JORDANA BREWSTER

Driving Force

Enduring In Everything From TV To Film,  Jordana Brewster Talks 22 Years Of Fast + Furious As The Franchise Motors Through A Milestone With $7 Billion At The Box Office, Finding Flawed Female Characters To Play, And Her Wild Ride As Actor In An Ever-Changing Industry

PHOTOS BY RANDALL SLAVIN

WORDS BY TAMARA RAPPA

Listen to the extended podcast interview ---find Story + Rain Talks and Jordana Brewster's episode on Apple Podcasts Spotify, and more.

Tamara Rappa: Why did you end up attending Professional Children's School in New York City?

Jordana Brewster: I started at Sacred Heart when I was 10. My parents moved from Rio to New York, and without consulting my sister and I, they chose a school for us. They were  like, 'The building's beautiful, that's where we want you to go!' It was such a culture clash for both of us. I spent about five years there, and then I decided I wanted to be an actress. Growing up in Brazil, I would watch novellas, which are soap operas. Ever since I was a little kid, I'd dreamed, and I had this crazy sense of confidence, I truly believed I was the most beautiful girl in the world. [Laughs]. I see the same level of confidence and bravado in my oldest son, Julian. I really believed in myself, and I idolized actors. I liked performing in front of a mirror. I would create story lines in my head. At Sacred Heart, I was cast as Jesus [Laughs], in God's Spell.  I loved doing it. Then a friend of mine who still lives in the city talked about us going to a place where they taught us how to audition on camera and what on-camera skills looked like, called ACTeen. That's how I got my first agent. And one of the first few auditions I went on were for As The World Turns and for All My Children.

TR: You grew up watching all of those novellas, and then you ended up working in the genre. ACTeen was pretty fruitful and life-changing for you.

JB: It was. It was really life-changing, and I'm so happy I started early. To continue at Sacred Heart was unsustainable. I had this beeper, and my agent would call, who, at that time, was J. Michael Bloom...his office would page me, and I'd call them back. I remember so well; it was like a 212, 299 number. I'd get super excited, and then I'd go to the payphone on the third floor at Sacred Heart, missing class. Once I booked a job, I told my parents that I needed to find a school that would help me act.



"Ever since I was a little kid, I'd dreamed, and I had this crazy sense of confidence. I truly believed I was the most beautiful girl in the world."

TR: Fun fact: you're a direct descendant of the Mayflower passengers on your father's side.  And your mother's Brazilian, a former model. We love the connection between doing a swim story with you, and your mother modeling for Sports Illustrated swim. What stories has your mother shared with you about her time as a model, or of SI?

JB: My mom was a huge model in Brazil. Sports Illustrated was more of a fluke, in that she'd landed a feature with them that was based on models around the world. Then, she happened to get the cover. It was a huge deal. It became what everyone knows her for. I hear stories about her shooting a commercial while walking on Copacabana Beach, and there was a car crash. I hear stories about the guys she used to date, and how she would sneak out of the house; all the trouble she would get into. She's an awesome mom to have. She's also taught me so much, as far as beauty tricks go. Take your makeup off before you go to bed. Eat healthfully. All of it was very ingrained in her, which would've been anyway, as a Brazilian woman, but then also as a model.

TR: How did your parents meet?

JB: They met through my mom's stepfather. Her dad was this very charming lothario who was married five times or so. He was a great architect, and a very charming guy. He always had his shirt unbuttoned and he wore this big red cross with a tiger emblazoned on it. My mother's stepfather was an ambassador to Brazil and to England. My father's father, Kingman Brewster, was ambassador from the States to London. They met at the British Embassy, and they fell in love. Within a couple of days she went back to Brazil, and my dad told her to come back. She said, 'What do you mean?1' He told her he planned to propose. She took a huge risk. It's very romantic.

TR: These days, when you're in New York, is there anywhere you like to visit? Are there places you like to return to?

JB:  I do. I still have a lot of girlfriends in New York. I have to go back to do some press, and I also might be going back east to send my kid to camp in Maine. I'm texting everyone, asking them if they're going to be in town, or going to be in the Hamptons. I love Biboquet, that's a restaurant I always go to. So good. There's Le Charlot....basically all the places that would serve me as an underage kid, because I started clubbing and going out when I was like 16!

TR: You and me both. I celebrated my 15th birthday at a club called The Tunnel.

JB: Oh, my God. I remember The Tunnel. It was a big one. I remember Bungalow 8, obviously.

