The most “dangerous” role of Renée Zellweger’s career: “I’m sure none of it was legal”
These days, Renée Zellweger is nothing short of an icon.
Her most famous alter ego is definitely Bridget Jones, the love-obsessed British girl who became cultural dynamite in the 2000s. There’s more to her career than just obsessing over Colin Firth, though. Tom Cruise had her at ‘hello’ in Jerry Maguire, she showed off her pipes in Chicago, and she won an Oscar for her portrayal of the great Judy Garland. It’s been one hell of a career.
As is the case with every actor, Zellweger had to earn her keep with a number of small roles before she found fame. Her first official movie role was in a zombie comedy called My Boyfriend’s Back, but her scenes never made it to the final cut. She had a tiny part in a bull-riding film called 8 Seconds and did the rounds in a number of forgettable TV movies and miniseries. While Jerry Maguire might have been the film that really got the ball rolling on her career, her first starring role actually came a few years before that in a very different movie – The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Also known as Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, the film was the first in the series for five years, and the third sequel to the iconic 1974 original. Zellweger was still a relative newcomer back then, having only clocked brief appearances in Dazed and Confused and Reality Bites. But this was her shot to properly show what she could do – and by all accounts, she grabbed it with both hands.
“We were just excited we had a job,” she told Morning Honey, describing her character Jenny as one of her all-time favourites. “How we pulled that off, I have no idea. I’m sure, none of it was legal. Anything we did was a little bit dangerous. But what an experience!”
Directed by original screenwriter Kim Henkel, The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre follows four teens and their encounter with Leatherface and his twisted ‘family’. Zellweger isn’t the only future star in the movie, as a young Matthew McConaughey appears in a villainous role. You’d think this would have worked in the film’s favour, but it has been speculated that it was actually suppressed in an attempt to limit any damage it would do to the rising stars’ careers. Both Zellweger and McConaughey have rejected this claim, with the former telling the San Pedro News that these claims “hurt my feelings”.
Despite a reduced release schedule and conspiracy theories flying around, the film has now found an audience. A much funnier movie than its predecessors, Return blends elements of dark comedy into its script, which some fans really enjoy. Unfortunately, this did nothing to help its reputation at the time. It grossed less than $186,000 at the box office, a number that simply doesn’t seem possible when you consider the franchise it’s attached to. There wouldn’t be another ‘Texas Chainsaw’ movie for over eight years.
The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre might not have been a hit, but Zellweger clearly still has fond memories of it. Even if she could have died while making it.
