This talk was part of the 2022 BFI London Film Festival. You can find all of our coverage of the festival here.
On 8 October, London welcomed critically acclaimed actress, Jennifer Lawrence, to the 2022 BFI London Film Festival.
From The Hunger Games, to her first Oscar win in 2013 for Silver Linings Playbook (2012), Lawrence is an undeniable talent. She was invited to discuss her established career at a sold-out screen talk, hosted by Francine Stock.
Lawrence told the audience that film and television were her “escape” as a child. However, that there was never a turning point, or particular inspiration for her, that formed her early career. She stated, “I was weird. A weird artist in a small-ish town. Films and television were my escape.”
With her breakthrough performance in Winter’s Bone (2010), she was thrown very quickly into the deep-end of her career. When asked about how she felt about the award nominations for Winter’s Bone, she responded “Shock! Complete shock. We had one camera, and we shared a van. I’m feeling the same way right now about Causeway.”
In 2012, we saw Lawrence in her signature role that resulted in her global fame, making her the actress we recognise and love. Her performance as heroine Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. It came as a shock to the audience that Lawrence was not always overly confident about taking on the role of Katniss. “I knew I would regret it if I didn’t do it. And I certainly don’t regret doing it.”
One of Lawrence’s most memorable roles is undoubtedly the anti-hero, Mystique, in Marvel’s X-Men franchise. She told Stock “I never thought I’d be offered a superhero movie. I thought that was huge!” Lawrence continued to discuss how unique and different the process and experience of filming a superhero film is, “I said, ‘I’d like a suit.’ They said, ‘Absolutely.’ Then I walked on set, and it was paint.“
“I love franchises. I could never do one now, I’m too old and brittle” the 32-year-old actress joked, when asked about her experience with the series.
The talk ended with a discussion of Lawrence’s production company, Excellent Cadaver. Their most recent film, Causeway (2022), was shown as a special presentation at the festival that same evening.
“This generation likes a world to escape to, and I relate to that.”
Words by Mia Stapleton
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