Anna Kendrick visits GQ to revisit some of the most iconic characters of her career, from 'Pitch Perfect' and 'Scott Pilgrim vs. The World' to 'Twilight' and her directorial debut 'Woman Of The Hour.'
WOMAN OF THE HOUR starring and directed by Anna Kendrick premieres on Netflix October 18, 2024. http://www.netflix.com/womanofthehour
WOMAN OF THE HOUR starring and directed by Anna Kendrick premieres on Netflix October 18, 2024. http://www.netflix.com/womanofthehour
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00I happened to find myself, you know, just like alone with Meryl, just, she literally goes,
00:05you know, when you're in your close-up, that's what matters. Your close-up is where you take
00:10your truth. That's where you, and someone walks in and was like, Meryl, just so you know,
00:15the tea, they've put Manuka honey out. And she was like, oh, wonderful. And she gets up. And I was
00:21like, oh! Pitch Perfect series. On the first Pitch Perfect, I, you know, I had told them I
00:43could do this cup thing for the audition scene, because originally Kay Cannon had written it as
00:50I auditioned with I'm a Little Teacup, which again, every time I see her, I just saw her.
00:54I always want to ask her, how did you imagine that playing? Like, because that, I'm like,
00:59I'm not sure I would have known how to do that. I, you know, said I could do this, I could do
01:04this thing with the cup, whatever. Little did we know it would be a thing that to this day,
01:09parents come up to me and they're like, my kid won't stop doing the cup thing. And I'm like,
01:13girl, I'm so, I really am. I'm so sorry. I owe every parent a drink one day. But then even when
01:20I actually recorded the full song for the album, which again, at the time, I was like, I don't know
01:29if anybody will want this. And then they wanted to make like a full length song. And I was like,
01:33I mean, whatever you guys want. It's your time. Like, I'll do it. And then that gets played on
01:38the radio for like a year. It was so weird. It was a very weird time. We sing all over the world
01:45and we compete in national championships. On purpose. I think that in the first movie,
01:51and I talked to the director, Jason Moore, about this before we even started filming. I was like,
01:57you know, obviously Becca's kind of grouchy. But I was like, I really think the only reason that we
02:03buy into her is if she really falls in love with these girls. Even though like this is kind of a
02:09normal comedy thing, you know, when the other girls are being strange, that I don't kind of
02:17like roll my eyes at them, that I find it pretty charming in my own kind of grouchy way. And it
02:23created like very funny dynamics. Like I think even in the last movie, there's a scene where I'm
02:30debating whether or not I should like have this solo career or whatever. And at the end of the
02:36scene, we were supposed to do this kind of group hug. And it feels tricky to just get into something
02:43like that. I realized that if I started to signal, I can tell you f***ers want to hug me. And I'm
02:56like, don't you get away from me. Like the more that I resisted, the more that they could lean
03:01into the like pleasure of tormenting me. I think we got a lot of mileage out of how much that
03:08character continued to resist actually saying I love you guys. But yeah, trying to show that all
03:16that love was there, but like play up how much she was embarrassed by that. The Twilight Saga.
03:24She's got a great spike, huh? I'm Jessica, by the way. Hey, you're from Arizona, right?
03:31Yeah. Aren't people from Arizona supposed to be like really tan?
03:35When the first Twilight was coming together, I auditioned for Catherine Hardwicke. And I had met
03:42Catherine actually at the Sundance Film Festival for, she was on the jury and she had been a part
03:50of the jury that gave a special prize to a movie I was in called Rocket Science. So I kind of knew
03:56her and she sort of, I knew that she knew of me, which is always like a slightly nicer way to go
04:02into an audition room. And I really believed that the character Jessica, you know, like she's
04:10described as this like popular girl, captain of the volleyball team. And I don't think of me when
04:17I think of like the kind of alpha volleyball captain popular girl. So I just thought, well,
04:26I mean, obviously I'm not getting this job. And that kind of means that I get to just do whatever
04:32I want and just try to make a good impression on, you know, Catherine and on the casting directors.
04:37And I think that I would have done a really bad job if I'd been trying to do my impression of like
04:45the popular mean girl. So I ended up just like leaning into the nervousness.