TR: I lived at Bungalow 8.

JB: Very hard to get into, and one of the best ones. I remember Spy Bar. Spy Bar was such a good one, with those big velvet curtains. It was so beautiful. Getting in a cab and going to a club is less risky than kids driving drunk to get to a  house party in a way. That might be naive, but I freak out when I think about my kids going out in LA.

" I would read Page Six and go, 'Oh, my God, [Mark Wahlberg] was at a club with someone!' I'm like 19 or 20 at the time, and I don't know any better, chain-smoking outside of my dorm window and playing Macy Gray on repeat on my CD player."

TR: You'd then leave New York for Yale University, which must have been so exciting.

JB: It was exciting. I  took a year off because I, got Invisible Circus, which was a huge deal at the time. Cameron Diaz was in it, and I was playing her sister. It was based on a novel that I really loved. That in the The '60s. I deferred for one year and then went back to school. I would take the Metro North train to New Haven every Sunday night or Monday morning, and go back to the city every Thursday night. New Haven was just ninety minutes away. It was nice to pack in the schoolwork, and then go back to the city.

TR: What were you looking forward to, in terms of your life there in college? What was Jordana Brewster like at Yale?

JB: So, [Laughs] if you ask my college roommate, whom I love and who wrote the most beautiful speech for my rehearsal dinner, spoke a lot about getting me through breakups and helping nurse my broken heart. I wasn't dating the guys that were at school...At one point I was dating Mark Wahlberg, and we broke up.

TR: Oh my god I forgot about that!

JB: I know. I would hear from friends, because back in the day there was no internet, there were no gossip sites. I would read Page Six and go, 'Oh, my God, he was at a club with someone!' I'm like 19 or 20 at the time, and I don't know any better, chain-smoking outside of my dorm window and playing like Macy Gray on repeat on my CD player. What I loved about my time at Yale was that I learned that reading relaxes me. I find that there's nothing better. I don't like writing necessarily. That's pretty torturous for me, and I'm not able to do it quickly. It's a very gradual process. To be able to immerse myself in something, study it, is pretty relaxing. I just loved that. I'd hit the beta waves, that state where I'm super chill, and that really complimented the chaos of, 'Read the script; get on the plane; audition for this; have this meeting.' I found that once I got to LA I really missed it, the grounding that I had at school.

TR: Do you have time to read now?

JB: Not when my children are with me. By the end of the day I just need to zonk out with a show and go to sleep. When I am traveling, yes. We just did a tour for Fast X and there was so much plane time. I couldn't get Netflix on my iPad internationally, so I was only reading.

TR: What was the approach, in terms of dealing with school and work? You deferred a year, but were there conversations with your parents at the time about how your were going to prioritize things and pursue acting?

JB: Never when I was at Yale. I was at Yale, and if I had to work, I would. I would take time off. I think that Fast And Furious required a semester off. It was supposed to be shot during the summer, but then we went over. I couldn't possibly juggle both. I know students who do, like Yara Shahidi. She and I share the same manager. I do not have that kind of brain. I mean, I could do it with a soap because there's a very specific routine to a soap opera: you get your pages a couple of days before, you memorize them, then you shoot the episode on the following day. Sometimes, when I crave television, I sort of delude myself into thinking that if I get on a regular show I'll have stability and I'll know what to expect. I crave that. But I don't think that exists anymore in our business. I was able to have it at Professional Children's School; I'd know that the seven page term paper is due, but that I also had ten ages of dialogue. I'd ask if I could get an extension. They knew about the students who were slacking versus the ones who had real obligations, the ones who had jobs. And so they were a little more flexible. That school enabled me to have my career, I'm so grateful to them.  I was looking at the website recently and, and my husband was like, 'Wait... you're not on the alumni list. So he [Laughs] anonymously emailed them. So embarrassing!  I actually want to get more involved with the school because I'm so grateful to them.

"I'm really proud of the fact that we represent multiculturalism, and that Latinos can see themselves in the films. We started that twenty years ago, before it was trendy."

TR: In 1998, you were in Robert Rodriguez's, The Faculty, one of four major movies of the 90's by the filmmaker at the time. What did you learn from that project and on that set?

