Brie Larson's latest film, Free Fire, is a lot to take in. The movie (in theaters now) is basically one big shootout for 90 minutes. But unlike other action films that glorify gun violence, Free Fire hopes to make a case for gun control—one of the main reasons the Academy Award–winning actress signed on to the film. Another? As the lone female character in the movie, she's not playing the tough girl in charge, something she's totally fine with. "Lately a 'strong, badass' female character in an action movie means you're basically a man," Larson tells Glamour. That's fine sometimes, says the actress, "but there's more to that conversation. A quieter strength is interesting [as well]."
A quiet strength can also be used to describe Larson. Through moments like her revealing social media posts and her reaction to Casey Affleck's Oscar win, the 27-year-old has been letting her actions do the talking. "I’m just one draft of me right now," she says. "We want people to stay the same, but growth is everything."
And after an extraordinary few years, Larson certainly knows something about that. Here, she explains why.
Glamour: Free Fire is such a departure from anything you've done. What made you say yes to this role?
Brie Larson: That’s part of it, which is just wanting to play different roles and show different sides of myself for what it means to be a woman in the world. Part of it is that [my character] Justine represents something in an action movie that I find interesting, which is someone who’s not trying to be assertive or flashy or badass or strong or aggressive. She's actually quite quiet and reserved and trying to keep everything chill. I am fascinated lately that a “strong, badass” female character in an action movie means you’re basically a man…. It’s a man’s role, but you just have it played by a woman and people are like, “Wow, this is amazing.” It’s not not amazing; I know there’s more to that conversation than just that. So being able to play [a role] that is more subdued, that’s a different kind of quieter strength, was interesting to me.
Also, film has this long history of glorifying and idolizing violence and action and guns as being something that’s innately cool. I love the idea of doing a movie that is so human; it’s just not cool. The reality of shooting someone or crawling on the floor…it’s not cool. So being able to be part of a film that takes a more human look at what’s happening and what we’ve done in film to perpetuate that concept was really interesting to me. The fact that there’s humor makes it easier to digest.
Glamour: When you and I first spoke three years ago, the title of our interview was “Meet Brie Larson, the Rising Star of 2014”
BL: I’m going to make a button of myself: "Glamour Magazine’s Rising Star of 2014.”
Glamour: At the time you said, "My stock has risen this year, but who knows what next year might bring? It might crash!” Clearly, it did not.
BL: I still might say that! It might crash next year!
Glamour: Does it help to maintain some sort of cynicism about this industry because it keeps you grounded?
BL: Cynicism sounds like I’m expecting something bad to happen. It’s not that. I would say it’s like having a healthy expectation. As crazy as it was for all these great things to happen [the last few years], there’s an equal chance that something is going to fall or falter. It’s just the way life goes. Good times and bad times.
Glamour: As your career has ascended, what’s something you enjoy more about the business now? And what’s been something of a downside?
BL: I’ve learned to enjoy all of it more than I did back when we first spoke. I think everything was so new; it felt like my whole world was changing or collapsing. I didn’t know if it was collapsing or being built. No one can really talk to you about what’s happening to you. It’s a very personal experience to feel like everything around you is changing. Now at least I feel I went through that and feel more comfortable with the changes. And the downside? I really like listening to people, and, especially on days when I do press all the time, I don’t get to listen to other people. It’s about me having answers when I innately know that I don’t have any answers. I fear becoming someone that people pay attention to what I say because I’m a flawed individual like everybody else.
Glamour: I love that you’re not afraid to put yourself out there on social media. Do you hope to relay any messages through them?
BL: There’s not a master plan, but…the thing I’m sure I struggled with when we were first talking [in 2014] is the idea of being seen for so long. The reason I always play very different characters is my way of continuing to be in movies and never actually revealing myself. Once Short Term 12 came out, what immediately changed was I needed to become a person that people knew about and people could say specifically they knew certain things about me. That really was painful for me because I wanted to be anonymous, and that’s just not a reality to what I’m doing. But what I’ve taken comfort in is realizing that no public can ever get to know me quicker than I’m changing. So, as quickly as what you think you know about me, it’s changed. It’s gone. I’m learning something from my life, something drastic has happened that other people don’t know about, or I’m playing a character that is taking me down a rabbit hole that is teaching me something new or reminded me of something from my past. There’s actually no end to who I am. Because of that, I feel comfortable with sharing certain aspects of myself because you go, "You think that I’m this together, complete person right now, but I’m just one draft of me." Look at this person that thought I was complete 10 years ago wearing a Von Dutch hat. I can’t imagine wearing a Von Dutch hat now! But that was me!
Free Fire is in theaters now.
