Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Jesse Eisenberg isn’t motivated by awards.
The 42-year-old star’s new movie, The Debut, is already being tipped for Oscars recognition – but Jesse insists that’s never been his real motivation in the film business.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Jesse explained: “I really just try to think of what is it like to have a career in the arts. And the answer I keep coming back to it’s not about awards, but rather continuing to work in a complicated, unstable field, and thinking about things that way is the kind of the way to keep you sane.”
The Debut, Jesse’s new musical comedy film, is inspired by his own experience as a child at the New Jersey community theatre.
Jesse – who wrote, co-produced and directed The Debut – said: “When I was younger, I was terrified of the world, until I walked into these theatres with adults who seemed to be just very nice. Not only was there no bullying, it was the opposite. People were making an effort to make you feel good about yourself.”
Julianne Moore, who plays Mona Friedman, a New Jersey housewife who auditions for a part in a fictional musical, has already been tipped for an Oscar nomination.
Discussing his hopes for the character, Jesse explained: “What I’m really hoping is people see the story about a woman who has to get out of her life, or she’s going to die.
“It’s a person who, if she were to spend one more day in that house, it would be a death sentence. And she has this one opportunity to get out of her life and to find herself and to find her voice and to find something that actually makes her feel alive and makes her feel visible.”
Jesse previously admitted to being a lot like Julianne’s on-screen character in The Debut.
The actor – who has previously been nominated for two Academy Awards – told reporters at the San Sebastian Film Festival: “The movie takes place in 1990 in central New Jersey, and when I was in central New Jersey in 1990, I was like [Julianne Moore’s character] Mona Friedman. I was so shy. I was depressed, and I didn’t have friends. And then I walked into this community theatre when I was seven years old, and suddenly everybody was so nice, and they hugged me.
“Going from a kid who was made fun of in school because I have the same hair as you, curly hair, and the kids were saying mean things to me. And then I walked into the community theatre, and everybody said, ‘Wow, your hair is so amazing! Come this way, you should play with me!'”
