Jennifer Lawrence: ‘I lost a sense of control after ‘The Hunger Games’ came out

Jennifer Lawrence has revealed that she sensed a loss of control in the wake of the huge success of the first “Hunger Games” film in 2012.

Talking to Francine Stock about her career as part of the London Film Festival’s “Screen Talk” series, Lawrence opened up about her feelings on working in the hit franchise.

“I think I lost a sense of control. Between ‘The Hunger Games’ coming out and winning the Oscar [for 2012’s ‘Silver Lining Playbook’], I became such a commodity that I felt like every decision was a big, big group decision. When I reflect now, I can’t think of those following years, [because there was] just a loss of control.”

Lawrence went on to explain how she feels she has clawed her identity back again. “It feels personal for me the first time in a long time,” she said.

Since her breakthrough role in 2010’s “ Winter Bone”, the actor has racked up roles that include the “X-Men” franchise, Darren Aronofsky’s “Mother!,” David O. Russell’s “Joy” and “American Hustle” and Adam McKay’s 2021 satire “Don’t Look Up.” Now, Lawrence stars in “Causeway,” Lila Neugebauer’s intimate drama of a soldier returning from combat with a brain injury, struggling to acclimate to her home surroundings.

The actor had first started work on the project in 2019 before the pandemic hit, putting further work on hold. In the gap, the actor married and gave birth to her first child, while the creative team on “Causeway” developed the script further. She recently told Vogue that the film was not only a “very personal” one to make, but one that makes her emotional each time she revisits it.

In London, Lawrence expressed this sentiment further, recalling how the low-budget approach felt similar to her time working on “Winter’s Bone”. The actress shared that it was even more personal to her, with “Causeway” feeling like “diary pages.”

The film also marks the actor’s debut producer credit under her production company banner, Excellent Cadaver. Lawrence explained the origins of its name: “It’s a Sicilian mafia term for a hit on a major celebrity. It just made sense. I think there was a part of me that wanted to execute that part of me.”

Elsewhere, Lawrence spoke of how Robert De Niro helped her calm her nerves when working together on “Silver Linings Playbook”: “He’s a warm, sweet person. Obviously, it’s very intimidating (working with De Niro), but as soon as you meet him, he says ‘Call me Bob.'”

The actor also referred to the tenacity and confidence that she had as a young actor in Hollywood, something which she had called her “compass” at that time. She’s also still overwhelmed by her best actress Oscar win, nearly a decade on: “I keep thinking ‘when will it hit me. I don’t think it ever will.”

Lawrence plans to start shooting Gene Stupnitsky’s comedy “No Hard Feelings” in the fall. It was reported earlier this year that director Adam McKay has been working through rewrites to “Bad Blood” – a long-gestating project about controversial bio-tech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, with Lawrence slated to star. The actor and director were first attached to the feature in 2016 and subsequently teamed up for the 2021 sci-fi comedy “Don’t Look Up”.

“Causeway” plays as a special presentation at the London Film Festival and will be released in select theaters and on Apple TV+ on Nov. 4.