In the following interview with Hailee Steinfeld, she discusses her love for music, how her role in Pitch Perfect 3 changed during development and the difficulties in playing someone like herself. In addition – Steinfeld talked about shooting the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee and writing an upcoming album. For the full interview, read below.
Do you have a personal favorite musical?
I don’t know that I do. I find that I’m drawn to anything with music involved, which is why I remember seeing [Pitch Perfect] and calling my agent, saying ‘There’s got to be some movie like this that’ll be made now.’ Sure enough – it was the sequel.
What started that love for music?
It was always there and always part of my plan. I started making music – writing and recording – around the same time I got into acting, which was… young. The acting just happened first and a lot faster, so the music became a side project over the years. I always wanted to make music though. When the films were in their own groove, I wanted [music] to happen through [them] so that it would make sense and wouldn’t be a matter of ‘dropping an album’. I felt like, for my own sanity, if I did it through a movie I could see if I liked it that way. Sure enough with Pitch Perfect 2, I was given the opportunity to sing and show people that it was something that I loved. Then after that, I signed a record deal and I’m making music now.
It seems like Emily’s arc in Pitch Perfect 3 is very similar to that, where she’s struggling between writing music and her work. Did you sense that parallel?
Steinfeld: The dynamic was very similar. I think even going back to the first time she meets the Bellas, [Emily’s] completely enamored by them, overeager, overexcited, and just super earnest. I shared some of those qualities when I walked in having been such a huge fan of the first movie.
Do you find it easier to play someone like yourself versus the complete opposite?
Sometimes I think it might be easier to play someone completely different. With a movie like this it’s fun because you get to go and be the weirdest version of yourself possible. That’s completely and fully accepted and embraced and wanted. For this one, it was fun to go to set every day and just live and be me and do my thing. I like to think that I’m a little cooler than this character though; but I’m very similar. Obviously it’s nice to feel that you’re making a real departure. You can leave and focus on whatever it is that you’re doing. Sometimes it feels easier to achieve that so you don’t get confused with it feeling too much like you personally.
Do you have any say in what direction Emily goes in the sequel? Did you have any conversations about that?
Brief conversations. I knew that I wanted her to have more of a place in The Bellas and more of a voice. In [Pitch Perfect 2], she fought to be heard in that sense. Trish Sie, who directs this movie… We sat down early in the process to make sure Emily had a clear point of view. Trish made that a priority for all the characters because there’s so many of us, it’s easy to get lost in everybody’s story.
Did Emily’s arc change at all from those initial talks?
Absolutely. It was always a work in progress. With a script like this, I don’t even know how many drafts were written. The amount that I read alone was quite a bit so it did come along way.
In those earlier drafts, what did Emily do?
Oh boy – what’s so incredible is that with each character having their own passion, their own sense of humor, their own love interest…. Whatever it is. They all have their own uniqueness but they all intertwine. There was one point when Emily met another guy, but that didn’t happen. Then a lot of stuff we shot that didn’t end up in the film…
What deleted scenes are there with Emily?
One that I’m not in but I’m actually a huge fan of was with Rebel [Wilson] and John Lithgow. They did this incredible duet, which I’m sure is going to be a DVD feature. It was so amazing but it didn’t end up in the film. We do so much improvising as well. It’s always fun in the moment when they call, ‘cut’ and we’re like, ‘They’re never going to use that’, but then they end up using it. It’s stuff like that that’s always fun to look forward to.
How does your performance change in the moment with all that improvising?
I feel like we all know our characters so well at this point , there’s a sense of freedom to just go for it. We trust ourselves and we trust our instincts. It just makes you feel so much more alive and present.
Did you discover anything new about Emily playing the character for a second time?
Yeah, absolutely. During improvising, you find – especially when I’m taken off guard – how she would handle it and how she would recover from it. When playing a character, you do as much work as humanly possible before diving in; but the work never stops, the discoveries never stop.
What tends to be your preparation process?
It varies based on the role. The minute I know it’s real to the minute we start shooting, I will work on the script, breaking it down and working on the character, doing as much research as I possibly can to the point where I feel like I eat, sleep and breathe it without looking at a page. Then I go in and try to forget all of it and just be there.
