Dickinson’s prose kept Steinfeld up for days
As series ends run, actor grateful to be introduced to poet
Powerful young women with strong points of view.
Those are the roles Hailee Steinfeld has grown into on screen since her first feature film, when she was nominated at age 14 for an Oscar for her portrayal of the sharp-witted Mattie Ross in the
Coen brothers’ “True
Grit.” She has died as a star-crossed lover in an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet,” romped alongside giant Transformers in the sci-fi film “Bumblebee” and immersed herself in the dark coming-of-age comedy “The Edge of Seventeen.” On Steinfeld’s soaring trajectory, no two girls, teens or women are alike.
Now 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson comes alive through Steinfeld in the third and final season of the quirky period dramedy “Dickinson,” which recently premiered on Apple TV+. A daring look at the poet in her formative 20s, the final installment of the ambitious series marks the end of a unique production about an enigmatic American icon.
“I probably wouldn’t have understood the depth of Emily, her work or her story without the series, so I’m grateful to this show for serving as an introduction to her. I hope that it does that for others,” said Steinfeld, who also serves as an executive producer on the series.
The 24-year-old actor and singer will next leap into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the avenging archer Kate Bishop in the Disney+ superhero series “Hawkeye,” which debuts Nov. 24.
This interview with Steinfeld has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: You’ll go from the kerosene-lit “Dickinson” to the billion-watt “Hawkeye.”
A: Going from a corset
to a superhero suit, not so different.
Q: There are heroic elements to both women.
A: With something like “Hawkeye,” where it is this epic, show-stopping, mind-blowing Marvel Cinematic Universe (production), it’s like I still can’t believe I’m in it. It’s so crazy to me. It’s so big. But the character feels so real it didn’t ever not feel that way when we were doing it. That’s something I think I’m ultimately drawn to.
Q: The final season of “Dickinson” takes place in the middle of the Civil War, when the characters and country are faced with tragedy, hopelessness and division. … That had to feel close to the bone, since all 10 episodes were shot midpandemic.
A: I personally was feeling the hopelessness of the time. And with Emily, I felt she was in a similar situation because she’s really struggling to find how she can be of use to the war effort — and not just the
war in the country, but in her family. I was like, “In what way, shape or form can I do something?” This season served as a lesson and a reminder that Emily didn’t necessarily have to be on the front lines to help and to make change and to make a difference and to bring light into people’s world.
Q: Emily was a private person, and what we know of her today is largely extrapolated from her writing. Did that ambiguity afford you freedom as a performer, or was it like, “Oh no, I don’t have a blueprint?”
A: It was intimidating at first, but mostly because I was not able to personally understand the poetry. I was initially frustrated by that. I didn’t get her poems off of the first read, but I loved the fact that they kept me coming back, desperately trying to understand. ... A three-line poem had me up for days. At the beginning, I was like, “This is the worst thing ever.
How am I ever going to
get to the bottom of this and break this down and feel connected to it?” But it kept me coming back, and I loved that. The poetry is the reason we’re able to make this show.
Q: Part of the show’s surrealism is in the dialogue and mannerisms of the characters. They use modern slang, they throw dance parties and go to the spa.
A: Right, the dialogue. I loved that idea initially, but then we went to do it . ... I’m in a corset that’s super tight, in this incredibly detailed and specific set and thinking, “This is weird. It’s not working.” This show is so rooted in history, so to speak so casually felt very strange. I went to (creator) Alena (Smith) multiple times, and I said, “There’s got to be another version of this.” She just was like, “Trust me.” David Gordon Green, who shot our pilot, also helped us find that quirkiness in the tone of this show . ... Ultimately, the poems needed to feel like a conversation
and be part of her inner monologue for me to find confidence and be comfortable in that balance (with) the modernism.
Q: Are you as comfortable moving between the genres of comedy and drama as you are with moving between time periods on screen?
A: When I auditioned for the Coen brothers, I had been preparing myself for weeks. I really dug in while I could in the hopes of getting called back. I had auditioned twice before I read and went in with the utmost determination and willpower. But as I was doing the scene that was rather serious, these two were laughing. And I’m thinking to myself, this is not supposed to be funny. I remember looking back, at a point when I was old enough to understand where the humor comes from, and a lot of it is in the tragedy of the situation or the circumstance. It was a moment where I was like, “Wow, I guess I just have, like, comedic timing.”
Q: Do you know what comes next?
A: It’s rare that I know what I’m doing before doing it. And if I do, I’m not looking at the next 10 years of my life. It’s one step at a time. I’ve had moments in my career where I have felt like, “Oh, my God, I must be doing something right, this is what makes me happy!” I have moments where I’m on set, where
I’m in the middle of a magic take that’s so wonderful that I can’t even describe what happened that day.
It’s wild and feels unpredictable, inconsistent. But to chase those moments doesn’t make sense . ... I think life is a series of small victories, and I love to acknowledge those if and when I can, whether it’s for me or people around me. But on the flip side,
I’ve had moments of like, “Wow, I need to reconsider,” because, much like anything else, it gets to be overwhelming. But I do ultimately feel like I’m in the right place, and I thank God that I landed on something I love.