04:55That's Edward Cohen. He's totally gorgeous, obviously. But apparently nobody here's good
05:01enough for him. Like I care, you know? Like I don't think that character was supposed to be
05:08funny. She was just supposed to be like the mean girl at school who, you know, just kind of gives
05:14Bella a hard time and like, you know, leads her astray about like the vampires at school.
05:22It was hopefully like a nice break from the like life and death seriousness of the movie,
05:31because everybody else in that movie had to be playing the like, the stakes, I mean higher than
05:39life and death. They're like, your very immortal soul is on the line. And like good and evil. And
05:45I really just got to show up and be like, you guys are acting really weird. So I feel like I had the
05:51best possible job out of all the actors in that movie. That is not the only time in my career
05:57where I've thought, well, I'm not getting this job anyway. And that has made me do whatever I
06:03thought was right. And then I actually end up getting the job or certainly get closer to the
06:08job than I thought that I should. Um, so you almost think that that happens once, certainly
06:16twice, maybe three times. And like, you've learned that lesson. But I do think that's sort of the
06:22whole trick of performing and like, if I may, like, being a person is that you're constantly
06:30having to relearn, I should just trust myself, I should trust my instincts. And then like, hey,
06:38unfortunately, I am a person and we're very badly designed creatures mentally in a lot of ways. So
06:44we're gonna fall back into that push that like urge to just like, do an impression of whatever
06:52I thought Margot Robbie would do. Even though like, I couldn't do that if I tried.
06:59Up in the Air. The exact same thing happened on Up in the Air. I auditioned, absolutely assuming
07:06I didn't have a, you know, snowball's chance in hell. I think one of the audition scenes was
07:11I've just been broken up with, and I'm explaining to George Clooney and Vera Farmiga, like, what I
07:18thought my life would be. When I was 16, I thought by 23, I'd be married, maybe have a kid, corner
07:25office by day, entertaining at night. I was supposed to be driving a Grand Cherokee by now. And on the
07:30page, it felt kind of heavy, kind of serious. And again, I was like, maybe it's funny. And there
07:36isn't a way to hide that some of what I'm saying is a little ridiculous and a little overwrought.
07:41And I should play it in a way where the audience is sort of in on the joke that this girl at 23 is
07:48like, giving this whole speech about how like, my life didn't turn out how I wanted it to and
07:52everything's like ruined. But I mean, I think the director said like, that's sort of literally what
07:56got me the job, was that it was like, oh, nobody else did it that way. And I guess he sort of wanted
08:02them to. If I'd thought that, like, I was really going to be in the running, I think I would have
08:09screwed it up, because I would have been like, oh, well, then I have to be like the most
08:12serious actress, you know?
08:19It's been over a year since you got dumped by She Who Will Not Be Named. So,
08:22are you legitimately moving on? Or is this just you being insane?
08:27Can I get back to you on that?
08:28I do remember reading the script for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. First of all, it was
08:34holographic, because they were so worried about the script leaking, that they made the pages so
08:41that you couldn't actually take a photo of it. Like, it wouldn't read on like, any camera. So
08:48that sort of made it extra challenging to read. But I do remember thinking, if I just got this
08:54script in a vacuum, I would be like, I don't get it. I think that Edgar is so good at taking
09:01genre things that feel like they're not going to make sense. Like, in Scott Pilgrim, it's
09:05action, comedy, musical, drama, and making it feel like it makes perfect sense.
09:18I think because I was new to the set, I had not filmed a bunch of action sequences already,
09:27and I wasn't really in the world. And I was like, maybe someone should be reacting to this as though
09:35this is the weirdest bullshit they've ever seen. And so when we did my close-ups, I was like,
09:41I think that I should be kind of the voice of the audience going like, what's happening?
09:47And I felt very like, pleased with myself about the fact that I think because I was like,
09:54confused about what the movie was going to be, that I was like, maybe the best thing to do is
09:58just like, act confused. I think it served some purpose in the scene to sort of be saying,
10:04this is crazy, but like, we're going to get there together. Like, come on in. The water's fine.
10:0950-50. Maybe today we just start with some simple relaxation exercises.
10:20I am relaxed.
10:21I know you are. But just humor me. If you want to lie down.
10:30Oh, lie down?
