Opposite Academy Award incumbent Jeff Bridges, Steinfeld stars as Mattie Ross, a willful, fearless 19th century Arkansan teen seeking vengeance for her father's murder at the hands of Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Rebuffed by her elders at their peril, her quest commences in earnest upon meeting veteran lawman and trigger-happy lush Rooster Cogburn (Bridges) and the more upstanding if officious Texas Marshal LaBeouf (Matt Damon). Together, anchored by source novelist Charles Portis's dark, textured humor and framed among the Coens' own unforgiving Western tableaux, the trio ventures off for its man -- a couple of hound brains and fragile egos sustained by Mattie's fierce frontierswoman heart.
Chosen from more than 15,000 girls who submitted audition tapes, Steinfeld has previously described her casting as akin to winning the lottery. Perhaps, though the Coens may have been the lucky ones, landing a young actress with the resiliency, sensitivity and pure chops to pull off as complex a woman as any in the filmmakers' canon to date. Steinfeld sat down with Movieline to discuss her road to True Grit, skirting awkwardness with Matt Damon, the all-important Next Role, and an impromptu Coen Brothers movie-reference lightning round.
[Mild spoilers follow]
How's this all going for you? Having fun?
Yes! Are you joking?
OK, so, forgive me, but for the record: What's your background?
When I was 8 -- well, up until that point I'd tried every kind of sport, every kind of dance, and I never stuck with anything. And when acting came along it was something where I found different inspirations that really pulled me in -- one of which was a family friend of mine who was in a school play called Philemon. Her name was Jessica. I was watching her, sitting a few rows back from the stage. And to watch someone I grew up with -- or am still growing up with... I mean, at that time, I didn't know what acting was. Just to watch her was really inspirational and led me to belive it was something I could do. Knowing somebody. After that I went to my Mom and asked her if I could start acting. She made me study for one year. I took classes, and after a year I went back to her, and we got an agent, and it's been however many years. Six years?
And the True Grit comes along, and 15,000 young actresses go out for it. Why do you think you stood out?
You know, honestly, I guess I don't know. That's a question I think [the Coens] can answer better than I can. But I do think that when I was put on tape -- when I went in -- I was prepared. And I really think that's what it's all about, is being prepared when the time comes around.
Describe "prepared."
With the material itself. I had 15 pages of sides, which is a lot of material. But it was so helpful for me because I had so many references at my fingertips. I had the original film, which I watched when I heard about True Grit. So right there I had the mindset of that era and the characters. That really was helpful. I didn't read the script until after I got the job, and I didn't read the book until after I got the job. But having those 15 or 25 pages of sides said so much about the character alone that I was able to work with it. Just in terms of how I was prepared, I knew the character. I knew the character's background.
Jeff Bridges has mentioned that you had some nerves on the set, but also that you weren't "nervous" per se. What are nerves vs. nervousness?
When I first heard I got the job, I was immediately jumping up and down, calling and texting all my friends. Then it got kind of emotional; "Oh my God, this is so surreal." And then, on the plane ride there, I realized, "Oh my God, I really have to do this now. I have to do this." It was kind of an intimidating thought. So going into it I was nervous. But the minute I met Jeff and d the Coen Brothers and all the other actors, realizing how easygoing they are and the fact that they're there to do a job -- and I'm there for the same reason -- just made me feel at ease. I feel like every day would have its own little challenge, whatever it was. Something would get thrown at me that I didn't expect, and I'd get a little nervous. But I get nervous for the craziest things. It's so funny.
Like what?
Well, like the red-carpet stuff. I get so nervous! I'll get really nervous, and then everyone's like, "Hailee, snap out of it. You're not nervous." It's the weirdest thing, because I still get nervous!
It's not quite riding through a river on the back of a horse.
That's true.
How early or late in the process did the Coens throw you into that?
That was actually the last week of filming. And that's what was so great about filming this: One day I was in a river with a horse, and the next I was 35 feet high up in a tree. You know what I mean? Every day it was something new. I'd be shooting a gun or whatever it was.
How many of your own stunts did you do?
[Thinking] Mostly all of them? I mean, there's not really a big stunt, is there?
You go flying down a hole...
Oh, the snake pit. That was a double.
But it's you in the tree...
It is.
And it's you on the horse...
It's me on the horse. Yep. In fact, the tree... I have a funny story about this. During, I believe, wardrobe fittings or rehearsal, getting ready to start filming, Joel kept coming to one of my wardrobe fittings, and he had his iPhone with all the pictures of our locations. And during the audition process, finding a girl who could ride a horse was a big deal. So during the whole process I was asked, "Do you know how to ride a horse? How long?" They were going to make sure I wasn't lying or whatever. So Joel asked me, "Hailee, are you afraid of heights?" And for some odd reason -- I do not know why -- I thought he was talking about a horse's height. And so I'm like, "No, not at all." This is a funny question! And then he shows me a picture of this tree I have to climb the next day. So I was a little freaked out by that. Other than that it was fine.
