THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 64 NOVEMBER 13, 2019
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TREETERS.^As THR’s annual Actress Roundtable kicks off, Judy star Renée
Zellweger takes a quick swig from her glass of water. “I was grabbing
this to set myself up to not be first,” Zellweger, 50, jokes. Sure, there
are some nerves among the six actresses as they gather for an hourlong
conversation about their standout 2019 performances and the indus-
try as a whole, but there’s also a sense of camaraderie and excitement
because, as Laura Dern says, “this is a rare gift that we get to be in com-
munity like this.” Dern, 52, who gives a strong supporting performance
in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, is reuniting with Scarlett Johansson,
with whom she stars in Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story. Johansson,
34, who also makes an impression in Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, is
joined by Hustlers’ Jennifer Lopez, 50, Us star Lupita Nyong’o, 36, and
The Farewell breakout Awkwafina, 30. Their paths and projects are very
different, but during this discussion, the actresses — who talk about
navigating Hollywood, the media and the aftermath of the #MeToo
movement — find that what they have in common is, underneath it all,
a desire to put on a show. “That’s what we do. We perform, we go out
there, whether it’s in front of 50,000 people on the stage, or in front of
300 guys on set, we’ve got to perform,” says Lopez. “You’ve got to do it.”
LAURA DERN I did a film, Citizen
Ruth [1996], that was, I felt at
the time, the most different of
anyone I’d [played]. I mean, I’m
not addicted to huffing paint, and
that was a challenge and at that
time felt scary because it was a
very dark comedy. Trying to walk
this unusual line in the script was
so fun and terrifying.
LUPITA NYONG’O I would say that
Us terrified me quite a bit.
DERN And us. (Laughter.)
NYONG’O Every time I work, I
wonder whether I have what it
takes to do that particular role,
because we’re in a business where
we’re always starting again: You
start with ignorance with every
role. And the preparation is aboutmoving from that ignorance to
hopefully a sense of expertise by
the time the film wraps.
But with Us, I had to play two
characters in one movie. I had
the time it usually takes me to
prepare for one. And these two
characters are diametrically
opposed to each other. They are
individual, but they are also two
entities that ultimately are one.
So that was a challenge, just in
terms of how to organize it in
my head, and how to make them
distinct and yet feel like two parts
of one entity.
LOPEZ With Hustlers, this was the
first time in a long time that I was
actually terrified, really scared,
to do that opening [pole dancing]
number, which I suggested, of
course. (Laughter.) It was my fault
that I was there to begin with. It
wasn’t written in the script. And I
was like, no, she’s the big money-
maker at the club — she has to
show why. We can’t say it, we have
to do it. I have to dance on the
pole, I have to show them, I have
to go there.
Then when I was there and I
had the dental floss on, I’m out
there in a way I’ve never been. It
was so scary, I was so terrified. I
have my robe on and there’s 300
extras, all men. I think that was
putting myself out there, in a way,
deeper than I had ever done physi-
cally and emotionally, and playing
a character that was that unapolo-
getic in so many ways. It was so
different from who I was.Scarlett, you had two very different
projects this year. Was one more
intimidating than the other?
SCARLETT JOHANSSON With
Marriage Story, what people don’t
necessarily realize is that every
hesitation and every unfinished
sentence is all scripted — the
words are the words, and you have
to stick to that. Noah [Baumbach,
the writer-director] is a real stick-
ler about that, which is fine. It was
challenging at times, just because
Noah is relentless and he works to
exhaustion. I’ve never really been
able to have that experience, just
burning film like that.
LOPEZ I’m listening to you, and
I’m like, excited. I wish I was
there to have seen it. Because the
performance is the thing, right?
Because that’s what we do, weperform, we go out there, whether
it’s in front of 50,000 people on
the stage or in front of 300 guys
on a set, and we’ve got to perform.
You’ve got to do it.What do you do when you’re
working with an actor and you
aren’t clicking because there
isn’t chemistry?
NYONG’O I was trained in the
theater, and so that’s where I feel
most at home. What’s interesting
about film is that you are at risk
more often of having an actor that
doesn’t respond, because onstage
it is the performers who are in
charge of the magic, whereas on
film there’s other people in charge
of the magic.
Yes, the performers do their
thing, but then there’s the editor
who ultimately is the one who
puts the performance together.
Then there’s the camera and these
weird things where you can’t
look at the person you’re acting
with, you have to look at the X or
something like that. So all those
things get in the way, or make
human exchange a little bit more
challenging. Therefore I think you
are more likely to find moments
with an actor where things are
not gelling — because there are so
many other things to deal with.
You have to be a lot more self-reli-
ant in film is what I am realizing
— you have to be able to control
your performance in a way that it
doesn’t necessarily have to rely on
the other person.
AWK WA F I NA I wonder now if I
am that person where [people
say], “There just wasn’t a con-
nection there, I don’t know what
was going on.” (Laughter.) No, I
think for me, if you come on to set
and if the other actor is having
a bad day, I feel that energy will
come off a little bit. And it’s not
anyone’s fault. You realize that
they’re human as well and they
have the same fears. [It’s about]
just knowing that empathy and
knowing that we’re both here,
going through it.Awkwafina, The Farewell was your
first dramatic role. What kind of
pressure did that add?
AWK WA F I NA It added a lot of pres-
sure. I was really, really scared,
because you think you know what
people think about you, but youWhen have you been most afraid or
intimidated by a role, and how did
you get past that?
RENÉE ZELLWEGER It happens
every time before you start. Your
impostor syndrome sneaks in —
this will be the time that everyone
knows you’re a fraud and you’re
going to get fired. It becomes less
fear and probably more just a sense
of responsibility as you get older,
and I’ve been doing it a while. But
it’s always part of the joy, because if
it doesn’t frighten you, then ...
JENNIFER LOPEZ It’s the
excitement.
ZELLWEGER Yeah, why are you
doing it if it doesn’t ...
LOPEZ ... scare the shit out of you.
(Laughter.)