Jennifer Lawrence, Viola Davis Talk Being Woman Action Movie Lead

Lawrence added she felt an “awesome responsibility” with the four Hunger Games films because of its young audience. She said that there had been a conversation regarding how much weight she would lose for the role, and she worried about younger girls feeling like they couldn’t dress up as Katniss if they weren’t a certain weight.

“And I can’t let that seep into my brain either,” Lawrence said. “When Hunger Games was out, I couldn’t really be an observer of life because everybody was observing me. I could feel my craft suffering. And I didn’t know how to fix it.”

In response to that feeling, Lawrence said she started to accept roles that “spoke” to her no matter how daunting, like her new film Causeway, in which she plays a US soldier who is slowly readjusting to life back home after suffering a traumatic brain injury in Afghanistan.

Davis said she sees herself and Lawrence as the same type of actor despite their differences in age and appearance. Beyond the technical proficiency of Lawrence’s acting, Davis said she’s drawn by the life Lawrence brings into each role.

“Which is the depth of human experience, the minutiae of it, the joy of it, the tragedy of it, the paradox and contradiction of it in every moment. And that’s what you’re supposed to do as an actress,” Davis said. “And I think that’s why people are moved by your performances.”

“I don’t feel worthy to be in the same room as you, but please continue,” Lawrence joked. “Your performance in Fences changed my life.”

Davis added that everything actors do is to help people feel less alone.

“We’re living in a world now where we’re so disconnected from ourselves,” she said, “that we can’t connect with other people.”