Renée Zellweger on Oscar buzz, strong female characters and the lessons to take from her latest role in Judy

October 18, 2019 Off By HotelSalesCareers

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18th Oct 2019

It’s fair to say Renée Zellweger is one of Hollywood’s chameleons. She has transformed into a dowdy, unlucky-in-love heroine in Bridget Jones, a blonde bombshell (as Roxie Hart in ), and won an Oscar—for the period drama, —in the process.

Wearing a form-fitting, one-shoulder dress, Zellweger, 50, is back in full movie star mode, this time for yet another reinvention: as tragic screen legend Judy Garland in . 

From to , the roles Zellweger plays are defined by a certain strength of character, despite their flaws. And Zellweger likes that about them, that they’re not perfect. “I like women who are contradictions, women who are original in some way, you know?” Zellweger tells , in her softly-spoken Texan drawl. 

“That I feel some kind of connection [to] in some way, the story of the character. Some of them I think have character flaws that are defining,” the actress continues. 

is a biopic about Garland’s final months, told in part via flashbacks to her earlier career, as she performed sold-out live shows in London in the lead-up to her untimely death from an accidental overdose in 1969. Known for her distinctive singing voice () and acting roles in classics like , Garland was a child star-turned-actress who battled alcoholism and addiction. She was the product of Hollywood’s “studio system” where stars, particularly women, were controlled and treated as commodities. 

“You have to consider the time when she entered into her professional career, as a child, indoctrinated into the studio system, as it were,” Zellweger says, as she reflects on Garland’s career (she calls her the “greatest entertainer who ever lived”). 

“The systems were in place that nobody questioned, where women had no agency (power) to participate in the decisions that were being made for them,” Zellweger says.

While her experience in Hollywood has been very different to Garland’s, Zellweger has also seen the ugly side of fame. In 2014, Zellweger—who at the time had retreated from the glare of Hollywood—was the subject of harsh internet commentary about her appearance. “Renée Zellweger’s face” became a topic of tabloid fodder and there was a lot of speculation about cosmetic surgery. 

Zellweger responded via a scathing first-person piece in titled, “We Can Do Better”, where she blasted “low-brow” journalism and the “exploitative headlines” and “cowardly cruelty” around the discussions about her physical appearance. “Not that it’s anyone’s business, but I did not make a decision to alter my face and have surgery on my eyes,” she wrote. Continuing: “It’s no secret a woman’s worth has historically been measured by her appearance.”

Re-reading Zellweger’s essay leads me to think of Garland and what lessons Zellweger has taken from her life and the broader message of for millennial women. “If it encourages us to speak up and if it encourages us to… in some way, be the participants in the trajectory of our careers, and determine them for ourselves, if we have the opportunity to do it, we gotta take advantage of it,” Zellweger tells . 

When asked how she feels about her performance already being the subject of Oscar chatter in the lead-up to awards season, Zellweger is quick to brush it off. “I don’t think about that. I’m on the inside of this experience, you know?” the actress says. Adding: “It’s a blessing to be part of that celebration of her and her legacy, so I mean that’s treasure isn’t it?”

Of course it is. Although, surely another Oscar isn’t too far away?

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