10:31Yeah. That was like, one of probably the first movies that I ever was just offered,
10:36where like, I didn't audition. I was like, oh, I think that they would be totally happy with me
10:43just basically being Natalie from up in the air again. Because like, that had just come out. I'm
10:48certain that's why I got the offer to do the movie. So I was like, I think that that's maybe
10:54would be perfectly fine. But I also think that I could do something different. And hopefully
10:59nobody's mad at me about it. And you know, I think the characters probably have some crossover.
11:04But there's like this sweetness to Catherine. She's a lot more vulnerable than Natalie from
11:11up in the air. But I also just remember Joe Gordon-Levitt kind of just blowing me away.
11:20First of all, because I think the first thing we shot together was this scene in the car,
11:24where it's sort of where the audience is realizing that he's kind of got a crush on me.
11:29Cell number, just if you need anything, you have it.
11:34Thanks. I just like score your digits.
11:39No, no, no. That was a joke.
11:43That's fine. And I remember thinking like, oh my god, when we're rolling, there is part of me
11:48that's like, well, he's in love with me. I mean, I guess I'm just that girl, you know? Sorry,
11:54stay mad, haters. Because he was so talented. And he was so connected to, you know, his character.
12:01And his character was so connected to my character. So, you know, I was sort of like,
12:04oh, I'm gonna hang around this guy as much as I can. But I think the most impressive thing to me
12:09was I could sort of see, I couldn't really put it into words. But I knew that I was seeing someone
12:18who was really thinking about the arc of the movie, and not just what is the truth of my
12:25character in this scene. And I think I really value that. Like, I think there's different
12:32schools of thought about acting, and like, whether or not you should be thinking about
12:36the audience or the viewer, or, you know, even the story as a whole, or if you should just sort
12:42of be in your truth. And I kind of always wanted to be the kind of coworker, really, who was
12:53trying to be conscious of everybody else's job, whether that's the focus puller or the director.
13:00I wish I could put it into words. It was this kind of ineffable thing, where I could just see
13:05the way that Joe was adjusting to tell the story, and was taking that into account. And I
13:12remember being like, oh, that's the kind of performer that I want to aspire to be.
13:18End of watch.
13:22I did go through your wallet. I'm sorry. I am naturally curious. I hope that's okay.
13:30Gotta love a guy who has a picture of his mom in his wallet.
13:35I loved making end of watch so much. I mean, I loved the movie, I loved the script, but
13:39really making it was so beautiful. And I think that women in the entertainment industry,
13:47actresses, there's a lot of times where you get a script, and it's like,
13:54like, the line that you hear is like, oh, but your character is really the heart of the movie.
13:58And you're like, no, I'm just like the wife or girlfriend, and I don't really do anything other
14:03than nag my detective or entrepreneur boyfriend about how he's spending too much time at work.
14:10This was actually one of those movies where I was like, oh yeah, this relationship is really
14:15at the heart of the movie. I think that so much of that movie was improvised,
14:21because it was all supposed to be found footage. Even when the found footage style
14:30cameras would stop rolling and the camera operator would need to reset or whatever,
14:34they just constantly had camcorders around, and we'd just pick them up between takes and just
14:39film whatever. So by the end of it, you're sort of having to remind yourself that, oh,
14:45I shouldn't be holding his hand, because actually nothing's rolling. But you'd get into this rhythm
14:51of acting like you're really in a relationship and that this person is really your friend.
14:56And it was like this kind of really immersive experience. And I remember the day that we shot
15:06the funeral scene, just having to spend so long crying. It's like 14 hours of just crying,
15:15and there's basically no cutting and resetting, because something is always filming.
15:20And the headache I had, you would have thought that I'd been binge drinking,
15:25because you are just getting yourself so dehydrated. And I think afterwards,
15:29I think Jake was like, we should all go out to dinner, because that was a really intense day.
15:34And I was like, stop talking. I'm closing my eyes, and I'm getting an Uber, and I'm going home,
15:42because I think that's probably the closest thing I've ever had to a debilitating hangover.
15:49And I wasn't even drunk. I mean, where's the fun in that?
15:56The festival lasts three nights. Surely you can let me be there for one of them.