JB: I remember we were all in Austin, Texas. At the time, Elizabeth Avalon was Robert Rodriguez's wife and producing partner. She was so wonderful and maternal. This doesn't exist anymore in the business. It was such a wonderful camp-like environment, one where we were all falling in love with each other, we were all so excited about being in this Miramax movie. We thought it was going to do as well as a screen franchise, and that we were all going to be famous overnight. I learned how movies work. I remember my dad, when I was on the soap, said, 'You're going to learn what 'rolling' means; what 'action' means, and 'check the gate'...all terms that no longer apply, but that applied back then. I had the best time on that set.

"What I loved about my time at Yale was that I learned that reading relaxes me. I find that there's nothing better."

TR: A few years later, The Fast And The Furious happened. What's now viewed as iconic pop culture had just been established, and you were a part of it. Walking into Fast + Furious then, what were you thinking about your role? And over twenty years later, what do you think about now, when you think about embodying Mia Toretto?

JB: Back then, as a New Yorker, I didn't have a license. I had no interest in getting one. I was actually a little bit afraid of driving, and it didn't mean liberty to me. I had to get a license because, back in the day, we had to drive ourselves. Now, we don't. It's all a green screen and you're faking it. Back in the day we also had to go to professional racing school in Vegas. I had a very tight window to learn. I passed my driver's test, and I stayed at the Standard Hotel the entire time we were shooting. I spent the entire summer only going to set, because I was such a little nerd back then, doing my work, coming back home and watching Big Brother while I ate dinner alone. There was no partying for me because I was really afraid of messing up. The messing up would come later, in my 20's, when I finally relaxed a bit more. I really didn't understand that we had something special. I was just focused on being the strongest, most grounded character, because I knew it was a stretch. Here I am, this Upper East Side type who could potentially come off as princess-y. Director Rob Cohen told me he needed me to be 'earthy'; he needed me to be grounded. 'I need you to be like Anna Magnani', he said. Now, when I look back on all of my performances in Fast, I think the first one is of the best---from all of us. I love that.

TR: How have you been nourished by the relationships with your Fast + Furious family over the years?

JB: It's now to the point where our kids hang out. It's really nice. We go to each other for advice. We're so lucky that we're all together...sure, on a business level, but I've also learned so much from Vin on a personal level, and so much from Michelle. To be able to evolve together over, I think it's like twenty-two years now, is pretty freaking insane. It teaches you a lot about yourself too. I was so guarded at the beginning. I really was abiding by a certain set of rules. My family was always very sheltered and we didn't really branch out much. As I grew older, and now in my second marriage, I've certainly changed that. I feel like we've all evolved so much, and we've been able to evolve together. It's really cool.

"I didn't have a license. I had no interest in getting one. I was actually a little bit afraid of driving. I had to get a license because, back in the day, we had to drive ourselves. Now, we don't. It's all a green screen and you're faking it."

TR: It's such a gift to know people for that long.

JB: It really is.

TR: You started as an actor at a young age, and so you've long been surrounded by many friends in the same industry as you, like your Fast family. How do those friendships support you as an actor and as a human? Is it important to you to have that?

JB: I don't know why this is, but they're probably the only actors that I'm friends with, unfortunately. I think it's great to have, but for me it's not so much actors now; it's more working moms. I feel like you share the same guilt, the same like snarky looks from moms who are at every PTA meeting or at every school council thing that you can't be there for. It can be really awful. I'm a girls-girl. I love having friends. I love having my tribe who I can go to, to kvetch to and to bounce ideas off of. I think it's really, really important not to see women as threats. As moms, we're not honest with one another. We're not honest about how hard it is, or about what we're doing to survive. Especially in the States, I feel like we're expected to have this facade that we're juggling everything with grace. That's bullshit. I saw a headline on Instagram,  I might be misquoting it, but it was Kim Kardashian saying, 'Oh my God, sometimes I feel like I'm drowning.' And I was like, whoa. I love that she said that. That's honest. I'm sure she's in a place where she has help, but it's still super challenging, you know? I think I gravitate more towards women I relate to, and women who are really fucking honest within like five seconds, I can't have the cocktail conversation where we're talking about some Pilates club and blah blah blah. No, let's just get real, really fast. I just love that. I love honesty.


"I was just focused on being the strongest, most grounded character, because I knew it was a stretch. Here I am, this Upper East Side type who could potentially come off as princess-y. Director Rob Cohen told me he needed me to be 'earthy'."

TR: There's long been a discussion about another Fast + Furious spinoff, with an all-female cast. You've said you feel it wouldn't even need the participation of the male characters of the franchise. Where are things with it? It seems like this moment in time is perfect for its release, in terms of audience taste and desire.

