Michelle Williams Starred In ‘The Greatest Showman’ Because She Needed a Break From Intense Dramas
Even the most celebrated actors are at risk of being typecast. And Michelle Williams is no exception to this tendency. She is a gifted and multifaceted performer, but most of her best roles occur in probing dramas about women in difficult circumstances. But she needs a reprieve from these movies every now and then. Michelle Williams would not have been the first choice of many people to be in The Greatest Showman, but she had an understandable reason for joining the film.
The actor has spent most of her career portraying women in strife
Williams’ first big break was as part of the ensemble in Dawson’s Creek. But she quickly found her lane as an actor in more sensitive fare, starting with her work in Brokeback Mountain, which earned her the first of her four current Oscar nominations.
She became a star in indie movies, such as in her trio of films with underground filmmaker Kelly Reichardt, the romantic drama Blue Valentine, and the psychologically disturbing Synecdoche, New York. She garnered even more acclaim from critics and award shows for her performances in My Week with Marilyn and Manchester by the Sea. These movies are deeply affecting, carefully crafted, and worth seeking out. But it can be tough to sit through even the most evocative exploration of heartbreak.
‘The Greatest Showman’ let Michelle Williams take a break from serious movies that she sorely needed
Given her track record, Williams’ decision to play Charity Barnum in The Greatest Showman surprised some. But, as she explained to the NZ Herald in 2017, it was a detour she sorely needed.
“I had just finished doing a Broadway play, Blackbird. It had taken years off of my life and I wanted something else that I wouldn’t have to bleed for!” she laughed. “I needed a break from doing intense dramatic roles and this was the perfect project. Another great thing about it was that we shot the film in Brooklyn (New York), so I was 10 minutes from home. It was so great to be making a film that I will be able to take my daughter’s Girl Scout troop to see!”
Matilda Ledger and her friends weren’t begging to see something like Blackbird. The play centers on a woman confronting an older man for sexually abusing her when she was 12. Williams was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play off the back of this performance. But it’s easy to see why she wanted her next role to be lighter and more purely entertaining.
“I find that singing and dancing is a direct path to joy. And I just wanted more of it, that’s why I wanted to make the film,” Williams told the newspaper. “Singing is natural for me. I don’t know if I’m the greatest in the world at it, but I just love it!”
She’s stuck a healthier balance in her roles since
Williams still does plenty of serious projects. But she’s made it a point to be in less emotionally taxing work in recent years. The 2018 Amy Schumer movie I Feel Pretty marks the rare comedy in her catalog, in which she portrayed Avery LeClaire, the boss of a cosmetics company. She also appears in the Venom movies, one of the rare comic book franchises that is gleefully silly and not tied down by the future machinations of a cinematic universe.
On the more dramatic front, Williams starred in the miniseries Fosse/Verdon, winning an Emmy for her rendition of Gwen Verdon. Her next two announced roles align with most of her career.
She and Reichardt have collaborated for a fourth time in the upcoming Showing Up, where Williams will play an artist just before a career-changing exhibition. After that, she will star in The Fablemans, Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical movie about his childhood.