16:00The king is trying to find a son, a wife, not a scullery maid. We must be gone.
16:07I'll say that a thing that happened both in rehearsals during filming, and then all during
16:15doing press for Into the Woods, is that people would come up to me and say, I think it's so
16:22interesting that they cast you as Cinderella. And I would be like, what the fuck does that mean?
16:26And then I would go, oh, that's why. Right. Yes. Got it. Because, you know,
16:34Cinderella, you think, sort of polished, and pretty, and presentable, even when she's,
16:39you know, in rags, and she's a servant. She's just like, got this good heart. And I'm a little
16:47abrasive. I mean, being so nervous, I was practically paralyzed. I was one of those
17:00people in rehearsals who was kind of like hiding behind my sheet music. And I remember
17:05Sondheim. That's so weird to be like, I remember Sondheim telling me. He was like,
17:10you know she talks to birds. And I was like, okay. I got it. I got you. Because, again,
17:18it was almost like, okay, she does have this big, warm presence in a way, but she's also kind of
17:25nuts. This woman either does or thinks she can communicate with birds. So, yeah, having that
17:34sense of play was nice. And it was like, very nice to have Stephen Sondheim tell me that. That
17:40was really, that was kind of a, you know, one of those like career highlight type moments.
17:54And then, you know, you're working with Meryl Streep, and you're wondering, like, well,
17:57I'm gonna, you know, soak it all in. I'm gonna learn everything I can. And there's almost like
18:02two extremes where, on the one hand, you're, you get to watch the process up close and personal,
18:09and it would be sort of impossible to put it into words. And on the other hand, there was a day
18:14where we were, I think we were in the recording phase. We were at like a recording studio.
18:18And I happened to find myself, you know, just like alone with Meryl. Just, you know, act normal.
18:25And I don't remember how it started, but she literally goes, you know,
18:33when you're in your close-up, that's what matters. Your close-up is where you take your truth.
18:37That's where you, and someone walks in and was like, Meryl, just so you know,
18:41the tea, they've put Manuka honey out. And she was like, oh, wonderful. And she gets up.
18:47And I was like, oh, no, no. Because I could never be like, what is that that you were saying
18:55about, sorry, it sounded like you were about to say like, three easy steps to becoming the
19:01best actress in the world who ever lived. Could you just, could we go back there? Like, I knew
19:06I could never do that. But it was like the most unbelievable timing. I was like, oh, I'm gonna,
19:14I'm gonna burst a blood vessel in my eye. This is insane. I can feel my heart rate is up just
19:18thinking about it. Alas, I don't know. I wish I could say. I wish I could tell you. But, you know,
19:24there was Manuka honey. So, who are we in the face of Manuka honey? No one.
19:31Mr. Right. Get off of me! I live in the air now. It's silence. I'll let you out later.
19:37I never lied to you. I mean, what do you want from me? I'm here. That's real.
19:41I don't know, though. Because you show up and like, you're like, the greatest thing ever. And then
19:47you kill people. And this guy's from the FBI. But then he's not from the FBI. And
19:52I don't know. It's just overwhelming. The movie Mr. Right, like, it didn't make a lot of noise
19:58when it came out. And then I do get like a ton of comments about that movie. People will like,
20:03discover it and be like, how did I not know that this movie existed? You know, I think it's like
20:07one of those movies where you're like, for a movie that did so poorly, there's way too many people
20:12asking about a sequel, which is always delightful. But I remember, you know, thinking, well, this is
20:19probably my only chance to be an action star. I think that was on the scale of like, buttoned up
20:27to crazy. I think Martha from Mr. Right is probably the biggest lunatic that I've played.
20:34Did you just call me Monster? Yeah, it's like a nickname, like Marth,
20:37Marster, Monster, that sort of thing. Yeah, into it. Worth noting that nicknames
20:41are supposed to happen like, organic over time, but.
20:43Okay, I can say it like a thousand times in ten minutes. Monster, Monster, Monster,
20:47Monster, Monster, Monster, Monster, Monster, Monster, Monster, Monster, Monster, Monster,
20:51Monster, Monster. Yeah, just Stockholm Syndrome-y.
20:53I love that album. It's better than Agatha.
