“I have such a visceral memory of it”: the scene Amy Adams called her “one regret”
It might seem like a prerequisite of the job, but for an actor to truly succeed, they need to possess an impressive amount of range, and that’s something you can say about Amy Adams, who can really do it all, from epic sci-fi to family-friendly musicals.
The actor actually started her film career in a few rather campy dark comedies, like Drop Dead Gorgeous and Psycho Beach Party, and you’d think she was heading for a career in low-budget indie flicks, which she swiftly put to bed with a successful dip into Hollywood in a role alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can. Adams demonstrated her ability to thrive in blockbuster films, a far cry from the John Waters-esque titles she had picked as her gateway into the industry.
Catch Me If You Can saw Adams play Brenda, a nurse, who becomes the object of DiCaprio’s affection, although their romance is short-lived. Her role is incredibly important, and it marked a huge step up from a minor supporting character as a sorority girl in the bizarre indie Pumpkin.
Since being unused to these big productions packed with huge stars like Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken, it was here that she made a mistake that she calls her “one regret”, although it’s hardly that bad in the grand scheme of things.
Reflecting on shooting a pivotal scene, Adams admitted to Vanity Fair, “There’s this beautiful moment. He’s climbed out the window, we’re making plans. There’s like lace, and it’s beautifully lit. And I have such a visceral memory of it. And then the dollar bills kept hitting Leo in the face, like in the middle of the face. And of course that’s the time I decided that that was the funniest thing.”
Sometimes, the chuckles rear teeth during the most inappropriate moments, and the pressure of having to be serious makes it even harder to keep a straight face. Even though she was delaying the shot, “I just collapsed into giggles on the set with Steven Spielberg. I’m like holding up production ’cause I cannot get it together. ‘Cause every time a dollar bill hits him in the face, I’m like, that’s it. I just, I don’t know why. Just watching him get hit.”
It’s hard to be professional at times; everyone has been there, but the stakes surely feel much higher when you’ve got DiCaprio opposite you and Spielberg behind the camera. Adams managed to deliver the scene in the end, of course, but not after various laughter-fuelled takes.
“That is my one regret, although it’s not so bad. But I did have to pull it together. I think he got to the point where he saw the humour in it, and I think it was the one that landed directly, but he stayed super focused, which then I thought was even funnier,” she admitted.
