Nominated for Best Actress in a leading Role for this year’s Oscars, Brie larson talks about playing her role in the much acclaimed film Room, releasing this week in India
How is Ma’s character in the book different from her character in the filmIJ
The character of Ma in the book is not a complete one. It’s all told from this 5-year-old boy’s perspective and so has a dreamy innocence to it. You don’t get to see the complexity of his Ma. The movie gave me this great opportunity to really make Ma three-dimensional and to show all the complexity and all of the ways that theRoom is wearing down on her.
How difficult was it to inhabit the role of MaIJ
It was an interesting process because the brain just wants to help you so much that it latches on to things and puts them at the forefront of our brain. For instance, with Room, I was prepping things like my sore wrists. So I started wiring my brain to think that my wrist was sore, so that by the time we started shooting, I didn't have to remember, ‘Oh, my wrists are sore; I can’t do that.’ I almost felt it like a phantom pain in my wrist.
How does it feel now you're getting all this recognitionIJ
The moments that I feel a huge sense of accomplishment are actually the smaller moments, not really bigger, the televised ones. The times that I've gotten to speak with people after the screening, seeing their reaction, hearing how the movie has moved them, being reminded how important something is and what a power it holds were the best. If you keep that perspective, it’s actually just an extension of getting to share your film with the world. It's fun.
lenny Abrahamson said you had to work overtime because of coaching Jacob through each momentIJ
Oh, absolutely. I mean when I agreed to do this movie, I agreed to take the responsibility of this child. It wasn't just going to be that once we yelled 'cut' my job was over. Building a real relationship and a deep friendship with Jacob was incredibly important to the movie. It was important for him to feel comfortable and for me to have a close connection with him. There was a lot of trust. Because I was the closest to him, the one that was doing the scene with him it was much easier if we could create a better sense of flow and help him guide through his lines. That also meant that I had to learn to command my own emotions. So there was a scene where I'm explaining to him what the world is and then getting increasingly frustrated and upset. I could feel the tears start to fill in my eyes. I have to wait and hold the emotion in myself and then go, 'okay, Jacob, let's try that one again.' And then he would say his line, and then I would let the tears go. I was amazed about my command over my emotions. I love being a generous actor. Some of my own performance had to be put aside in order for everything to be right for him.
Do you feel that Room has a European sensibilityIJ
Absolutely! I remember watching playback on some of the footage. I was going over some scene with lenny and remember turning to him and saying, ‘oh my gosh, I see it looks just like a European film. My dreams are coming true.’ And then lenny would laugh and say: ‘Oh jeez, and here I thought I was making my first American film.’ It has a sort of rawness to it which we don't see in most American cinema. The fact that such an international group made this movie (from financing to production team). We've got a Canadian production designer, an Irish director and screenwriter, and a British DP. I'm an American.
How’s the Kong: Skull Island shoot goingIJ
It's been amazing and fun. We have shot in gorgeous locations and it's all outside, so different from most things that I have done. It's less cerebral and more about physicality and movement. Bigger movies give you a great opportunity to tell the same old stories, but retell them in an accessible way so that they reach more people. We have done that so we feel special.