20:55I mean, part of the reason I wanted to do it is because I wanted to work with Sam Rockwell. I
20:59mean, Sam would have chemistry with a light bulb, or like a cardboard box or something.
21:04I think that when one character is like, a little nutty, there's almost, there's usually like a
21:13a pull, just a natural pull to kind of like
21:16turn into the straight man.
21:18And with this movie, it was almost like,
21:21I think the kids of today would say,
21:24that is somebody gonna match my freak?
21:27So that was very much the vibe of that movie was like,
21:30oh, these two weirdos couldn't be with anyone
21:33but each other.
21:34So yeah, like watching Sam be just kind of like insane
21:40insane and be so charming while doing it was like,
21:45okay, I just gonna have to figure out
21:47how to be just as insane and just as charming.
21:50No problem.
21:51So yeah, I mean, there, I mean, I don't know.
21:55I feel like there were a lot of times in my career
21:57where I'm like, I think the other person
21:59did so much of the heavy lifting.
22:00And I was just like, I was just there.
22:03And I was just trying to like mirror,
22:08some of what he was doing or like compliment
22:11some of what he was doing.
22:12And then I got to kill some people.
22:14And that was awesome.
22:16Cause I don't usually get to do parts like that
22:17cause I am five two.
22:19But yeah, that was, that was really fun.
22:22Trolls.
22:26Okay, people, here we go.
22:29You.
22:30You.
22:35I would guess that if you saw the video footage
22:39that they take for the animators while you're recording
22:41which I always forget is there, which is embarrassing.
22:45I think it's like a lot of like kind of hands up
22:47because she's so tiny and she's so adorable
22:50and full of energy.
22:50I think it's that like cute aggression.
22:52It's like when you see a picture of a kitten
22:55and you just wish you had a bunch of bubble wrap
22:57that you could just.
22:58So that's sort of like where Poppy's at at all times.
23:02And the animators do incorporate
23:04a lot of your facial expressions into it.
23:06So much so that a friend of mine once said to me,
23:09oh, you just pulled such a Poppy face right now.
23:11And I was like, did I pull a Poppy face
23:13or her face is my face?
23:15I mean, put some respect on my name.
23:17What the hell?
23:18Oh, right.
23:19Like you knew I was coming.
23:20Yes.
23:21I figured after the third hug time
23:22getting eaten by a Bergen wouldn't seem so bad.
23:24And I figured there was no way you could do this by yourself.
23:27Guess we were both right.
23:29All right, let's do this.
23:30I think I was an NSYNC fan.
23:32I think I was one of those girls
23:33that was like wanted to be a little bit
23:35too cool for boy bands.
23:37But I was just talking to someone about this the other day
23:40that they were like, oh, I was a backstreet person.
23:42And I was like, I think I was an NSYNC person.
23:44They hired me.
23:46And then later on they hired Justin.
23:49And it was like, they had also asked him
23:52to be the music supervisor.
23:54And they like came to me and they were like,
23:57what do you think about that?
23:58Is that, or I mean, is that cool with you?
24:01As though I was gonna be like, I don't know guys.
24:04So it was like, yeah, that's very exciting.
24:07Like, you know, one of the most talented recording artists
24:11is gonna be like, well, I guess it was also a little scary.
24:15Cause you know, he would be there doing,
24:17he like was the vocal producer.
24:19So he was there watching me, watching me sing.
24:24But that was nerve wracking, but very, very cool.
24:28A simple favor.
24:35Did you just take my picture?
24:37I'm yearbook mom.
24:38Did I ask you to take my picture?
24:40Erase it.
24:41Oh, you look really chic.
24:42It's just for faces and places,
24:44just for the other parents.
24:45Erase it.
24:46Or I slap a fucking injunction on your yearbook.
24:48Do you understand?
24:49Yeah, okay.
24:50I mean, honestly, that was another one,
24:52like Scott Pilgrim where you're like,
24:55this feels very contradictory.
24:58And like, I'm not totally sure what the tone is.
25:01So every day you were kind of like,
25:04I hope this is something that is close to what he wants.
25:07And like, really it wasn't until I saw the finished movie
25:11that I was like, oh, holy shit.
25:15Because the entire time you're going like,
25:17well, you know, there's,
25:19this is like a murder mystery movie.
