Culture February 27, 2018

Jennifer Lawrence on going nude for the first time in 'Red Sparrow': 'I got something back that was taken from me'

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In her acting career, Jennifer Lawrence has won an Oscar and smashed box office records, but there's one thing she's never done until now -- gotten nude onscreen.

Lawrence's new movie, "Red Sparrow," marks the first time the actress has ever shed her clothes for a role. In the new issue of Vanity Fair, she said the movie "really scared the hell out of me because I get nude."

The actress, who plays a Russian ballerina-turned-spy in the film, told Vanity Fair, "I tried to do the movie without nudity but realized it just wouldn’t be right to put the character through something that I, myself, am not willing to go through."

Although some may have seen Lawrence naked before on the internet, due to the 2014 hack of her personal photos, the actress said her decision to disrobe onscreen was different.

"One is my choice," she said. "I got something back that was taken from me, and it also felt normal."

Inez and Vinoodh exclusively for Vanity Fair
Jennifer Lawrence appears in the March issue of Vanity Fair.
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Fortunately, the director of "Red Sparrow," Francis Lawrence, had also directed Lawerence in the "Hunger Games" films, so that made things easier, she explained.

"He looked me right in the eyes like I had clothes on and then all of a sudden I was like, ‘Oh, OK, it’s just like I have clothes on,'" she recalled. "Everybody here is professional. You’re still at work. One look just made me comfortable. It didn’t make me feel naked."

To prepare for the nude scenes as well as playing a ballerina, Lawrence did something else she's never done for a role -- diet and exercise.

"I’ve always wondered what it would take to get me to really diet, to really be hungry because I’ve never done it for a movie," she told Vanity Fair. "For 'Hunger Games,' they told me to lose weight, and then I discovered Jack in the Box. 'Red Sparrow' was the first time that I was really hungry and disciplined."

Inez and Vinoodh exclusively for Vanity Fair
Jennifer Lawrence appears on the cover of Vanity Fair on the March issue.

Lawrence also revealed to Vanity Fair that her future plans may include becoming a reality TV mogul, believe it or not.

"I’d like to start my own TV network. I am pretty much a television professional at this point," said the "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and "Real Housewives" fan. "And I have a brilliant idea for a reality show called 'Breakup Island'... I really think it's going to happen."