The Oscar winner — who worked with Russell on Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, and Joy — also reacts to Amy Adams’ infamous claim that Russell made her cry on the set of American Hustle, and how she compared Lawrence to “Teflon.”
Jennifer Lawrence is opening up about her experience working with director David O. Russell.
During an appearance on The New York Times’ The Interview podcast, the 35-year-old Oscar winner addressed Russell’s controversial directing style, in which he’s been accused of being verbally abusive towards actors and crew, while also sharing her reaction to her American Hustle co-star Amy Adams’ past claims about the filmmaker.
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Podcast host Lulu Garcia-Navarro brought up how Adams claimed that Russell made her cry on the set of the 2013 film, and how she compared Lawrence to “Teflon.”
“I was really just devastated on set,” Adams told GQ in 2016. “I mean, not every day, but most. Jennifer doesn’t take any of it on. She’s Teflon. And I am not Teflon. But I also don’t like to see other people treated badly.. It’s not ok with me. Life to me is more important than movies. It really taught me how to separate work and home. Because I was like, I cannot bring this experience home with me to my daughter.”
When Garcia-Navarro asked Lawrence about Adams’ comments about how she reacted to Russell’s directing style, Lawrence replied, “I didn’t [take any of it on.] I really felt like with David that was his way of communicating in a non-bulls–t way. I never felt like he was degrading or yelling at me. If he didn’t like something, he was just like: ‘That was terrible. Looked like s–t. Do it better.’ And that was a very helpful conversation. … ‘How so?’ ‘I don’t know. Slower? Not so loud?’ I’m not sensitive. I don’t know how you can be in this industry.”
As for Adams, Lawrence said, “Maybe he was harder on her than he was on me. I don’t know,” before walking back on her previous comments about being sensitive. “I mean, yes, of course I’m sensitive. I’m really sensitive. I don’t even know why I said that. I’m so sensitive. I can’t believe I just said that.”
During an interview with GQ in 2022, Lawrence and Adams’ American Hustle co-star Christian Bale indirectly addressed Russell’s alleged controversial treatment of his cast and crew while sharing his experience working with the director on 2010’s The Fighter and Amsterdam, along with American Hustle.
When asked about his experience on Russell’s sets, Bale said, “If I can have some sense of understanding of where it’s coming from, then I do tend to attempt to be a mediator. That’s just in my nature, to try to say, ‘Hey, come on, let’s go and sit down and figure that out. There’s gotta be a way of making this all work.'”
He then confirmed reports that he jumped in as a “mediator” on the set of American Hustle, and came to Adams’ defense.
“You’re dealing with two such incredible talents there. No, I don’t let that get in the way whatsoever. Look, if I feel like we got anywhere close — and you only ever get somewhere close to achieving; our imagination is too incredible to ever entirely achieve it — but if you get anywhere close to it, and when you’re working with people of the crazy creative talent of Amy or of David, there are gonna be upsets. But they are f–king phenomenal.”
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“Also, you got to remember, it was the nature of the characters as well,” he added. “Right? Those characters were not people who back down from anything, right?”
Bale noted that Adams has previously said American Hustle “can live on” despite her experience with Russell, before sharing how he feels about how he handled the situation looking back. The star — who played Irving Rosenfeld in the film — said, “I did what I felt was appropriate, in very Irv style.”
Lawrence, meanwhile, praised working with Bale during her interview on the NYT podcast.
“Christian Bale changed me a lot, too, in American Hustle,” she said. “I was 23 and very sensitive about getting embarrassed in front of the crew. I thought acting was embarrassing. And so I would make a point of not acting until I absolutely had to, at ‘action.’ But then I would see Christian. When the crew started getting ready, the lights started getting ready, and it became clear we were going to start rolling soon, he would slowly start getting ready. I was like, That seems like a good idea and I should do that when I’m more mature and can handle people looking at me and being like, ‘Pshh, she’s acting.'”
Lawrence, Bale, and Adams were all nominated for Oscars at the 2014 Academy Awards for their performances in American Hustle, which received 10 nominations overall. Meanwhile, both Lawrence and Bale won their first Oscars for their work in Russell’s films, Silver Linings Playbook and The Fighter, respectively.
