How do you choose which roles to go for?
SW: Ultimately, the number one thing that’s most important is the script, always, regardless of whether it’s an incredible director or not. I was going to do a film once with an amazing director, but then I read the script, and it wasn’t something that I could connect to. “I want to work with you so bad, but there’s no way I can do this movie, because I will not bring this character to life in the same way that another girl will.” For me, it’s ultimately about the script, always, and when I read a script, I know immediately whether it’s something I want to do, based on the physical reaction I get. I just get butterflies in my stomach, or I won’t. It goes script, director, and then the other people who are attached.
How did you prepare for a role in a major studio film like this that required you to act opposite of people like Kate Winslet?
SW: Because I had no context, because I had never done it before, I didn’t really know how to prepare. I definitely learned a lot on this movie, because working on an indie film, you’re working with humans, and you only sometimes have one take to get something right and then you’re moving on. A movie like this, you spend 12 hours just walking down a hallway, over and over and over again because there’s so much time and accessibility. I learned a lot of differences based on experience, but going into it I don’t know. I wasn’t scared or nervous, but I was definitely –I don’t want to say intimidated…it was new eyes, it was curiosity, I was very curious. Every day was sorta this very new experience, and then working with Kate was incredibly new, because she’s such a strong force to begin with. And then you add the antagonistic character on top of that and she’s just this wild fierce force of a very empowered woman. And so that was a little bit intimidating, because she is such a good actress, and for so long has been one of my favorite actresses. It was really neat to learn from her and get to know her.
What advice did Jennifer Lawrence give you?
SW: It’s a big life decision, and to do a big studio film is very different than doing small indie films, which is where my comfortability lies. I love the creativeness of indie films, and knowing that Jennifer went from the indie world to this big studio world was interesting to me, so I figured she would have some good advice to pass on. She said there are some things that may change, but for the most part there’s so much beauty that comes from a large franchise like this that I’d be an idiot not to take it.
What was it like stepping into the role of Tris?
SW: We did a few reshoots for the movie a few weeks ago, and I had to wear a wig, obviously, because my hair is gone now. It was the first time ever I had to wear a wig, I just normally always used my hair, and so at the end of the day when [I] took the wig off, it was this weird experience of, like, “wow, I’m Shai again!” I was still Shai throughout the day, I was still me, but when I look in the mirror I only see me, I don’t see anything else. That was the first time it ever really clicked for me. [Gestures at poster] these clothes look really cool but they weren’t necessarily comfortable, so you just feel like your digestion’s a little bit off, you’re just in different shoes. So at the end of the day when you get to strip down and put on your jeans and have your normal hair back, you feel like that’s when it clicks and registers that you did drop into a different life for a little bit.
That concludes our interview but we’d like to thank Shailene very much for her time. Be sure to check out Divergent when it hits theatres this Friday and for more on the film, take a peak at our video interview below.
