If Hollywood needed an emblematic heroine for a year of hard times and tough decisions, it came in the form of Jennifer Lawrence: resolute, unyielding and somehow old beyond her age. Lawrence's earlier Oscar-nominated turn in the Ozark-noir Winter's Bone proved the springboard for a brilliant 2012. There she was in the spring, wielding a bow-and-arrow as kill-or-be-killed Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, the year's best blockbuster. And there she was in the autumn, playing beautiful damaged goods alongside the likes of Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro in Silver Linings Playbook, the year's best rom-com, and our fourth best film of the year.
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| Jennifer Lawrence Images |
We caught up with Lawrence on the set of Catching Fire, the second part of the Hunger Games franchise.
The line's crackling. Where are you?
I'm filming in Hawaii. But right now I'm eating doughnuts. I've just been inundated with doughnuts; it's a perk of the job.
Moving on to other matters, Silver Linings Playbook has been named one of the Guardian's best films of the year.
Well, thank you, that's awesome. I'm a little taken aback. I should have prepared a speech. It's a project I'm proud of. The cast and the crew gave it their all, working late nights, 15-hour days, trying to get it right. It was made with passion, that's for sure.
Your role as Tiffany Maxwell gave you a chance to shout down Robert De Niro. There's not many actors who can make that boast.
Oh, that was nerve-racking. I had a habit of never looking at what scene we were doing next. But then the night before I looked ahead and thought: "Oh my God, I've got to act against De Niro." But it was fine. He's the nicest man in the world. He's actually very quiet. On set he keeps himself to himself and only pipes up when he has something proper to say. When he does pipe up, people listen.
Since shooting Silver Linings Playbook, you've gone on to work with Bradley Cooper on another film.
Yeah, it's called Serena. I was actually cast in that before starting Silver Linings Playbook, but we were still looking for the male lead. So one day I mentioned it to Brad and said: "Do you want to do it?" and he shrugged and said OK.
Serena is a drama set during the 1930s Depression. It all sounds very John Steinbeck.
You're breaking up. Did you ask if I was playing John Steinbeck?
No.
OK, because that would be weird.
What with your performances in Winter's Bone, The Hunger Games and Serena, you're becoming the poster-girl for nickel-and-dime America.
I know, but I'm just looking for interesting stories and strong characters. Maybe that's where the good material is. Maybe that's why I end up playing white-trash girls with too much responsibility.
You grew up on a farm in Kentucky. Do you still see that as home?
In a sense, in that it's where my family lives and it's where I grew up. But I don't know. These days I spend most of my time flipping between London [with her boyfriend, British actor Nicholas Hoult and LA. I love London. I love the layout of the city and I love that it's not Manhattan or LA. In LA people are only interested in your job and how much money you make. In London that doesn't matter so much. People know that there are other things to talk about.
When you took the role of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, did a part of you worry that the film might be so big it would get in the way of a creatively rewarding career?
Yes, of course. I worried that it would be overwhelming and that no one would be able to see me as any other character. But I really cared about the movie. I'm as proud of The Hunger Games as I am any of the other films I've done.
You auditioned for the role of Bella Swan in Twilight at about 17. In hindsight, are you glad you didn't get it?
Oh yeah, for sure. I remember when the first movie came out, seeing Kristen Stewart on the red carpet and getting papped wherever she went. I'd had no idea Twilight would be such a big deal. For me, and assuming for her, it was just another audition. Then it turned into this whole other thing.
If Silver Linings Playbook was one of our films of the year, what were yours?
I really loved Argo, I thought that was brilliant. Um, what else? Seven Psychopaths was wonderful. But I haven't seen enough movies this year. I've been too busy working.
You're not spending Christmas in Hawaii?
No, I'm going home to see my family. My brother just told me in an email that we're all going to go clay-pigeon shooting.
Is that a family tradition?
No, no, he's just found this place where they let you shoot clay-pigeons and then give you dinner afterwards. He's real excited about it. We've never done it before. I don't know what his shooting skills are like, I'm sure they're better than mine. I'm going to have to bring my bow-and-arrow.
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