Jennifer Lawrence has addressed past reports about director David O. Russell’s behavior on set, sharing that her own experience working with him was markedly different from that of her American Hustle co-star Amy Adams, who previously said the filmmaker’s conduct had left her in tears.
Speaking on The New York Times’ The Interview podcast, the 35-year-old actress reflected on Russell’s “blunt” and “no-nonsense” approach, explaining that she never found his style to be degrading or abusive. “I really felt like with David, that was his way of communicating in a non–bullst way,” she said. “I never felt like he was degrading or yelling at me. If he didn’t like something, he was just like, ‘That was terrible. Looked like st. Do it better.’ And that was a very helpful conversation.”
Lawrence, who was just 23 when American Hustle was filmed in 2013, admitted that Russell’s behavior did not faze her. “I’m not sensitive,” she said initially, adding, “I don’t know how you can be in this industry. These young girls are hopefully gonna grow up in a different time.”
However, when pressed further, Lawrence acknowledged that her experience might not have mirrored Adams’s: “Maybe he was harder on her than he was on me. I don’t know… I mean, yes, of course I’m sensitive. I’m really sensitive. I can’t believe I just said that… I’m not sensitive about acting. I’m not competitive about acting.”
Lawrence went on to credit Russell for shaping her professional resilience, saying, “Because of David, it’s never really mattered what the director’s methodology is. I stay loose. David O. Russell really taught me that.”
Russell directed Lawrence in three acclaimed films — Silver Linings Playbook (for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2013), American Hustle (2013), and Joy (2015). Adams also earned Oscar nominations under his direction for The Fighter (2010) and American Hustle.
In a 2016 interview with British GQ, Adams revealed that working with Russell had been emotionally taxing. “I was really just devastated on set. I mean, not every day, but most,” she said, adding that Lawrence “doesn’t take any of it on. She’s Teflon. And I am not Teflon.” Adams said the experience taught her to “separate work and home,” noting, “Life, to me, is more important than movies.”
Actor Christian Bale, who starred alongside both women in American Hustle, later told GQ in 2022 that he often served as a “mediator” between Adams and Russell during filming.#newsafro_
