Hailee Steinfeld on the edge of turning 20

Photo by Ruben V. Nepales

Los Angeles—“Oh my God, that’s so weird,” Hailee Steinfeld said with a laugh when she was reminded that she will no longer be a teenager in about a couple of weeks. She turns 20 on Dec. 11.

Fittingly, she looked every inch a stunning young woman, no longer the kid we first met when she made her major screen debut in the Coen brothers’ “True Grit.” The Oscar-nominated actress wore red lipstick and a blue one-shoulder couture dress.

Apropos to her transition, Hailee delivers a stellar performance in writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig’s “The Edge of Seventeen” that’s being widely praised by critics. In the coming-of-age comedy-drama, which has no less than Oscar winner James Brooks as lead producer, the Filipino-American plays Nadine, whose unhappy high school life became even unbearable when she discovers that her best friend is dating her older brother.

Variety’s Owen Gleiberman gushed, “Hailee Steinfeld has gathered confidence as a performer, and ‘The Edge of Seventeen’ is her breakthrough. She’s a fantastic actress, with a sharpness and verve that belies the catlike softness of her features. She’s like the young Elizabeth Taylor, with playful flexing eyebrows that italicize her every thought. Even when she’s just tossing off lines, Steinfeld makes Nadine a hellion you can’t tear yourself away from. She isn’t just the star of ‘The Edge of Seventeen’—she’s its center of gravity.”

Hailee, even in her interaction with a fine supporting cast that includes Woody Harrelson (their student-teacher banter is one of the film’s delights), Kyra Sedgwick, Blake Jenner, Hayden Szeto (playing an Asian dude who finally gets the lead girl) and Haley Lu Richardson, is in top form.

The actress benefits from the nuanced, realistic script of Kelly, who reportedly interviewed many teen girls as part of her research. It is also Kelly’s feature film directing debut.

“One thing that stood out about this script was the dialogue,” Hailee pointed out.  “I have read contemporary pieces before, and I have always felt slightly confused by them. I was never able to figure out why. I didn’t know if it was like, oh Hailee would never do that or dress like that. When I read a period piece, I don’t think that for whatever reason.

“With other contemporary pieces, I felt that way, and with this one, there was never a moment where I felt like this was unnatural or unreal. It’s honest, truthful and raw. At no point did it feel like it was too much or not enough.”

That Hailee stands her ground opposite the veteran Woody reflects her considerable acting talents. “That man kept me on my toes the entire time we were working together,” Hailee commented about Woody. “There was never a moment that I was not terrified by what was going to come out of his mouth because every time, I knew that he would come in with something that would override my comebacks. He kept me thinking constantly.”

Best sense of humor

“Oh God, I wish I had a teacher like him,” Hailee added about Woody’s teacher character who delivers deadpan lines. “I would go back to school if he were the teacher. Woody was amazing, with the best sense of humor ever.

“I learned very quickly that if you told Woody that he could do whatever he wanted, he’ll do whatever he wants and say the most bizarre, crazy, amazing things. Sometimes, I would forget I was working. I’d get so wrapped up in him that I would sometimes forget to respond.”

Also a singer-songwriter, Hailee came out with her debut EP, “Haiz” (her fans coined the nickname), in November last year. “I released my EP about a month into filming this movie, so it was my first time getting the feeling of doing both at the same time.

“Thank God, no!” Hailee exclaimed when she was asked if she has experienced sending a text that she did not mean to. In Nadine’s case, she accidentally sends a sexually graphic text to her wily crush, Nick (Alexander Calvert). “Never that bad. In one of my first tweets, I misspelled a word and all the responses were, ‘You misspelled a word!’—and I immediately deleted it. Since then, I have been overanalyzing a tweet for 32 minutes before I hit tweet.”

On the breakthrough that this film achieves—Hayden’s Erwin ends up with Nadine toward the end—Hailee whooped, “Whoo! Love that!”

Hailee stressed, “It’s a wonderful thing to realize that regardless of who you are, what you look like, where you are from—if you’re a good person and you are capable of showing someone love, affection, loyalty and trust, there is so much more to that than anything else.

“Here’s the guy (Nick) she knows she wants, and has made him out to be the one, and realizes that he is not that person that she has built up in her mind. But the one (Erwin) who has been there the whole time is. That realization is something that we all make at one point in our lives.”

“Hayden is so good in this film,” Hailee praised the Vancouver-born actor whose parents are from Hong Kong. “My uncle saw the movie for the first time last night and he goes, ‘I have to meet him and ask him if he is really that awkward in real life.’ Hayden is so good at being painfully awkward. I can assure you that 100 percent of the laughter that came from me in response to whatever he was saying was 100-percent real. He was awesome!”

Lifelong commitment

Hailee emphasized that growing as an actress and improving her craft is her lifelong commitment. “I truly believe that the learning never stops,” she declared.  “I feel like I have been put through these master classes with the movies that I have made and the filmmakers I’ve met.

“I worked with (acting coach) Larry Moss on this project. That was a dream come true. I was 15 when I went on the man’s website and tried to sign up for a class. I tried to figure out how to get to New York without my parents knowing. It didn’t work out very well.

“I got a call from my friend, Jim Brooks, and he asked if it would be OK to coach with Larry Moss with this movie, as if anyone would say no. It was my most life-changing experience…Between that and my first film when I was 13, I have not stopped learning. There’s a lot that I don’t know that I can’t wait to learn.”

Looking into the immediate future, Hailee ponders the prospect of moving out of the home of her parents, Cheri (from the Domasin clan of Bohol) and Jake Steinfeld when she turns 20.

“Obviously, moving out is of interest to me,” she began. “Sometimes, I will wake up and I’m like, all right, today is the day. I love you mom and dad—goodbye. Then, I realize that this is never going to happen. But it will probably happen in the next couple of years. It’s something that excites me, learning that responsibility of being on my own.”

Hailee, who confirmed that she will be back on “Pitch Perfect 3,” continued, “Here I am now, turning 20—and I’m moving out! I was just talking about this with my friends. I was actually set on doing something like skydiving, and my friend was like, ‘Absolutely not!’ OK, maybe not then.”

Filipino parents love to have their children in their homes for as long as possible. “So, good luck telling your mom Cheri,” I teased Hailee. “Yeah, I know!” Hailee reacted with a laugh.