LIKE BEING BTI SCARED AND ADAMS

The actor, who now plays a character with a mental disorder, says that she likes to retain control over things, but also likes losing control at times for a thrill

Actor Amy Adams says that she likes to control things but to an extent. “I think I’m probably like most people. They like control to a certain extent and they like to lose control to a certain extent,” Adams says.

“I like being a bit scared, I like roller-coasters, I like driving a bit fast, I like motorbikes — I like that kind of thing. I like an adrenaline rush, and I like people who are much bigger risk-takers than me,” she adds.

The actor also gets candid about playing Camille, a disturbed character, in Sharp Objects. Her character has Munchausen syndrome by proxy, which is a mental illness and a form of child abuse. The caretaker of a child, most often a mother, either makes up fake symptoms or causes real symptoms to make it look like the child is sick.

Adams says that it’s very difficult to connect to her character. “I did a lot of reading on that as well and that strange need for attention — it’s so crazy to me. It’s so against every parental instinct I have, so I can’t really imagine it. I’ve had my daughter hurt twice in a way that required visits to the hospital — it’s not something I want to revisit ever. It’s traumatising,” she adds. On keeping her role away from her personal life, the actor says, “I had to train myself how to not bring a character home as much as possible. But there were definitely times, whether from exhaustion or just living in the space of Camille, where there was a lot of insomnia, and when I don’t sleep I get a little cuckoo.”

“But,” she adds, “I think age has served me well in that, where I’m able to look at it and say, ‘Okay, I know what’s going on. Nothing’s really wrong. I just need to go to work, do my job and come home. Make dinner, do something grounding.’”

I had to train myself how to not bring a character home. But there were definitely times, whether from exhaustion or just living in the space of Camille, where there was a lot of insomnia. AMY ADAMS ACTOR

PHOTO: MARIO ANZUONI/REUTERS