JB: I know. I think it would be awesome, between Gal Gadot and Charlize [Theron] and Helen Mirren and Michelle [Rodriguez] and Nathalie Emmanuel...we have so much girl power behind us, it would be great. Unfortunately it's not up to me. We'll see. I would really love it.

"Now, when I look back on all of my performances in Fast, I think the first one is one of the best---from all of us.

TR: Which of your many roles and projects in TV and in film has expanded you as an artist and as a professional?

JB: I loved The '60s because I had to do so much research, and that was really fun. I tapped into my nerdy side. I loved D.E.B.S., playing Lucy Diamond; I loved playing Gina in the show Neon, which is going to air on Netflix, with showrunner Max Searle, from Dave. It's this very edgy show about reggaeton, and I play a lesbian drug lord. She's very confident and powerful and strong.  In my twenties, it was all about getting on the covers of Maxim and FHM, and watching how you talk, because you don't want rub people the wrong way. I remember hearing myself and thinking, 'Why is my register so high, and why am I asking for permission?' So whenever I have to play a character who is very strong or sexy or sexual, I have trouble with it. I brought my acting coach who I love, her name is Rebecca Kitt, to Puerto Rico, to the set of Neon. She was watching me behind the camera and she was like, 'What the fuck are you doing?' And I was like, 'What do you mean, Rebecca?' She told me, 'You're literally a little girl right now and you're not inhabiting the character at all. What have we been working on for the last month?!' And I thought, you're right. The energy was off on set, so I immediately went back to the I'm-a-good-girl thing. It's interesting to watch myself do that and then go, no, I'm just going to ground, and take this back. Those are the roles that I have where I learn the most. Why do I let my power go? Why do I give it away to make someone else feel better? What's that about?

"I feel like [working moms]  share the same guilt, the same snarky looks from moms who are at every PTA meeting or at every school council thing that you can't be there for. It can be really awful. I'm a girls-girl. I love having friends."

TR: Where is comes from, is a very real place. I remember that time in magazines, the popularity of magazines like Stuff and Maxim. I did a little styling for them.

JB: Our shoot is beautiful and sexy and, but it's done in such a way that it's not that. It would be nice to see them side by side. I remember I would starve myself before [one of those shoots], and I'd worry. I'd never worry about how I felt. I worried about how everyone else was receiving it.

TR: I can't wait to see you in Neon. Is there a release date?

JB: I haven't heard. And of course now with the [writers] strike, who knows when anything's releasing, but it was really fun to do.

"In my twenties, it was all about getting on the covers of Maxim and FHM, and watching how you talk, because you don't want rub people the wrong way. I remember hearing myself and thinking, 'Why is my register so high? And why am I asking for permission?'"

TR: You're somebody who can truly speak to this, with all of your experience in film and TV; how has the business has changed over the years?

JB:, I had a little bit of a personal epiphany yesterday, because I was thinking about the actresses I admire the most, like, like Rachel Weisz and Rose Byrne. I'm like obsessed. I think she's so fantastic in Physical. Funny; honest; raw I love Physical, but I think it's in its final season, at season three, and despite the fact that it's one of the best shows out there...

TR: It's one of those series that ends before we want it to.

"I have to have the perspective that if you sign up for six episodes of television, times three years, it's like doing a film for three years. It's no longer the giant commitment that we used to have, or that giant guarantee that we're going to make millions of dollars a year. "

JB:...But then it begs the question: I feel like they put all this marketing into the first season, it makes a big splash, then by the second or third season, it's very hard for a show like that to have legs. Unless you're on a network show, like, I don't know, NCIS. I almost feel like TV is like film. I'm always talking to my manager and saying, 'Should we do film, or should we do TV? Or, 'If we do TV, and I have to move for it, what's that going to mean for my kids?' I have to have the perspective that if you sign up for six episodes of television, times three years, it's like doing a film for three years. It's no longer a giant commitment that we used to have, or that giant guarantee that we're going to make millions of dollars a year. It's good. There's less security, but at the same time, there's a lot more freedom in it, which is great.

TR: What else do you like to watch?

JB: I really liked Beef. I thought Beef was really wild. There really is so much. I love Yellow Jackets.  I also love Working Moms, which is a Canadian show on Netflix.  And then I also love the show that just relaunched, [Party Down], about a catering company. Every episode is a different situation. But then when I'm watching TV with my kids, it's the original Full House. [Laughs] The old one's really funny because it just makes you realize how freaking old you are. I used to watch [ABC's] TGIF; I loved shows like Step By Step.