25:21And are we playing the murder mystery?
25:24Like it's funny because it's a comedy movie,
25:28but are the murders funny?
25:30Like we're in the movie Clue or something?
25:32And then you see it and you're like,
25:33I don't know how this man made this work,
25:35but I've really never seen anything quite like it.
25:38And I really like hats off to him
25:41because you really think that so many of the scenes
25:45are so funny.
25:46I guess it wasn't so much like flipping a coin
25:51and trying to figure out like,
25:52are you gonna play this serious?
25:54And am I gonna play this here?
25:55Like, it was almost sort of like
25:57doing like a little bit of a grab bag in take one,
26:00and then just like, you know,
26:02coiling and waiting for Paul to give us a direction.
26:07It was just, it was really like an exercise in trust
26:11because there were so many times where it was just like,
26:14I don't know how this is gonna work.
26:16And then, you know, just being like, okay,
26:21I guess I'll just sort of trust fall
26:25and do, you know, go off of Paul's direction
26:30and then, you know, just spend the evening in bed going,
26:35did that scene work today?
26:36Just staring up at the ceiling.
26:37So yeah, that was about it.
26:38And then like a year later I saw the movie
26:40and I was like, oh, great.
26:40Oh, fantastic.
26:43Woman of the Hour.
26:46The one thing I've learned is
26:48no matter what words they use,
26:49the question beneath the question remains the same.
26:55All right.
26:56What's the question?
26:58Which one of you will hurt me?
27:01You just have to clear the most.
27:05I actually just recently kind of put something together,
27:09which is that I think I was a,
27:11had like a passing interest in true crime,
27:14like as I think many people do.
27:16And then, you know, some things went down in my life.
27:20I got out of an abusive relationship
27:22and I noticed that when I would come across
27:25true crime content,
27:27I would be really, really consumed by it.
27:30I think the thing that kicked it off
27:31was the Chris Watts case.
27:33You don't see any warning signs
27:35and then they just are not the person
27:36that you thought that they were.
27:38That desire to figure out why
27:43dangerous people do what they do
27:45and to figure out if there's a way to keep yourself safe
27:50ended up making true crime a lot more compelling to me.
27:54There was almost something that happened
27:56when I signed on to do the movie
27:58where I would find myself
28:02wanting to get deeper and deeper into this killer
28:07and what was going on with him and what made him tick.
28:10And I would kind of get obsessive about it
28:12and then realize,
28:14not only is that not gonna get me anywhere,
28:17I don't think that's what matters to the viewer either.
28:20And that staying with the experience
28:23of the people who are impacted by these things,
28:25the victims, the women that were, you know,
28:29so changed by their, you know,
28:34unfortunate proximity to this person,
28:36that's really where any answers
28:41and any healing would actually lie.
28:43I feel kind of embarrassed about this,
28:45but I think that I jumped onto this moving train
28:50where like I was pitching myself to direct
28:53and then six weeks later I was in Canada,
28:56like doing hard pre-production
28:59and it was like kind of the worst circumstances
29:04you could attempt to be a first time director in.
29:06But I also think like, if I'm being honest with myself,
29:09I think that there was part of me
29:11that was doing that so that if it was a total disaster,
29:15I could tell myself that it would have been fine
29:18if the circumstances hadn't been so difficult.
29:20Like on the one hand, I am kind of a psycho
29:23and I do like a challenge and sometimes I do think like,
29:25I make myself, I make things harder for myself on purpose
29:28and I don't know what that's about.
29:29I know that if the movie had shot
29:32in like six months down the line,
29:34I would have been like, you guys, I don't,
29:36I'm not the person,
29:38like you should get someone with more experience,
29:39like they'll know how to do it better.
29:41And it was almost like, well, I wouldn't be able to back out
29:45if I pitched myself to direct this movie.
29:48Like I think I know a secret about this script
29:51that maybe the writer doesn't even know.
29:52Like a very weird feeling of like,
29:57I just feel so connected to something about this story
30:00and it feels so emotionally resonant to me
30:03that I think that, you know,
30:05hopefully we can make something like entertaining,
30:07compelling, let's say.
30:09And have something that might have meaning to the viewer
30:17cause I know that it has meaning for me.