Has your approach changed at all from True Grit to now?
Yeah, I feel like it’s gotten better…
Well – you did get nominated for an Oscar back then…
Thanks. I’m still not sure how… But it’s definitely changed for the better. I, as a person, like to think that I’ve matured. I’ve gotten a little older, a little wiser, but I also feel like I owe so much to the people that I’ve worked with. I’ve learned so much from them daily that it always changes for sure.
There’s a real sense of nostalgia in Pitch Perfect 3. Do you ever feel nostalgic for past performances or times past?
Absolutely – I feel like I’ve had very few bad experiences but even those I look back on and really feel like if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am. I look back on them all the time and constantly feel like I owe it to the other projects that I’ve made that have gotten me to where I am.
Is there any performance in particular you feel especially nostalgic for?
Well, I always reference True Grit and my experience on that movie and how I was thirteen years old and had really no idea what I was doing, but was completely protected. Just to be surrounded by people who did what they did because they loved it. To learn that firsthand, first time out the gate is something that has stayed with me.
I have to ask you about Bumblebee. Have you finished shooting?
Yeah.
What is that like going to this huge, big budget…
It’s not even that. Going from a movie being one of ten females, one of a million cast members to like me and a tennis ball on a stick was quite a shock, but one of the challenges I was willing to accept. It was really incredible. I worked with Travis Knight, who directed [Bumblebee]. It was interesting – with his background in animation, he had a clear end result visually what this film could be. It was nice to have someone who had that because I could use my imagination until the end of the day but it could be something completely different than what they’re thinking. He created these pre-viz for every action sequence that involves the Transformers. I could see it out. He was amazing and the whole experience was really cool. I can’t wait to see it.
How does it compare to other Transformers movies?
It takes place in the 80s, of course. And it’s very character and storyline driven, which is a bit different, but it still has the elements that Transformers fans love and will see in the movie.
Who do you play?
I play a character named Charlie Watson, who is a mechanic. She’s in high school… [She’s] incredibly unique and strong and has – something I love about her is that a lot of people tend to underestimate her knowledge and she continuously proves herself and what she knows and creates this incredible relationship with this Transformer.
Is it similar to the relationship Shia LaBeouf had with Bumblebee in Transformers?
It is in that Bumblebee is the same. He is who he is – that lovable, gentle giant who truly cares. I’m somebody who makes this discovery and is looking for someone to listen to me and to love me and to hear me and that happens to be where he fills the gap.
What else are you currently working on?
Well I can’t wait to get [Pitch Perfect 3] out and once I do I will be taking a little break, which I’m excited about. Come the New Year, I will be working on my music, which I’m very excited about. It’s been a while since I put out a real body of work.
Are you going to release an album?
I am next year. It’s been a long time in the making doing both film and music. Obviously a film can take me out for about three to four months so I will be solely focused on music at the top of the year and we’ll see what comes from it.
How many songs have you recorded?
Oh my god – A LOT! Come January 1st, we will narrow all of them down, finish what we started and nail down some new stuff.
Is that process difficult winnowing down x-number of songs…
It is and it isn’t. It’s a good problem to have to be conflicted in that sense. With music, it moves so fast. As an artist when I write about something that happened over a year ago, it’s hard to sing about it now as if the connection is still as strong. So yes and no. With what I have written, it goes back a year and a half so I think some of them will be a little easier to let go of than the more recent ones. I still think my best is yet to come in terms of the writing. It’s a never-ending process of discovery.
What is your writing process for music?
It’s always different. I could be inspired by something I see or something I hear and write down or send to a friend or a writer or whether I have instrumental tracks or just a couple chords recorded on my phone. It’s always different. If I have a couple sessions set, I’ll go into the studio with the people I’m lucky enough to call my friends because I feel like I can talk to them and then suddenly our conversations turn into these songs you hear on the radio. I still don’t understand how it happens but I talk about my experiences and my situations and everything and then they turn into these amazing pop songs.