Interviewing Jordana Brewster
Beautiful Actress Knows Hollywood is a Tough and Unpredictable Game
Jul 27, 2009
Diesel's anti-hero returns home after a deal goes bad, battered and bruised with a price on his head. Brother and sister are reunited in love but Mia is saddened to see the violent world he inhabits. She never wavers in her love and support for him. We asked Brewster how she helped Mia fit in.
JB - She doesn’t fit in which is the point. There was a contrast. She didn’t choose that world and wouldn’t have except for her brother. She’s so loyal to her brother. But she’s no longer the wilting wallflower she was in the original. She didn't speak her mind like she does in this one. She was a lot more fun to play this time.
AB - There is a treat at the end for the fans. What kind of training have you done for the third Fast and Furious outing?
JB – I am going to start driving or learn to drive stick but I haven’t yet because I'm frankly a little bit afraid. I’m not that coordinated and you have to concentrate on so many things all at once. But I definitely want to. It’s also fun exploring that side of her character, reconciling her values with what she has to do. There is nothing official yet, but I hope we’ll make another film.
AB - What's on the horizon for you now?
JB - I don’t know. There are tons of things I’d like to do - a romantic comedy or really get into action films. I was a bad girl in Chuck. That was really fun. Now I’m reading a lot of scripts. Things have picked up a little bit after the strike.
AB – It’s a tough business and the writer’s strike didn’t help, did it?
JB - The only time I feel like I’m I the wrong profession is, well, I love structure and control, I go right out of my mind where I have no control. If I’m talking to a kid who wants to act, I say that the rejection isn’t the hardest part; it’s the absolute lack of control and unpredictability. An office job might be boring but at least you know what you’re doing. Well, maybe not in this climate, but maybe in six months’ time. In my world it’s up to everyone else. There is always a lot of risk.
AB - You are well traveled and were educated at Yale, which separates you from most Hollywood actresses.
JB - My education has only helped me. I'm glad I took that time. It never occurred to me not to go to college. Why not? I worked hard to get in and why would I throw that away?
AB – How do you deal with the limitations of Hollywood?
JB - Certain things are becoming more evident as I get older here, the number of roles women get and how less rich the roles are and that kind of stuff becomes clearer when you get older. It gets more frustrating. The role models who have made it work for them like Reese Witherspoon and Sandra Bullock, I’d love to produce and see if I can get into that position.
AB - Given the chance, what kind of films would you like to do? Any books you’ve read that you’d like to be in for the film version?
JB - The thing about books and book clubs is that you’re sharing your thoughts. Books are so personal! Your reactions and your version of what you think the characters are. You so often relate to a character and their weirdness and think, ‘I’m not the only one’. I’m reading the short stories of John Cheever now; they’re kind of sick and twisted. They can’t be translated into film.
AB – Why did you decide to act?
JB - Acting is tough but I decided at a really young age, fifteen, I have a huge practical side to me, to prove to myself I could do it under my parents’ roof with their emotional and financial support. I wasn’t brave enough to go to college and come out on my own and try to force my way into acting. I was practical.
AB – What inspires you?
JB - It’s weird. Some actors have this idea that they’re shy and you play it safe and vicariously experience things in characters. That appealed to me and I do think that despite the fact that there is no control, and that it can be very unpredictable, there is something appealing about that. It’s exciting, the highs and the lows. I was traveling, promoting Fast and Furious this year and it was really fun, it was unbelievable to be so blessed. It compensated for some of the lows. It makes for an interesting career.
AB – Overall, how would you advise an aspiring young person thinking of an acting career?
JB – If I had a child, I would say no, that’s the way I'd have to do it. It’s so hard. I don’t think I was 100% aware of how challenging it is and the odds against you. Ignorance! But that said, it's an incredible profession.
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