Here’s why Renee Zellweger took a break from Hollywood.
In the early 2000’s, Renee Zellweger was one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood. Playing Roxie Hart in the Best Picture-winning movie Chicago, starring alongside Jude Law and Nicole Kidman in the Civil War drama Cold Mountain, and landing the hilarious role in Bridget Jones’ Diary, Zellweger was everyone.
Fast froward fifteen years later, Zellweger is going to reprise her character for Bridget Jones’ Baby, due to hit theaters on September 18th. But a lot of things have changed since Zellweger walked down a movie premiere. Jennifer Lawrence is the highest paid actress in Hollywood, there’s Netflix, and movie theater prices now cost $15.
In a new cover story in British Vogue, Zellweger opened up about her break from Hollywood.
“I found anonymity, so I could have exchanges with people on a human level and be seen and heard, not be defined by this image that precedes me when I walk into a room,” she said. “You cannot be a good storyteller if you don’t have life experiences, and you can’t relate to people.”
Every time Zellweger plays the character Bridget Jones, she’s also forced to talk about gaining weight for the movie role, which she discussed in the interview. “I put on a few pounds. I also put on some breasts and a baby bump. Bridget is a perfectly normal weight and I’ve never understood why it matters so much,”‘ she said.
“No male actor would get such scrutiny if he did the same thing for a role.”
Read the whole cover story here, and stay tuned for Bridget Jones’s Baby in September.
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