Director who helped Jennifer Lawrence win awards is ‘actor whisperer’

LAWRENCE. “I’d like 2014 to be an unwinding, peaceful time.” Photo by HFPA

LOS ANGELES—“David (O. Russell) is an actor whisperer,” Jennifer Lawrence said of the director whose collaborations with her, “American Hustle” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” have netted her two Golden Globe awards.

Last Sunday, Jennifer bagged the Best Supporting Actress honors at the Golden Globes, where she also won the Best Actress-Comedy or Musical award last year. It’s quite a feat that Jennifer and David’s only two movie collaborations have both produced acting laurels for her. And, at only 23 years old, Jennifer has bragging rights to have an Oscar and two Golden Globes, but she’s not the type to crow over this achievement.

To think that Jennifer almost did not get the “Silver…” role because the character, Tiffany, was written as a much older woman. She disclosed, “They didn’t even want to see me. Then, I auditioned for David, and he changed his mind.”

“You learn so much from David,” Jennifer said in our talk, just a few weeks before her triumphant Golden Globe win. “I discovered so much of myself by working with him. I think he’s the most creative and free-minded person I’ve ever known.”  Jennifer said that Bradley Cooper, who costarred with her and also landed nominations in both “Silver…” and “American…,” “shares that love for” David. “They’re good for each other—David and I are not. We’ll spend forever doing nothing because our heads are all over the place. Bradley keeps us all in line.”

“David not only made our careers by asking us to be a part of those movies, but he taught me so much about myself,” she added. “I am different when I am with him. He’s like the seed to imagination and creativity, and I feed off it.

“No matter how many movies I do with David, he always keeps me on my toes. He taught me that my method is, I don’t have one. He is OK with that. He knows that I do better when I’m scared—like when I have a challenge.”

Good reviews

When asked if she has hustled in real life, as the con characters of Amy Adams and Christian Bale do in “American…,” the refreshingly candid actress replied, “I always feel like I’m pulling the wool all over your eyes (laughs). Whenever a movie comes out, and I get good reviews, I’m like, ‘I got away with another one!’ I don’t see the big deal. I feel like I’m tricking you— but, not in a bad way.”

And the reviews for Jennifer’s portrayal of volatile, unpredictable Rosalyn Rosenfeld, a New Jersey housewife, have indeed been enthusiastic. She described her process in breathing life to the brash woman whose husband, Irving (Christian), has a mistress, Sydney (Amy), but he doesn’t want to leave his son with Rosalyn: “When I first read the script, I felt that there was an opportunity to humanize her. Her actions are dreadful, crazy, dramatic and make no sense. So, I felt that we could show that it’s not coming from a mean place. She’s manipulative, but it’s all out of naiveté. She’s just young.

“She doesn’t know any better, and she doesn’t want to get divorced—because she thinks it’s wrong. So, she’s entrapping a man in an unhealthy relationship, but that’s her version of what’s right. In a lot of her moments, I don’t think she understands the gravity of what she’s doing, which makes her a more understandable and likeable character.”

She admitted, “I didn’t research at all. David and I created Rosalyn together in three weeks. We would rewrite dialogue. Once the costumes, hair, nails and the physicality come in, a lot of times, the words follow—much like in real life. Like, you walk differently when you’re in heels than when you’re in flats. So, a lot of it started from physical changes.”

She said, “I will always remember 2013 as the year that I was very tired but excited. I’m looking forward to peace and rest. I’d like to slow down. I’d like a little less attention. I’d like to buy a house. I’d like 2014 to be an unwinding, peaceful time.”

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