"I lived down the street from Ryan Murphy, and I was just either gonna stalk him, or make a presentation. "

TR: You've been a part of so many iconic projects. There's D.E.B.S., Dallas, Texas Chainsaw Massacre; your role as Denise Brown and Ryan Murphy's American Crime Story, The People v. O.J .Simpson. You were perfectly cast in that, and you fought for the role.

JB: I remember being at Professional Children's School the day the verdict came out. They rolled out this big TV on wheels, and everyone came to this hallway where our lockers were. Everything stopped so we could see it. I remember my stomach dropping when he was found not guilty. I always had a visceral reaction to Nicole Brown Simpson. I guess it was because she had young kids at the time, because she was so beautiful, because she seemed so alive and so full of joy. I just connected with her. Then, when I saw her sister, I thought, oh, I kind of look like her. I lived down the street from Ryan Murphy and I was just either gonna stalk him [Laughs] or make a presentation. I did the same thing with Yellow Jackets but it didn't work. I wanted so badly to be [Lottie], the character who has visions...I really wanted to be the older version of her.

TR: I can't look at her the same again, now that you said that. I could see it.

JB: They were like, I'm sorry, you're Brazilian, you're not Lottie's nationality. And I was like, what the fuck? That's what this is, it's art. It would've been so cool. But anyway, I fought really hard [for Denise Brown]. I remember studying her testimony, and I get to set one day, and there's Sarah Paulson and all of these people. I was able to bring it. And I remember Sarah Paulson being so generous by complimenting me. That just meant the world.


What's not fun in acting, is being the person who's always responding to the situation. Sometimes  I say to my manager,  'Let's just take that job.' She's like, 'No. You'd be fucking miserable having to say, 'Dispatch 911!'"

TR: What did Sarah Paulson say to you?

JB: She said, 'You did a really good job.' She didn't need to do that. I thought that was just awesome.

TR: I loved your performance in the recent film Who Invited Charlie?, and how it captures pandemic times. What was it like making it?

JB: It was fun. My childhood friend Nick Schutt wrote it. He grew up in the city, but then we would spend the summers in the Hamptons, in Wainscott. Nick was my childhood bully. My sister dated his brother. I found out he was a successful writer, and I never expected it. It's so funny...the idea you have of people when they're kids, versus what they turn out to be. There's something about Nick's voice. I don't know if it's an East Coast thing. We have a very similar sense of humor. His depiction of [my character] Rosie was one where I thought, I can totally do that.  I would pitch him ideas. I'd say, 'I've gotta add this because this is what my ex used to do, I've gotta add that, because that's what happens in marriage all the time.' And he let me. Adam [Pally] had so much in the film that made it so much fun.

"I love mining material, adding to it in some way, then having it resonate with people. I want to play flawed female characters. That's really what I want to do."

TR: What kinds of roles would you love to sink your teeth into in the future?

JB: Honestly, the stuff that Rose Byrne does, roles where the character is flawed. What I love about Physical is that she's great on the outside, yet breaking down on the inside. Her inner monologue is so cruel. That's also what I love about literature; you're reading and you think, my God, I relate to that. And, oh my God, this writer wrote it better than I could have ever expressed.
What's not fun in acting, is being the person who's always responding to the situation. Sometimes  I say to Liz, my manager, 'Let's just take that job.' And she's like, no...because you'd be fucking miserable saying 'Dispatch 911!'  I love mining material and then adding to it in some way, and having it resonate with people. I want to play flawed female characters. That's really what I want to do.

TR: You've been globally famous for a great deal of years now, and you have the unique experience of being a part of something that has a community of super fans. Has fame ever been difficult?

JB: No. In LA, no one cares. I think it's a combination of people being a little bit blasé, and also super into themselves. Yesterday I took my kids to Century City to watch Fast X, and people didn't recognize me. But then I go to Mexico City, or to Puerto Rico, or New York...

TR: Even New York? Wow.

JB: Yeah, people are just more outward-looking there. They may notice a little bit more. I have the perfect amount of it, where it's nice and not limiting in any way. I'm really lucky in that sense, because I can see how it could be pretty annoying if you couldn't just exist.

TR: What was it like being in the theater and watching the film with your children?

