Shailene Woodley‘s role in ‘Big Little Lies’ is one of the biggest highlights of her career as an actress. Her role as Jane Chapman contributed a lot to the series and ended up giving her first-ever Emmy nomination.
But as it turns out, the ‘Fault In Our Stars‘ actress had nearly turned down the role. Here’s how Laura Dern motivated her to pick it up, and how that piece of advice changed her life.
Shailene Woodley Thanks Laura Dern For Motivating Her To Take On ‘Big Little Lies’ Role
Shailene Woodley talked about how she nearly turned down the role of Jane Chapman in the series because she had a trip to India planned on a journey of self-discovery and peace. The actress, speaking to Vanity Fair, said, “I got a call, I’ll never forget it. It was November or October of 2015.”
” I was really sick at the time and I was not at all exhausted by acting or the artistry and the craft of storytelling, but I was really exhausted by the act of Hollywood,” she added.
“And I got a call about Big Little Lies because Jean-Marc Vallée — our beautiful creator, director, who has since passed — had wanted me to play Jane. And I was desperate to work with him, I thought he was such an incredible artist and filmmaker. But I was really dead-set on ‘finding myself,’” she said.
Related: Why Shailene Woodley Wanted To Quit Acting
She then talked about how a phone call from Laura Dern changed her decision as she continued, “And she just said, ‘Listen, I know where you’re at in your life. I’ve been there before too. It’s a lot. This world is an illusion, but what isn’t an illusion is what you love to do. And what I see in you, Shai, is your purpose — at least in this moment in your life — is to be a storyteller. And I think it’s a massive mistake for you to walk away from this opportunity that you really should lean into,’”
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Shailene added, “It was because of that call that I decided to leave India and come back to the United States, and it forever changed my life. And so, in so many ways, I’m grateful for Laura, but that was a massive moment of courageous friendship to say, ‘I think that you’re making a mistake and I’m gonna be brave enough to tell you why, cause I really see you and I see something you can’t see in your own life right now.’”
Shailene Woodley’s Role In ‘Big Little Lies’
Shailene Woodley portrayed one of the main protagonists in the show — Jane Chapman. The actress also talked about how the actors have remained friends off-screen and have continued to be on good terms.
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“The beautiful thing about Big Little Lies is that we’re all actually friends in real life,” said Woodley. “We have a text chain going and it’s constantly a check-in, every few weeks, ‘Hey, what’s the update?’ ‘It’s still happening.’ I keep being told that there’s going to be a season 3, but I haven’t read anything yet.”
The show is available to stream on HBO
