too much of. I had to learn how to chop wood actually -- I don't think my dad would have let me go chop wood in the backyard that growing up. I learned a lot about guns. My cousin cleaned out a shotgun for me and let me carry it around the house, because he said, "Anybody who knows anything about guns is going to know in a second if someone has held a gun before." I didn't want to be that person [who was unconvincing]. I wanted to be practiced.
Debra's only made two films, but they both have knockout female performances at their center. What tools does she use to help you as an actress?
Whips. She beats us. [Laughs] At the very beginning, to be honest...you know the people who are so smart, they're like the people who write instruction manuals for how to do things? I was like, "I don't understand this! You're too smart for me!" I would hear her talk and I was like, "Gosh, she needs to talk more in layman's terms." And then I realized, "No, I need to start listening so we can actually be on the same page. What she's saying is what I need to be listening to." The direction she would give, once I got over my own stubbornness, I realized how genius she is in every single thing she has to say.
This woman lives in New York, but she dedicated everything to staying with this [Ozark] family and asking them, "How do you do this? How do you do that?" She wouldn't put anything on camera without it being authentic. The directions she gave are the important things that people don't think about, like, "What do you think this other character thinks of you? What are you thinking about in this scene?" Questions, really. God, she's just so genius. She could make a monkey win an Oscar, probably, which doesn't say much for me. [Laughs]
Was there any skepticism on the part of the locals when you came in for the shoot?
We were so welcomed by them. Not at the beginning, though -- at the beginning, when Debra and Anne walked onto the property, a man walked out with a shotgun and pointed it at them until they explained what was going on. And then they just...we couldn't have done it without them, at all. I grew up in Kentucky, but I did not grow up like that. I had heat, and I didn't have to shoot my dinner or anything. I couldn't compare to that.
What was it like acting opposite John Hawkes, who plays Ree's fearsome uncle Teardrop?
He's so amazing. When I first met him, I was terrified. Usually you get to meet the person before you start filming, and we didn't get to, and I meet him and he's got all these [fake] tattoos. Maybe it was a good idea -- I think the first scene we shot together was the one where Ree and Teardrop first meet, and I was just terrified of him. He's the sweetest man in the entire world, not even like, "Oh, John's a nice guy." He's a sweetheart.
So he must have been apologetic when his character really went after you.
Oh my Gosh, when Debra told him that he had to lunge for me and grab me by my neck, he was like, "I'm so sorry! Am I pulling your hair?" I was like, "What is this? You're not supposed to care about me!" [Laughs]
Ree is so careful never to let her emotions show. Is that as a result of having to take care of her younger siblings, that she suppresses anything frightening?
Yes, of course. I see that so many times with my mom -- I don't think my mom has ever been hurt or sick in her life. You don't want to scare your children, you know? Probably the most troubling part about Ree and why she doesn't show anything is because she feels like she has to carry the burden alone. She doesn't want to bother anyone else.
At the same time, the fact that Ree shoulders that responsibility -- is that the X factor that keeps her from turning out like all the criminals around her?
Teenagers only have to focus on themselves -- its not until we get older that we realize that other people exist. When you don't have anybody to take care of you, then you could go both ways: You could do whatever you want, or you could take charge and be your own parent. I think that when you have two children that you're also in charge of, and you're not a selfish person -- which Ree is not -- then they become your responsibility. She doesn't have a choice, she doesn't have time to go to a party or get pregnant like every other girl she knows. She's got two kids to take care of.
You're also in Jodie Foster's upcoming film The Beaver, starring Mel Gibson.
I play Nora. Anton Yelchin and I have kind of a quirky love story.
What kind of director is Jodie?
Debra and Jodie are the two best directors I've ever worked with. I've worked with some incredible directors, but there's something about Jodie. I mean, she's an actress, and I remember when we met for coffee before I booked the film, and I walked away thinking, "I've never met someone I've had more in common with, as far as a method -- neither of us have one!" Apparently, she walked away thinking the same thing, that she'd never met anyone who reminded her more of herself than me, which is a huge compliment. Technically, she's a genius. She has the mind of five men, and she comes to conclusions faster than anybody. She knows what she wants, what kind of lens she wants, what kind of lighting, where she wants my head to land at the cut so she can edit it...she's very technical, which I appreciate. Debra's very emotional, and Jodie's very technical. She's the most down-to-earth person I've met since I came to Hollywood. She made me feel Hollywood.
[Photo Credit: Fred Hayes/Getty Images]