Emma Stone turns mean girl for ‘The Favourite’
Emma Stone is a deliciously scheming and vindictive urchin-turned-noble in "The Favourite."
Helmed by Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos ("The Lobster" and "The Killing of a Sacred Deer") the humor-tinged costume drama is courting praise and Oscar buzz for its formidable, fierce female friends turned foes.
"To see three roles for women that were complex, exciting, funny and powerful was just a dream," Stone says during a recent phone call. "It was so great to read the script and eventually see the final product. It came out in a way that makes me excited."
The Scottsdale-raised Academy Award winner, 30, spoke about what it was like immersing herself into a role unlike any she's played before and how she was transported back to 18th century England.
Unlike any character she's played
The Valley Youth Theatre alumnus stars in a 1700's-set "All About Eve" that pits two ambitious ladies in waiting vying for a petulant queen's approval. Some have dubbed it a high-stakes "Mean Girls" that transports the drama from crowded high school hallways to intimate aristocratic galleries. Critics are bowing to the film – and the strong performances from Stone, Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz – like devoted subjects.
And, like any true noble worth their weight in Oscar gold, Stone doesn't get preoccupied in reviews.
"I am unattached to that outcome now more than before," she says. "I just kind of love doing the thing itself and growing as an actor as much as I can by being more present with the people around me.When it comes to the producers, director and writers, I'm more protective of their reaction when something doesn't go well and am more excited when it does and a lot of people love it."
For Stone, the goodwill surrounding the picture is merely a tremendous bonus to the "three great months of my life" spent traipsing around a lavish English estate. She plays Abigail Masham, a downtrodden noble eager to reclaim her grandeur and privilege by usurping her cousin Sarah (Weisz) in
the eyes of Queen Anne. The cunning Abigail is a wideeyed upstart sleeping in the cramped and scabies-ridden servants quarters who swiftly finds a warm bed in the queen's chambers.
"She's a survivor," Stone says. "I love that she gets to do so many wonderful, crazy devious things throughout ... To me, Abigail plays 12 different roles. She has a very selective personality; she's different with everyone, which i think is fascinating to look at. There's a quote that I really love that says 'character is how you treat people who do nothing for you' and I think Abigail demonstrates a great lack of character in many ways. It makes her such a fun character to play, but in real life it's a pretty terrible situation."
This is the second real-life figure Stone has played, though there's a major lack of duress considering there's not a chance her inspiration would ever see the film. Last year, she portrayed tennis pioneer and feminist icon Billie Jean King in "Battle of the Sexes" alongside Steve Carell. The lack of information on Abigail gave Stone the latitude to embody the Englishwoman.
"There's a couple portraits of her but beyond that, it almost felt like I wasn't playing a real person because the story was fictionalized in so many ways," she says. "It does take the pressure off in comparison to someone from 1973 who's still very much alive."
MORE: Emma Stone Q&A: 'I still get the feeling that I am not going to work again'
On stunts: 'I'm very lucky I'm not Tom Cruise'
Whether you adore or loathe Abigail is of no concern to Stone, who warmed hearts and scored an Academy Award as a struggling actress in "La La Land," a sardonic but vulnerable daughter in "Birdman" and broke through as a witty teen in "Easy A." This role is so complex that she can't be simply written off as an antagonist. In fact, each principal character antagonizes the others to equal degrees.
"What people project onto these characters or the story will be from their own experiences," she says. "I don't worry she'll be seen one way. I can't really think about that as an actor (and) I do everything I can to make her full and not just one thing."
Watching Stone perform with a British accent whilst suited up in a petticoat and corset only to be flung into a ditch or slapped across the face is new territory. And one that was entirely transformative for the performer, whose physical comedy skills are proudly on display.
"It was a little exhausting on a daily basis just because she was always going to get hurt in some way," she says. "It was also kind of fun – I mean, I'm protected when I'm falling out of a carriage into mud ... I'm very lucky I'm not Tom Cruise flying my own fighter jets, you know?"
Even the banter and brawls of "The Favourite" don't minimize the strength of its central female roles. The foppish men are window dressings desperate for some sway in history as the women navigate turmoil both at home and abroad.
"It's exciting to be a part of something that has such wonderfully written, complex women onscreen. That's really a great feat."