JB: I was arguing with Julian, because I'm only in it for a little bit. Julian was like, 'I wanna go get a snack.' And I was like, 'Dude, sit down.' It's coming up. And he was like, 'But I really wanna get popcorn.  We have very similar personalities, he's very stubborn. It was really fun. I want them to understand why mom's away sometimes for three weeks, or why I'm on a press tour. I want that to be super clear to them, I want to share that with them versus compartmentalizing my life.

TR: It was great seeing Fast X in a theater, I have to say.

JB: ...And there were so many trailers for movies that I'm super excited about. The Meg looks awesome. My kids are super excited for Jurassic Park, and they were excited about another movie. I thought, okay, good, the movies are back. It's such good news.

TR: You're practically a newlywed. You have kids. Acting is the kind of work that can be very disruptive to routine. How have you mastered the art of both leaving and coming back to routine? You must have great tips for returning to balance.

JD: Well first of all, I'm a little bit ADD, or so I hear. My assistant told me to please stop putting stuff on the schedule myself. I use the calendar on my phone, and I'll input something while in Mexico City, for like a podcast at three, and she doesn't know whether it's Mexico City time or LA time. As a control freak, I have a lot of trouble giving someone the control, but I'd say letting go of control and sharing responsibility is a big one. And sleep. I'm not like someone, like JLo, who gets twelve or thirteen hours of sleep. When I'm traveling, when I was in Mexico City, or working in Puerto Rico, it's a priority. If I have to leave a premier party at midnight...I'm 43, I'm not going to party the night away. If it's somewhere I want to be, I'll be there a little longer. I kind of carry my routine with me. I sleep, get up, then I run; I also have a workout routine on my phone that was sent to me by my trainer that I can just do. If I need to ground, I have a meditation app that works. You just need to know what your little rituals are at home that work for you, then take them on the road, and do them. With my kids, whether it be me coming back [from working] or them coming from dad's house to my house, that day of transition is usually the one that's the hairiest. I don't over-analyze that one day, I accept that it's transition day, a shit show. Then, going back to routine after that is really important.

"There's so much to look forward to as an actress at 43. You're more honest with yourself as you get older, and you're so much less afraid."

TR: As Fast X is in theaters this summer, twenty-two years after the first film in the franchise was released, what do you think about when you think about this huge thing you've been a part of for so many years?

JB: I think about how cool it was when Michelle [Rodriguez] spoke up, when she was given the script, she read Letty, and she was like, this is bullshit, I'm not playing Side Chick, I'm not playing Letty like this. I remember she had just finished Girl Fight. She said [to the filmmakers], hire someone else then, if that's what you want. I just looked at her and thought, we're allowed to do that? It was something that was never done until very recently. She was very brave, a trailblazer as far as I'm concerned. The reason why women are represented as strongly in the franchise as they are is largely due to Michelle. I'm also really proud of the fact that we represent multiculturalism, and that Latinos can see themselves in the films. We started that twenty years ago, before it was trendy, and it wasn't something we were shoving down people's throats. It worked. Universal saw that there was an audience for it. Of course there is. I'm very, very proud of that.

"I would love to see a little more of Mia's grit and her different layers. Hopefully I get the chance to do that before we wrap it up."

TR: Recently in the LA Times, referring to your arc in Fast X, you were quoted as saying, 'What I've been fighting the most for, is to not be in the babysitting seat.' Mia does have an action-filled scene in Fast X, and I have to say, it would've been great to see more of that. If you could write her story, what would Mia Toretto's next ten years be like? Who she is and where she's going?

JB: I would love for Mia to be on the road a little more. She's with Brian and that's a very tricky thing. I'd love to bring her kids back, they're now in their teens. God knows that that's rich territory to mine. I'd love to watch them butt heads. In Yellowjackets, you see these flawed moms. I'm obsessed with Rachel Weisz' Dead Ringers. I feel like more and more, women in their 40's are getting the best roles. In one of the Fast movies, it was so much fun, because in it I'm sort of this foil to my brother who is maybe doing some shady stuff. Mia's not really a part of it because she's studying, she's hitting the books. She's 'the good girl ' but she's also somewhat complicit in the dark stuff. And then you've got her relationship with Brian. There were so many levels that we were playing with. It's hard to do, as the universe expands and we have so many characters, but I would love to see a little more of Mia's grit, and her different layers. Hopefully I get the chance to do that before we wrap it up. There's so much to look forward to as an actress at 43. You're more honest with yourself as you get older, and you're so much less afraid. I'm really looking forward to that.