Jennifer Lawrence Won Her Role in ‘Winter’s Bone’ by Refusing to Wear Make-Up
Jennifer Lawrence was willing to go to great lengths to prepare for her role in Winter’s Bone. But she initially acquired the part for doing something in the auditions that most actors weren’t willing to.
How Jennifer Lawrence beat out other actors for ‘Winter’s Bone’
Lawrence was willing to do whatever it took to be cast in the feature Winter’s Bone. The 2010 drama saw the Oscar winner playing an Ozark teenager looking after her younger siblings. The movie was directed by Debra Granik, who felt Lawrence stood out immediately compared to the other actors. Granik noted that many of the actors Lawrence competed with wore makeup for the coveted role.
“I think a lot of those young women showed up in skimpy outfits because they were taught that that is what gets noticed in Hollywood,” Granik once told the Ocean County Register.
Meanwhile, Lawrence went all natural, which greatly increased her odds of nabbing the part.
“I loved that Jennifer felt strong enough about the character to show up without makeup,” the director added. “So many young women in this town are told that the only way to get ahead is to be sexy, but Jennifer, who is beautiful and sexy in real life, proved to me that her commitment and affection for this character was profound. She is in every scene in this movie, and I needed that commitment from the actress who was going to play her.”
Lawrence asserted that she ditched the make-up because she knew how special the role was, and the commitment it required.
“I thought it was the best role I’ve seen for a female in a long time. Sometimes, I see something and I’ve got to have it. And those turn out to be the only movies I book,” she said.
Jennifer Lawrence’s mom told her that she needed to be cast in ‘Winter’s Bone’ way before the movie was made
Lawrence shared that the strength and independence of her Winter’s Bone character was what drew her to the movie.
“It’s a young female protagonist that is not following around a man. She has a strength that I wish I possessed,” she said. “I love playing characters I admire because it’s like Halloween. I get to dress up like them for six weeks. The action and dialogue is so real and so unrelenting. The movie doesn’t cater to anyone. That’s the kind of movie I like. My taste in movies is not the same as other people. The movies that usually make a lot of money in this town are not the movies I like. This movie was not made to make money.”
But even before the film was on her radar, she was well aware of the story that inspired it. Her mother read the book the feature was based on, and immediately felt Lawrence was perfect for the novel’s protagonist.
“My mom read the book [by Daniel Woodrell], five, some six years ago. And when she read it she said, ‘Jennifer, if they ever make this into a movie, you’d be perfect for it.’ And you know, I didn’t listen to her, because she’s my mother, but five years later I got the script and the audition,” Lawrence once said according to Interview.
Jennifer Lawrence was deemed ‘too pretty’ for ‘Winter’s Bone’
It turned out that Lawrence’s refusal to wear make-up was also a calculated move by the actor. She auditioned for the role twice in LA, and she was turned down. Even though she wore no make-up throughout all of her auditions, she was told she simply didn’t look the part.
“They said I was too pretty,” she said.
But Lawrence wouldn’t take no for answer, and forced the film’s team to give her another audition back in New York.
“I told them I was flying to New York and they had to see me. I just showed up when they were auditioning other girls,” she said.
