Jennifer Lawrence is opening up about how her experiences on film sets vary depending on who’s behind the camera, and she didn’t shy away from pointing out one key difference.
During a Q&A with Vulture after a screening of her new film Die My Love on November 7, the 35-year-old actress shared that she’s noticed a recurring pattern with female directors.
“I have found a commonality in female directors, which is that they do not do this thing, which is over-direct,” she said.
She explained that working with some male directors can feel very different.
According to Lawrence, there have been times when men she’s worked with seem to constantly remind everyone that they’re the one directing.
She admitted that this behavior doesn’t always help the process, joking that when she hears the term “auteur,” she thinks of someone “controlling and … what’s that word? Neurotic!”
Lawrence contrasted that approach with her experience working with filmmaker Lynne Ramsay on Die My Love.
She described Ramsay as someone who created a thoughtful environment on set and helped the cast connect through “music and conversations and the atmosphere.”
Lawrence noted that once Ramsay had set the tone, “she would just kind of slowly walk back.”
That space allowed the actors to explore. Lawrence said that “from the discomfort of that, from the lack of her visibility, something interesting would come from it.”
If Ramsay liked what she saw, she encouraged them to keep going, telling them, “That’s great, great, yeah, do it again.”
Even unexpected moments stayed in play, like when the cast laughed by accident. Ramsay simply told them, “No, it was great. I liked that you laughed. Do it again.”
In Die My Love, Lawrence stars alongside Robert Pattinson.
The film is adapted from Ariana Harwicz’s 2012 novel and centers on Grace and Jackson, a couple who leave New York City for rural Montana.
After the birth of their first child, they struggle to adjust to the emotional and practical challenges of their new life.
Lawrence’s comments reflect her appreciation for directors who trust their actors, and her clear frustration with those who can’t resist taking control of every moment.