Reese Witherspoon: "We Have the Opportunity to Show the Entire Spectrum of Human Emotion that Women Have" | 'Big Little Lies' | Drama Actress Roundtable - video Dailymotion

Hollywood Journal

"We aren't just the wives and the girlfriends. We are living, breathing people," the 'Big Little Lies' actress and producer told THR.

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00:00Sometimes art is a way that sort of removes you in a certain capacity.

00:08I thought Shailene Woodley's storyline, where she also is seeing herself from a different perspective in Big Little Lies,

00:17I thought really helped sort of understand what the emotional experience, but then you see the fallout.

00:23I mean, she's become obsessed with finding her a rapist, and homicidal even, and self-harming, and constantly trying to reckon it.

00:34But I do think sometimes art gives you an opportunity to...

00:38I think it's actually the best opportunity for people to see themselves.

00:41Yeah.

00:42The over and under in this town is about $150,000.

00:45I work in community theater, 20 hours a week, so I'm definitely an under.

00:50What do you do?

00:51Oh, just bookkeeping, so...

00:53Most definitely an under, too.

00:56When I grow up, I'm going to run a massive label.

01:00Do you have plans?

01:03No.

01:05He's a little nervous.

01:07Relax, he's walking in with Chloe.

01:09That's like walking in with the Golden Ticket.

01:11Because there were so many women on our show, and I have never had this experience ever in my life,

01:16but remember we were shooting the finale, and we were on our seventh day of night shoots, and I was losing my mind.

01:22And they kept saying, okay, we're going to do the scene where you have the breakdown,

01:26and you tell Shailene that you've cheated on your husband, and they're like, but we're not going to do it today.

01:30We ran out of time.

01:31We're going to do it tomorrow.

01:31Okay.

01:32So it'd be right there primed, right?

01:35My date set of getting prepared and not ever using, and then we came in, and we had to do the titles.

01:41He out of nowhere told us to do the titles.

01:43He went, I just couldn't do it.

01:45And they called us to set, and they said, no, no, no, just one more minute.

01:47I started to scream, and all the girls instead, and I've never screamed like this, like howling,

01:54like I need to get this out.

01:56And instead of having this feeling like, oh my God, what did I just do?

02:00All the women like came around and go, girl, I have so been there.

02:04This is such bullshit.

02:06She's perfect.

02:08She's ready.

02:09She goes, she's ready.

02:11The thing I really enjoy about the evolution of particularly television is that we have

02:27the opportunity to show that the entire spectrum of human emotion that women have, we aren't

02:34just the wives and the girlfriends.

02:36We are actually living, breathing people who have our insecurities, our great relationships

02:41with your brother in that show is amazing, and how you've given your life to your brother

02:46because you don't want to be vulnerable in a romantic relationship is just so moving.

02:49Don't make me cry.

02:50It's so moving.

02:52And then he takes you for granted all the time, but like, that's a different relationship

02:56than I've ever seen on film.

02:57That's right.

02:58I've never seen that.

02:59But in your case, you added something that wasn't in the book about your character that

03:03on the Facebook would make you that much more unlikable, which is the adultery piece

03:08of your storyline.

03:09And that was something, presumably, as a producer on the show as well, that was important to

03:14you.

03:14So how, A, why, and B, how do you then turn that into something that is layered and is

03:20empathetic?

03:22Well, I think a big theme of the show is shame and what we feel shamed about and how do we

03:28resolve that.

03:29And you think about these women that are so connected and we're very best friends and

03:33we never tell each other are true shame.

03:36And that just stays buried.

03:38Which is at the root of all the abuse.

03:41You know, everybody thinks that it's about the act itself, but it's about the shame that

03:45you carry and how that shame then shapes you.

03:49And that's what was so wonderful about Big Little Lies is that you get to see how the shame

03:53has shaped everyone.

03:54And then when it's gone, it's gone and they are free and they will forever be connected

04:00because of this idea that they finally were able to let it go.

04:06What did you want to be when you were five years old?

04:15The first female president of the United States of America.

04:19I'm not kidding.

04:19Still possible.

04:20I remember saying it.

04:21I remember saying it and I remember being in kindergarten in Nashville, Tennessee and

04:27saying it and I had a female teacher and some of the boys laughed and she said, I'll be

04:31the first one to vote for you.

04:32Oh, nice.

04:33I still remember it.

04:34It's a great teacher.

04:35What a great teacher.

04:37She was awesome.

Reese Witherspoon: "We Have the Opportunity to Show the Entire Spectrum of Human Emotion that Women Have" | 'Big Little Lies' | Drama Actress Roundtable

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