Shailene Woodley Almost Turned Down ‘Big Little Lies,’ but Laura Dern Told Her ‘It’s a Massive Mistake’: ‘It Forever Changed My Life’

variety.com:

Andrés Buenahora editor Shailene Woodley scored her first-ever Emmy nomination for playing Jane Chapman on the hit HBO series “Big Little Lies.” But, according to Woodley, she nearly turned down the role.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Woodley expressed her excitement over the opportunity to work with Jean-Marc Vallée, calling him an “incredible artist and filmmaker.” However, because Woodley had prior plans to travel to India on a journey of self-exploration, her involvement in the project was initially going to be delayed.

That is until Laura Dern stepped in. Woodley recalled how Dern, who played Renata Klein on “Big Little Lies,” ultimately convinced her to take on the role of Jane. “She just said, ‘Listen, I know where you’re at in your life, I’ve been there before too.

It’s a lot, this world is an illusion, but what isn’t an illusion is what you love to do. And what I see in you, Shai, is your purpose, at least in this moment in your life is to be a storyteller,'” Woodley said. “‘And I think it’s a massive mistake for you to walk away from this opportunity that you really should lean into.’ It was because of that call that I decided to leave India and come back to the United States, and it forever changed my life.” Before working together on “Big Little Lies,” Woodley and Dern starred together in the 2014 coming-of-age romance film “The Fault in Our Stars.” Dern played the mother of Woodley’s character, Hazel Grace Lancaster.