Jessica Barden on “Holler” and following her instincts

Jessica Barden in “Holler”

Backstage Live

Following Her Instincts

“Holler” star Jessica Barden is building quite the career—and she’s just getting started

By Liza Rash

The following interview for Backstage’s on-camera series The Slate was compiled in part by Backstage readers just like you! Follow us on Twitter (@Backstage) and Instagram (@backstagecast) to stay in the loop on upcoming interviews and to submit your questions.

JESSICA BARDEN IS A YOUNG

performer who has talent and wisdom beyond her years. The actor, best known for Netflix’s “The End of the Fucking World,” recently joined Backstage via Instagram Live to chat about her two latest features, “Pink Skies Ahead” from MTV Films and filmmaker Nicole Riegel’s “Holler,” which depicts the life of a Midwestern girl named Ruth who joins a scrap metal crew to help pay for school. The lifelong performer, who came up as a child and teen actor, had plenty of advice to share about making it in Hollywood.

Barden knows herself well.

“I feel like I really know myself a lot as a person and as an actress, and I feel really grateful for that. So when I read something and I audition for it, I know if I’m right for something and I know when I’m not. When I know that I’m not right for something, I step away from it. When I know I’m right for something, I want to work really hard for it and do whatever I can.”

She has a lot of gratitude for the big names who helped shape her career as a teen.

“I worked with Mark Rylance when I was 16. I did a threehour [play called “Jerusalem”] with him…for a year and a half. I also worked with Stephen Fry when I was 17. He was extremely influential on me wanting to do this for the rest of my life. When I was a teenager, I was extremely lucky. I worked with these really successful and also extremely kind people, and I learned so many things from them.”

She prefers to work with laid-back, instinctive scene partners.

“I like people who don’t want to talk about it a lot before we do the scene. What makes a great scene partner [is] someone who has their own process and someone that is confident in that. I love acting with other people. I love not knowing what they’re going to do. I love not knowing what to expect. I don’t care if people forget their lines. I like things to be really in the moment. I don’t want to talk about it; so many people probably don’t want to work with me because of that. I don’t like rehearsing. I’m really happy to just turn up, see the lines, and see what’s going to happen. I love working with people who are the same, who get that it’s not a big deal. Doing acting, making a TV show, doing a scene—it is fun. It’s make-believe. If it doesn’t go right, you can just do it again. So I like people who are relaxed and just go with the flow of it.”

Want to hear more from Barden? Watch our full interview at backstage.com/ magazine, and follow us on Instagram: @backstagecast.

FILM

Michelle Williams Gets the Royal Treatment

By Casey Mink

THIS JUST IN FROM CANNES:

Michelle Williams is set to star in “Firebrand,” a film in which she will portray the last of Henry VIII’s six wives, Katherine Parr. Directed by Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz in his English-language debut and written by Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth (“Killing Eve”), the feature is slated to begin production in the U.K. in 2022. No additional casting has been announced, nor is it known whether any of King Henry’s other wives will appear.