There aren’t many actors in the world that can boast a resume as impressive as Jennifer Lawerence. At just 31 she has already starred in an array of commercial and critically successful roles, receiving dozens of honours including the Academy Award for best actress in 2013. But even megastars like Lawerence are still subject to the same social anxieties that plague normal folk as was the situation the star found herself in on the set of Don’t Look Up.
Speaking in an interview recently, Jennifer Lawrence admitted she was petrified that she was going to annoy legendary actress and fellow co-star Meryl Streep while filming the Netflix original. Rather than risk the awkward encounter, Lawrence confessed she would stay quiet for as long as possible and endeavour to not speak unless she was spoken to.
“My biggest concern was I did not want to annoy Meryl Streep. That’s my worst nightmare. So, I will only speak if spoken to, and I will be the least annoying person in the room.”
Don’t Look Up director Adam McKay also confirmed the story adding this.
“She [Jennifer Lawrence] just kept saying, ‘I’m going to be quiet. I won’t speak.’ Meryl Streep shows up and Jen comes over to me like she’s a 12-year-old and is like, ‘What do I say? What do I do?’ ”
Back in 2013 when Lawrence was receiving her Golden Globe for her role in Silver Linings Playbook she notably quipped ‘I beat Meryl’. She later clarified the remark was a reference to the First Wives Club but it was a reference that went over the audience’s heads with many presuming at the time it was a slight at the expense of Streep who was also nominated for the same award for Hope Springs.
That may have been on her mind when she thought about performing alongside the iconic actress but it seems Jen had no reason to worry at all as Meryl Streep had nothing but positive things to say about her. Speaking to the same publication, Steep said the following about her co-star.
“She [Lawrence] is a bold and unselfconscious actress—someone whose gift is alive on her skin and in her being. She spins it out of the air in the room.”
Don’t Look Up is a satirical comedy riffing on the current state of media culture in a twisted take on the traditional disaster flick. Alongside Leonardo Di Caprio, Lawrence plays a low-level astronomer who discovers a comet is set to collide with the Earth and have a devastating effect. The duo struggles to find anyone who will take them seriously though, especially with Meryl Streep’s Trump-esque take on an American president who has little concern for facts and science.
The all-star cast is rounded out by Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, Tyler Perry, Timothee Chalamet, Ariana Grande and Ron Perlman for what is sure to be a big hit for the streaming giant this festive period. Don’t Look Up will be available to stream exclusively on Netflix from December 10th.