“American Hustle” star Amy Adams has been recognized by both the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Broadcast Film Critics Association this season. But in both instances she was relegated to designated comedy categories and it remains to be seen whether she can crack what has for months been a rather tight lead actress Oscar line-up.
With “Hustle” moving out into wider release this past weekend and scoring well at the box office, and as the film continues to find purchase with Academy voters, she might just find a foothold. She has her fans, but she also has her detractors, many of which highlight a flailing English accent as part of the trouble. But that can also be explained away as a character trait, and as the actress told HitFix in a recent interview, it was sort of freeing to not have to be a perfectionist on that particular detail.
“A lot of people I know who are British speak that English that is kind of American, so I listened to them as well, what words would translate and what wouldn’t,” she said. “The way that David works and the way he’s like creating lines in the moment or restructuring scenes in the moment, I couldn’t have been perfect if I wanted to…Only Christian can be perfect! He really is. He’s so good.”
Indeed, Russell’s process is such that he’s consistently discovering the film, during production and all throughout post-production. But Adams embraces that process, which she has experienced with the director for a second time now after her Oscar-nominated work in 2010’s “The Fighter.”
“You can’t get caught up in any frustration,” she said. “You have to surrender and you have to lean in to his process. If you try to fight it you’re not going to accomplish the scene. I think it creates a great intensity between the characters, the way he works.”
Check out the video embedded at the top of this post for more with Adams, including how hair and makeup helped her with building the character and her manifested world.
“American Hustle” is now playing in theaters.