The dialogue in this film packs in almost Shakespearean levels of density and complexity. I mean, it's Charles Portis. What was your process of digging into this language -- and really finding Mattie in this language?
I have to say that when I saw the original, it really put me in the mindset of the language right there. Barry Pepper actually does refer to Portis as "American Shakespeare." It's like music. You put all the actors together in a scene and it just flows, the dialogue. I don't know. The stuff that comes out of her mouth is stuff you'd never hear come out of a 14-year-old's mouth. But I just had to go through it and make sure I knew what everything meant.
What did that entail?
Well, I'll go back to the audition process. I auditioned the first week in January; I was put on tape. I was called back two days later to meet with Ellen Chenoweth, the casting director. At that point they told us it would be a month if we were to hear anything at all. It was five weeks later I got called in to meet with the Coen Brothers. So during those five weeks, not knowing whether or not I was going to get a call back, I was still working on the material with a coach of mine. That five weeks was a lot of time I was able to take advantage of. And then, once we got on set, Joel and Ethan were always there to answer any questions. Or during table readings or rehearsals. That's where we found it.
There's a very... awkward relationship between Mattie and LaBeouf--
Yes! [Laughs]
I mean, he all but makes a pass at her in their first meeting, and later, he's almost heartbroken to bid farewell. I'm curious how you and Matt Damon worked together to find just the right balance of sympathy and... whatever you want to call that. Was that weird?
As the character, it is kind of weird and awkward and mysterious. But Matt is so incredible. He's the best -- so soft-spoken, so gentle. There was never a point in the entire process where I felt intimidated by him. And my thanks to him: He never made me feel that way. He was always giving me encouragement, and that was helpful. I think a lot of it had to do with our offscreen relationship being great. We had about a week and a half of rehearsal before we started shooting, so we had that time to find the truth of the scene and really share our ideas on things like that. But that [scene] itself really isn't something we talked about.
You were born the year Fargo came out. When you realized you were going to be in a Coen Brothers movie, how much did that actually mean to you?
That's a good question. I was very familiar with the Coen Brothers' work going into this film, though I hadn't seen a lot of them because they're rated "R," and I'm not really allowed to yet. I feel like it means more to me now, obviously, after getting to know them. I can really appreciate what it takes to make an amazing film. So it means a lot more now than before.
So you still haven't seen a lot of their films? Like the R-rated ones?
Well... [Pauses] I've seen a few!
Let's do a lightning round of Coen Brothers references: I'll say a phrase, you tell me the associated film.
Oh gosh. This is hard.
It'll be fun! OK: "Woodchipper."
[Thinks] Fargo?!
Excellent! "Friendo."
[Thinks] I don't know.
"Severed toe."
Wait. [Thinks] Shoot! Um... [Laughs] I don't know!
That's Big Lebowski.
Is it? Oh, OK.
"Man of Constant Sorrow."
Oh, gosh. This is too hard.
That was kind of hard. Yeah, I'm sorry. OK, throw that out. "Nathan Jr."
[Shakes head, laughs]
You've seen Raising Arizona, right?
Yes! Of course. That's probably my favorite.
Yeah, I think that's my favorite movie ever. A classic.
It really is. You know what I love about them? I feel like if you see five films not knowing who made them, you know which one is the Coen Brothers. You know what I mean? It's so cool. Anyway, I failed that one!
No! You're 14! You have the rest of your life to see No Country For Old Men. Anyway: Kim Darby, who originated the Mattie Ross role in the 1969 adaptation, has been vocal about hoping you make good choices after this film -- something she didn't necessarily do 40 years ago. Have you talked to her at all about the trajectory from here?
I did meet her recently after the L.A. industry screening. I didn't know she was going to be there. I get that question a lot -- "Have you talked to Kim Darby about the role?" -- but I never got the chance to. I thought it would have been really interesting if I had. But we did talk about that, actually. I almost started crying when I met her; it was very overwhelming to know she was there. But she was very pleased with the movie, and that was great to know. She looked me in the eye and said, "Please, for me, pick the right thing." She was very sweet.
Who else have you looked to for guidance? Have you had these conversations with people yet -- the big "What's next?" chat?
Not too much. I don't think it's something we're concerned with right at this moment. We're waiting for the movie to come out. It's definitely something that's going to come up. But we're really taking it one day at a time, and then we'll make sure whatever's next is the right thing. I think that discussion will be coming very soon.
What do you want to do? Do you want to act?
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I feel like every day I discover new actors and new filmmakers and different genres, and it's just so cool. It's so amazing to me how many different things are out there, and I think I've gotten the opportunity to do something amazing. It's funny, because I always get the question: "Who do you want to work with?" And I just realize how fortunate I am to have worked with the people I did. So if I ever got the opportunity again, it'd be an honor.
[Top photo: FilmMagic]