While Greta Gerwig is best known nowadays as the filmmaker behind movies like Lady Bird and Little Women, let’s not forget that she also has an extensive acting resume. As such, she could easily cast herself in one of her future directorial efforts, as many actors who’ve made the jump to directing have done. However, Gerwig has no plans to do that, as she laid out in the video below.
So while Greta Gerwig is comfortable enough to act in something that she’s written, as she explained to CinemaBlend during the Little Women junket while seated next to Timothée Chalamet, one of the new movie’s stars, it’s a different story when it comes to something she’s directing. If she were to do that, her “brain would fracture into a million pieces.”
As Greta Gerwig put it, she likes watching actors perform their craft, so if she were to act alongside them, that’d “deprive” her of fully enjoying the experience. She also humorously stated both acting and directing a movie would drive her crazy, and speculated that that’s the reason legendary filmmaker Orson Welles became obese (leading Timothée Chalamet to humorously recall Welles doing that commercial for Paul Masson wine).
However, Greta Gerwig has respect for the directors who can balance directing and acting, specifically mentioning Booksmart helmer Olivia Wilde is doing double duty for her next directorial effort, Don’t Worry, Darling. But as far as her scripts go, Gerwig has no trouble performing in those stories, and she contemplated having The Meyerowitz Stories’ Noah Baumbach, her professional and romantic partner, helm one of her scripts so she could perform alongside Timothée Chalamet.
I can’t blame Greta Gerwig for feeling this way. Granted, I’m sure many of her fans would like to see her both direct and act in the same project, but if she feels that doing on camera work with deprive her of a valuable experience and mess with her mind, then it’s better she just focus on working behind the camera. That way she can ensure that the final product is the best it can be.
Greta Gerwig made her filmmaking debut with 2017’s Lady Bird, which was met with critical acclaim and walked away with numerous accolades, including two Golden Globe wins and five Academy Award nominations. She sat back in the director’s chair for Little Women, the latest adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel which also stars Satires Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep, among others.
Just like Lady Bird, Little Women is getting a lot of positive reception and has already earned its fair share of awards attention, including two Golden Globe nominations (though Gerwig herself was left off the list). So we can reasonably assume that Greta Gerwig's directing career will keep going for the foreseeable future… just don't expect her to star in whatever she helms next.
Little Women opens in theaters on Christmas Day, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for our review on the movie and more coverage on Greta Gerwig’s career. In the meantime, look through our 2020 release schedule to figure out what you plan to see on the big screen next year.
