“I’d be in a completely different place if I hadn’t found acting so early on” – Brie Larson
Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain Marvel, the first MCU film to star a female superhero as the lead. In an extensive interview with In Style, Larson looks back on her career, including how she felt after her Oscar win, and reflects on how her Captain Marvel character has influenced her mindset.
Larson began acting at a very young age, and points to acting as one of the main ways she learned on how to interact with others. She reveals, “It was a way of learning how to be a person. This is how you make eye contact. This is how you talk. This is how you hold a conversation. This is how you connect with your feelings. This is how you express yourself. I’d be in a completely different place if I hadn’t found acting so early on, because I think I really would have found comfort in my extreme shyness.”
About twenty years later, Larson was onstage at the Academy Awards accepting the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in Room. She reveals that shortly after the ceremony she called her friend Jennifer Lawrence, who also won a Best Actress Oscar at a young age. Larson remembers, “I was like, ‘I don’t feel any different. I don’t feel better about myself. I still don’t feel like I’m a good actress.’ [Lawrence] was like, ‘Oh, yeah. That’s totally normal. I’ve had the same thing. Don’t think of it like that. Think of it as, like, you got your Ph.D. You’re certified; that’s it. It doesn’t change anything. You can still f**k up. Every judge is still human.’ ”
Since it’s very likely that Larson will portray Captain Marvel in future Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, it’s good that she says that there are parts of the character that she intends to keep with her. She says, “I want to hold on to the cockiness and the sense of ownership. Because I do believe in my abilities, and I do value myself, and I do know that I’m strong, and I do know that I can do a lot of things that people don’t think I can do.”
