Zendaya Shares How Angelina Jolie Helped Her Overcome One of Her Fears Around Directing: ‘I Would Love to Direct One Day’
One of the great benefits of being part of awards conversation is getting to share space with other talented individuals, not only to revel in shared experiences, but to offer advice to one another as they all traverse the tricky landscape of being a working artist. With Zendaya being celebrated for her work in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” and Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers” and Angelina Jolie returning to form with her wholly-committed performance as opera singer Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s “Maria,” both have gotten to revel in the joys of the awards race, including getting to meet and talk to one another.
With both taking part in this year’s THR’s Actress Roundtable, the two were able to get some private moments to discuss stepping behind the camera. Jolie has done so many times, having directed “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” “Unbroken,” “Without Blood,” and more, and though Zendaya has expressed an interest in directing as well, she still has some reservations over taking up the mantle. Thankfully, as Zendaya shared with the roundtable, Jolie was able to calm her fears and make her see that she’s not alone in the work.
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“You truly are an amalgamation of all these genius people’s ideas,” said Zendaya of how she now sees the filmmaking process for directors. “That’s what we were just talking about (gestures at Jolie) with directing, because I would love to direct one day and you’ve been able to do it — and in a beautiful way. Something that makes me so nervous is [directing], and [Jolie, before] was like, ‘But there are people to help you.’ There are these gorgeous teams of people that we get to work with that create just as much as we do, the characters that we play.”
Zendaya previously discussed her directorial aspirations with The New York Times last spring upon the release of “Challengers.” At the time, she explained that though she loves the creative environment, having to control that space may not exactly be in her wheelhouse quite yet.
“I love being on set because it is not just creatively stimulating, but it’s one of the few places where I feel free,” she said. “Whatever that thing in my brain is where it’s overly critical and self-conscious, that is the one place where I can be spontaneous and exist for the purpose of just creating something with other people and feel no guilt about it. But I’m not at the place where I’m quite confident enough to step into directing.”
For the time being, Zendaya just appreciates getting to learn and add to her toolkit, not just from the filmmakers she works with, but also talent like Jolie who’s come before her and can offer advice on how to do the job, find success, and avoid as many pitfalls as possible.
“I appreciate being able to have moments like this,” Zendaya said of sharing the roundtable with the like of Jolie, Demi Moore, Tilda Swinton, and more, “because I feel like at least now the connections are made. I can reach out and ask questions, because all of you have such experience and that’s so valuable. Often I feel I get too nervous to reach out and be like, ‘Hey, can I get some advice?’ Because this kind of community is so important.”
Using her own words, Jolie later elaborated on what she’s learned as a director, particularly in terms of what the actor or actress contributes to a film and how it starts with proper casting.
“I was always an actress that loved the crew and understood I was a piece of a whole. But after being a director, you are much more aware of all the pieces and all the needs, and you are very conscious that an actor is important, but a piece,” said Jolie. “You may be looking for something, it’s not some perfect presentation or some perfect reading. It’s someone who has something behind those eyes, someone who’s a little messy, someone who’s a little brave. A lot of what makes an interesting actor is an interesting person. The actors, I push them and I root for them.”
Watch THR’s full Actress Roundtable below.
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