Jennifer Lopez, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Awkwafina and Renée Zellweger joined for The Hollywood Reporter's annual Actress Roundtable.
00:00Lupita, you've worked with Jordan Peele, Steve McQueen, Mira Nair. I think a lot of filmmakers
00:10who have been underrepresented in the past in Hollywood, are you making these choices
00:14specifically to work with, you know, directors like that? Or is it just the roles you've
00:21been drawn to?
00:22I think these are all directors who have offered me the most interesting roles, and
00:26I've taken them. And I haven't really thought, I don't, yeah, I haven't really
00:32thought about the demographic of the director I've been working with. I think
00:37because I am, I mean, I am a black woman. And so, you know, this industry, this time,
00:48this Me Too time, this Time's Up time is about allowing for more equitable
00:54representation. And I am, I am benefiting from the efforts of a lot of other women
01:02who have come before me, other black women who have come before me, who have had it
01:05a lot rougher than I have. And I'm aware of that. It's a time when directors like Steve McQueen
01:14and Jordan Peele are being given chances to make work. And so they are able to then,
01:20you know, in Jordan's case, write with someone like me in mind for their next film. And for
01:31me, I think there it's, this is a time where there is a concerted effort to consider diversity
01:39and inclusion. What I really want is for it to not be a fad, not be a trend, you know, where
01:46right now it's really dope and cool and on trend to work with women and underrepresented groups.
01:53But I think the, the moment of maturity in the industry is when it is just the norm,
02:00you know, when, when you no longer need to ask that question.
02:04When were you most afraid or intimidated by a role and how did you overcome it?
02:14I would say that the last film, Us, terrified me quite a bit. And like Renee said,
02:21like Renee said, I feel the same way. Every time I work, I wonder whether I have what it
02:29takes to do that particular role, because, you know, we're in a business where we're always
02:34starting again. You know, you have to, you start with ignorance with every role. And the preparation
02:40is about moving from that ignorance to hopefully a sense of, you know, expertise by the time the
02:47film wraps. But with Us, I had to play two characters in one movie. And I had the time,
02:53it usually takes me to prepare for one. And these two characters are diametrically opposed to each
02:59other. They are individual, but they're also two entities that ultimately are one. So that was
03:08a challenge just in terms of how to organize it in my head, you know, and how to, how to make them
03:20indistinct, and yet feel like two parts of one entity.
03:30I'm curious if you've ever had an experience where the actor you had to work across from
03:36wasn't giving you what you needed, or it just wasn't really vibing the way it needed to.
03:40You don't have to name names.
03:43Say it again, say it again.
03:46If you've had to, you know, work with an actor and it just wasn't working.
03:50Yeah, it's interesting. For me, I was trained in the theater. And so that's where I feel like most at home.
03:56And film is something that I've been working on for the last, what, six years. And what's interesting
04:05about film is that you are at risk, I think more often, of having an actor that doesn't respond.
04:14Because on stage, it is the performers who are in charge of the magic. Whereas on film, there's other people in charge of the magic. You know, yes, the performers do their thing. But then there's the editor, who ultimately is the one that puts the performance together. Then it's the take, you know, you just have to do this.
04:32Camera. Yeah, the camera. You know, all these weird things where you can't look at the person you're acting with. You have to look at the ex or something like that.
04:40So all those things get in the way or make just human exchange a little bit more challenging. And therefore, I think it's you are more likely to find moments with an actor where things are not gelling because there's so many other things to deal with.
04:59So for me, that working on this, on us was a lesson in how effective being self-reliant can be. It's almost like you have to, you have to, you have to control what you can and then just let go.
05:16And trust that your scene partner, the editor will do the gluing.
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