Captain Marvel is ready for fame — and the Hulk
Save us a seat at Brie Larson’s dinner table. The future Captain Marvel opens up to USA TODAY’s Andrea Mandell about puzzlemania, spending the summer on her directorial debut — and which Marvel superhero she most wants to spar with.
SHE’S BRACING FOR A FLOOD OF FAME
Winning a best-actress Oscar for Room in 2016 made Larson — who began in the business as a child and even dipped a toe in the pop music scene — incredibly famous, but thanks to her upcoming Captain Marvel movie (2019), what lies ahead is lifealtering, worldwide recognition.
“The Captain Marvel thing was something I really spent a lot of time thinking about,” says Larson, 27, who stars in The Glass Castle (in theaters Friday). “And eventually I came to the conclusion that being part of a giant feminist film that can be a symbol for people, that was one I wished I would have had, just outweighs some of the small annoyances (of fame). Like, they’re really small in comparison to the good that it can do.”
SHE’S DIRECTING HER FIRST MOVIE — AND IT’S A UNICORN COMEDY
Larson spent most of summer editing her directorial debut, Unicorn Store, about “a young woman who wants to be an artist,
but the (messy, childlike) way that she makes art doesn’t really fit anywhere,” says the actress, who also plays the lead. After getting kicked out of art school, she “ends up back at home and is trying to be a normal person with a regular job and receives a mysterious invitation that leads her down a rabbit hole.”
She calls the film, which also stars Samuel L. Jackson and Joan Cusack, “a discourse on silliness,” which felt really necessary after shooting intense films like her breakouts, Short Term 12 and
Room. “I’ve had a really nice run with drama, but I wanted to do something that would inspire me and restore my faith and allow me to laugh on set all day,” Larson says.
DINNER PARTIES MIGHT BE ON PAUSE
Larson is seriously contemplating starting a 5,000-piece puzzle of the Sistine Chapel. The actress just has to convince her fiancé, musician Alex Greenwald, to give up a little real estate. “It’s going to take up our dining table. I’m in negotiations with Alex over it,” she grins.
SHE LEANS ON HER FAMOUS FRIENDS
Larson credits her friendships with such stars as Woody Harrelson (who co-stars in The Glass Castle), Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence for giving her a sense of community in Hollywood.
“It’s really nice knowing there are other people that I have commonality with,” she says. “Because some of these things are more complicated than something I can talk to my mom about. (Sometimes) she’s like, ‘I don’t know what to tell you about the paparazzi following you by car and then yelling at you. I’ve never experienced that.’ So it’s helpful to have other people in this sphere I can talk to about it. And then you feel like you’re not alone and you can just let it go.”
CAPTAIN MARVEL WANTS TO TANGO WITH THE HULK
Who does Larson want Captain Marvel to tangle with on screen? “I do kind of have fantasies of battling the Hulk, just because that’s, like, it’s just visually so good,” she says.