Golden girl for over a decade now, Jennifer Lawrence is still one of the most coveted stars in Hollywood. From her tour-de-force performance in the Hunger Games trilogy to her bewitching role in Red Sparrow, Lawrence has shown her versatility and talent without boundaries and continues to wow audiences with every release. Making sure to be a very different kind of movie star, her relatable character off-screen has also made audiences fall in love with Lawrence even more, bolstering her career further than her talent.
Having recently ventured into comedy with roles like Maddie in No Hard Feelings and her successful sketches on Saturday Night Live, it seems Lawrence is shifting gears, moving away from her usual survivalist/spy persona. This change isn’t surprising, considering she’s been immersed in intense, physically demanding shoots since the age of 20. After years of hard graft and maintaining her position as one of Hollywood’s top actors, a lighter direction may be a welcome change for the actor.
That being said, Lawrence has been around the block when it comes to working with different directors and filmmakers, so she really has an excellent perspective for someone still so young. After working on her first feature films, The Poker House and Winter’s Bone, the 34-year-old first properly shot to fame in the role of Tiffany in the much-loved Silver Linings Playbook in 2012, and that experience seemed to be one of her favourites.
On working with director David O Russell on Silver Linings Playbook, Lawrence told Collider: “To date, it was probably the best experience of my life because of his passion and spontaneity. It’s really rare that somebody who’s a genius can actually communicate, and he can. A lot of people have these amazing ideas and amazing stories, but they don’t have a way to communicate. He can communicate technically and emotionally, and I’ve seen him tailor himself to whatever an actor needs.”
The ability to communicate well is of particular importance to Lawrence, but she was also shocked by Russell’s prowess on the page. She said: “We know he’s the most brilliant director, but he’s also an unbelievable writer.”
Lawrence also revered Russell’s back catalogue before working with him, and it seems the Silver Linings experience didn’t disappoint, as she worked again with him twice on American Hustle and Joy. She continued: “Most of my favourite performances from my favourite actors are in his movies. I’ve always wanted to work with him, just to see what that would be like. He’s also one of the warmest, nicest, funniest people that I’ve ever met in my entire life. He made that experience the best experience.” It would seem we all need a David O Russell in our lives.
David O Russell’s most recent star-studded venture was Amsterdam, featuring big names like Margot Robbie, John David Washington, and Christian Bale. Despite its high-profile cast, the film faced intense scrutiny after failing to perform at the box office. Perhaps this is the curse of not having Jennifer Lawrence in a David O Russell film—he might want to remember what works best for him in the future.
