Jennifer Lawrence names her favourite book of all time
Jennifer Lawrence’s cinematic history is incredibly broad. While probably best known for her role in The Hunger Games, the actor has mastered the worlds of mainstream cinema, arthouse and horrors. From her chilling role in Mother! to her laugh-a-minute performance in Hard Feelings, it often seems that Lawrence can do it all.
Lawrence found her way to Hollywood when a talent scout spotted her in Union Square while she was on a field trip to New York. After pestering her parents to allow her to work with an agent and start pursuing her passion for acting more seriously, Lawrence quickly became the new darling of the indie film scene. Her role in Winter’s Bone, a mysterious take on a coming-of-age film, put her on the map, and soon after, she had her pick of the projects.
A quick look through her acting credits and you’ll see Lawrence is revealed as a jack of all trades. Interested in off-the-cuff characters that are often outspoken, it seems like the intricacies of humans interest the actor on a deeper level.
Offering a peek behind the curtain of her creative inspirations, Lawrence revealed the books and films she loves. In conversation with Vogue, she shared her favourite book, which inspired her greatly. “I feel like a pretentious prick for saying it, but it really is my favourite book,” Lawrence jokes about her selection. Picking out Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina as her favourite book, a Russian classic that provides a wealth of inspiration.
Dealing with love, faith, betrayal and marriage, Anna Karenina is considered one of the greatest novels ever written. Second to War And Peace, Anna Karenina is another masterpiece from Tolstoy, dealing more clearly with affairs of the heart rather than social or political issues.
For Lawrence, it is the writing that appeals, adding, “Like that quote that goes, ‘Respect fills the empty place where love should be’? If I had a Myspace, I’d do that as my ad.”
As the main character in the novel becomes involved in a love triangle, having an extramarital affair and eventually leaving her husband, the dramatic writing makes an epic out of an ordinary feeling. Clearly impacting her portrayal of Katniss Everdeen in the later Hunger Games movies or her brooding role in Silver Linings Playbook, it seems Tolstoy provided a wealth of inspiration.
