Although actors take on many faces and tell many stories through them on screen, at the end of the day it is still them going through the whole process, and The White Lotus star Haley Lu Richardson can relate to that entirely. As the dancer-turned-actor said in a recently shared In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast episode that she tends to feel a lot of things on a personal level.
Sometimes, even the emotions of the characters she is trying to portray, which is why it can get really hard for her to continuously keep working on intense projects. In fact, this was the main reason she had to let go of the movie that earned Florence Pugh her National Society of Film Critics Best Actress award.
Haley Lu Richardson’s struggles with acting
Richardson mentioned in the podcast that she actually found acting through her dance. She explained, “The first time I really felt like I was acting was actually through dance. Now when I think about: What is my [acting] process? It is such an internal thing. It’s in my body; it’s listening to music.”
And this might be the main reason why she struggles with separating the character’s emotions from her own so much. Haley Lu Richardson further added,
“When people say, ‘Don’t take [rejection] personally,’ that only goes so far. Because, truly, acting is [personal]. It’s your body, it’s your emotions, it’s your voice, it’s your ability, it’s your energy. It’s all of these things. This is something that I’ve gotten over or found peace a little bit more with auditioning. Or even if I just don’t get a job or if it goes to someone else, this is something I found more peace with at this point in my life. So it does get better!”
However, The White Lotus actress also mentioned that the process of embodying these characters always puts her in a vulnerable position, having to show off raw emotions all the time. She noted,
“How do I show up to the work that I do when the whole point of the work that I do is being vulnerable, and being ready to give and play with my emotions disguised as this other person’s emotions? How do I show up to that work without—if there’s another external problem on set—letting it just destroy me, because I’m in this extremely vulnerable, exposed emotional space?”
And this has translated into her career choices vividly according to her. And although she’s still trying to figure out the balance between herself and the characters she plays, it has already cost her a role that she still regrets letting go of.
Haley Lu Richardson’s biggest regret is Midsommar
According to the actress, she was approached first for the groundbreaking movie Midsommar, which not only garnered massive critical appraisal but also ruled that year’s award season. It was her performance in Split as Clair Benoit that attracted the filmmakers and made them think that she would be a perfect fit for the role of Dani that will eventually go to Florence Pugh.
However, it was because of Split that she rejected the idea completely without even meeting the filmmakers for the project.
She explained, “They wanted to meet me…. I had actually done “Split,” I think, a year or two before. And I was like, I don’t want to do another disturbing movie right now. I just don’t have it in me, going around and crying at these disturbing things. It wasn’t something that I wanted, and I felt really strongly about that.” As a result, she didn’t even go to the meeting, but now regrets her decision.
Although she has tried to make her peace with it, especially because of how iconic it turned out to be with Florence Pugh’s marvelous performance, whom she considers to be an amazing actress, it still seems to haunt her.
She elaborated saying, “It was such a well-written, creepy script. I actually still haven’t seen the movie because I kind of can’t bring myself to watch it.” However, she seems to think that there is a reason behind everything happening and is hopeful that one day there will be a chance for her to bring her acting capabilities into the limelight fully once again.
The White Lotus is available for streaming on Hulu.
Source: Backstage
