The genre Emma Stone wants nothing to do with: “The one thing I don’t ever need to go into”
There are certain actors who really are a jack of all trades, shapeshifting into all sorts of characters just like that, no matter the genre. As versatile as some actors might be though, there are those who refuse to participate in certain genres simply out of personal preference, and Emma Stone is one who has a certain kind of film she never wants to touch.
When the actor emerged in Hollywood, she was known for her quirky comedy roles, appearing as a supporting character in the beloved teen movie Superbad before leading the rather similar Easy A, both time capsules of a specific era of American teen comedy that Stone practically helped define.
Yet, in the coming years, she soon began to find acclaim in some more lauded pieces of cinema, like the Oscar-winning dark satire Birdman and of course the musical La La Land, which earned Stone her first Academy Award.
Now, with her frequent collaborations with Yorgos Lanthimos, one of which won her another Oscar for Poor Things, Stone is one of the biggest actors currently dominating Hollywood, a truly authentic star who has found her footing with an array of ambitious projects.
Despite the fact she has gone fully nude, put herself in some incredibly bizarre scenarios for the sake of cinema, and even took on the challenging role of Sally Bowles in a Broadway production of Cabaret, there’s one thing Stone never wants to do.
Don’t ever expect Stone to appear in a high fantasy movie, because she’s not exactly a big fan of the genre. The closest she has ever come to fantasy is arguably Poor Things, but it’s not exactly a film where elves and strange creatures can be found, which is something that Stone isn’t remotely interested in.
She got a taste of this high fantasy Lord of the Rings world when she had to dress up as Legolas for an episode of Maniac, and she couldn’t take the costume off quick enough. While her character says, “It’s fucking fantasy! It’s my least favorite genre!,” it seems like Stone was likely having similar thoughts as she delivered the lines.
Talking to Bustle, the actor revealed, “When they gave me the script for the elf episode, I was like, ‘No, no, no. Here’s the one thing that I don’t ever really need to go into.’ And they were like, ‘Well, that’s how we’re going to tell the story!’ And I was like, ‘No, no, no. Guys, is there anything we can do that would be different?’”
But it’s often the case that actors have little choice in a project’s creative direction, so all Stone could do was wear the elf ears and get on with it. It’s safe to say that Stone won’t be starring in any Lord of the Rings related media anytime soon, nor will she be endeavouring into any other high fantasy worlds.
While many people are devout fans of the fantasy genre, it’s just not something that appeals to Stone, who prefers to find herself reckoning with the real world on screen.
