A stellar performance in last year’s Academy Award-nominated “Winter’s Bone” (and an equally memorable appearance in fire-engine-colored Calvin Klein on the Oscar’s red carpet) elevated up-and-comer Jennifer Lawrence to instant celebrity status.
However, between her role in the upcoming “X-Men” reboot and the part she wrested from the grasp of seemingly every young actress in Hollywood — the lead in next year’s “Hunger Games” adaptation — Lawrence is poised to inherit the kind of fame enjoyed by the casts of franchises like “Twilight” and “Harry Potter.”
And as Lawrence tells NextMovie and MTV Radio, she’s not really ready for it.
“I don’t know if you can ever be ready for that – it is a little scary,” she admits. “But an honor, at the same time.”
Lawrence explains that natural nesting tendencies keep her out of the spotlight.
“I just don’t really like going out… and I really don’t like going out as JENNIFER LAWRENCE, ACTRESS. It hasn’t been a conscious, ‘Ew, I don’t want to go to that party and be photographed,’” she says. “It’s just like, ‘Do I really have to go to that party and be photographed? I’d rather just watch “Hoarders” on TV.’”
As she prepares to film the movie version of an explosively popular book series, Lawrence says she hasn’t yet gleaned any wisdom from teen franchise pioneers.
“I saw Daniel Radcliffe in the hallway yesterday at ‘David Letterman,’ and told him to break a leg because he was about to go perform.” She jokes, “He told me to as well and I said, ‘I’m not performing, so screw you.’”
Lawrence adds, “I haven’t seen Kristen Stewart, but I feel like if we pass each other, we’ll have to be like ‘Hey!’ ‘Hey!’ [Mimes secret handshake.] Just recognize that we both know what it’s like.”
Lawrence may have concerns about being spotted in public, but with some major cosmetic changes to play “Hunger Games” heroine Katniss Everdeen — including dark brown hair and a deep tan — she needs to worry about recognizing herself first.
“It used to be every time I’d walk into a bathroom, I’d [shriek] – now it’s just if I get up in the middle of the night to pee and look in the mirror. I still think of myself as a blond.” She laughs, “Because, you know, I think about myself all the time.”
Light-haired Lawrence bears little resemblance to the Katniss of the books, and she says fans, “wanted a natural brunette, that was very important to them.”
“Fortunately, I’m not reading any of [fans' reaction to casting]. And I’m just as crazy of a fan, so I don’t know if that would be good for me – if they all turn against me, I’ll turn against myself.”
Fans of Lawrence’s natural look will get one more chance to enjoy the blond locks before “Hunger Games” — Lawrence appears next in “X-Men: First Class.” Of course, since she plays shape-shifter Mystique, that tow head will have to share screen time.
“My natural form is a blue, scaly naked girl,” says Lawrence of her “X-Men” character, explaining that her full-body makeover took eight hours to complete. “It’s a big to-do.”
“X-Men: First Class” hits theaters June 3, 2011.
