Anxiety is a “selfish condition,” actress Emma Stone noted while talking about her character in the Oscar-nominated film “Poor Things.”
Stone, 35, portrayed Bella Baxter in the film – who seems to have no shame regarding anyone’s opinion of her.
“I think that’s why I was so crazy about her,” Stone told Variety. “It’s the idea of not living with that self-judgment or shame, as you say, or the social contracts that you make as a child growing up.”
“And part of the nature of anxiety is that you’re always watching yourself,” she continued. “In some ways – this is horrible to say – it’s a very selfish condition to have. Not to insult other people with anxiety – I still have it – but it’s because you’re thinking about yourself a lot. You’re thinking about, ‘What’s going to happen to me? What have I said? What have I done?'”
VERSATILE ACTING MOMENTS OF THE EVER-FUNNY AMERICAN ACTRESS EMMA STONE
“Whereas Bella’s way of approaching the world, it’s just about experience. It’s just about how she feels about things.”
“Poor Things” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September and hit U.S. theaters on Dec. 8. Stone explained the character was nothing like she’d ever played before, while accepting one of the top awards at the Golden Globes.
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“I think it was removing life experiences more than tapping into life experiences,” Stone said in the press room about drawing inspiration from her own life.
“She was a character unlike anything I’d ever played or read or seen before,” she continued. “It was about unlearning things more than tapping into things from my past, which was really beautiful and very freeing.”
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“Poor Things” received 11 Oscars nominations – including Stone for best actress in a leading role. The film is also nominated for best picture and best adapted screenplay, among others.
“Eleven nominations for ‘Poor Things’ feels like a surreal dream,” Stone said via ABC. “I am beyond grateful to the Academy for including me as both an actress and producer among this group of exceptional nominees and for recognizing our film in so many categories.”
