Six powerhouse actresses gathered for The Hollywood Reporter’s intimate Drama Actress Roundtable, sharing raw insights on vulnerability, grief, and the courage to bare it all on screen. Jennifer Lawrence, Cynthia Erivo, Jessie Buckley, Amanda Seyfried, Laura Dern, and Renate Reinsve discussed their latest films amid laughs, tears, and unexpected musical moments.
Key Films Spotlighted
Jennifer Lawrence stars in Die My Love, a tense drama where her first-day nude scene with Robert Pattinson set an intense tone of primal conflict. “Our first day was a naked scene where we were attacking each other like tigers,” she revealed, noting it broke the ice effectively. Cynthia Erivo returns as Elphaba in Wicked: For Good, emphasizing personal autonomy in her choices: “Our yeses and our nos are our own. The choice to do what I wanted was always there, it’s just louder now.”
Jessie Buckley brings emotional depth to Hamnet, advocating for unfiltered authenticity: “I don’t want to wear a mask, I want all the shadowy bits to show.” Her raw approach left co-star Erivo “always concerned” while watching her films. Amanda Seyfried tackles faith and family in The Testament of Ann Lee, admitting discomfort in dance sequences, while Laura Dern explores divorce dynamics in Is This Thing On? and complicated fatherhood in Jay Kelly.
Themes of Exposure and Trust
The conversation delved into the intimacy of performance, with common threads of grief, motherhood, and flawed father figures across their roles—from Reinsve’s narcissistic dad in Sentimental Value to Erivo’s megalomaniac in Wicked. Dern stressed collaboration: “You want people to be your true teammates and partners,” highlighting trust’s role in bold work.
Reinsve noted instincts sharpen with experience: “The signals you get from inside yourself about what is right are really small in the beginning and get stronger.” The group agreed true art thrives on contradiction and honesty, even in discomfort.
Lighthearted Highlights
Erivo disclosed her synesthesia, linking music to colors, prompting Lawrence to lead an impromptu, discordant group hum—joined by Seyfried, Dern, Buckley, and Reinsve. Buckley praised workshopping backstories for films like hers, fostering deep bonds.
This roundtable underscores 2025’s awards contenders embracing complexity, signaling a bold era for female-led stories that refuse to hide the shadows.
