Brie Larson fell madly in love with the book “Chemistry Lessons” by Bonnie Garmus. “When I read something and it's right for me, it's like the most intense crush you can imagine,” the Oscar-winning actor says via video chat from his home in Los Angeles. “And like a good crush, you don't even know why. You can pick it apart and say, 'Well, I love the character and I love the writing,' and all of those things are true, but there's kind of an underlying piece that my heart goes to. It feels tied down, and I won't know what it is until I get to the end, if I'm lucky. That's part of the fun and what keeps the person you like alive is this big mystery, it's this adventure you're having. , like, 'I don't know, but I trust my heart that says keep going.'”
The book's protagonist is the extraordinary Elizabeth Zott, a scientist forced by the inequalities of the mid-20th century to work as a laboratory technician for men whose work could never match hers. Almost against her will, Elizabeth falls in love with chemist Calvin Evans (Lewis Pullman), her rival in genius and character. And almost as quickly, she loses him. In her anguish, she finds herself opening up to the world in a way she has never been able to before.
“Bonnie is an absolutely exceptional writer,” says Larson. “The story had this tone that had been something I had been daydreaming about and didn't know existed, which is a way to express and hold the reality of the dark things that happen in our lives without having to get bogged down by it. .”
Larson came on board as executive producer and star of the Apple TV+ limited series adaptation, created by Lee Eisenberg, and was actively involved from pre-production to post-production. “She carried the show on her back,” Eisenberg says. “Every day, Brie made everything better.”
Brie Larson brought games to the set of “Chemistry Lessons” to help the actors bond.
(Michael Becker/Apple TV+)
Many of their discussions about the series focused on Elizabeth slowly finding her community. Larson herself quickly created a community on set, in part by incorporating games for the cast to play during breaks. Boggle, Spot It!, Catch Phrase and the like served countless purposes. “I think at first people thought I was the host, and that's true too,” she says. As number one on the call sheet, “Making people feel comfortable and welcome is a big part of my job.”
With a fast-paced shooting schedule, the games helped everyone break the ice. “Personally I like to do a little warm-up; to me it’s like puppies playing,” he says. “It makes you laugh and gets you out of the boring chatter: 'What's the weather outside?' 'What did you take for breakfast?' “It allows you to delve into something that feels deeper, without invading anyone’s privacy.”
Playing also helped keep Larson from feeling too overwhelmed by the show's most heartbreaking scenes. “I think of it as Willy Wonka saying, 'Too cold,' and putting on a coat. That's what I feel sometimes when I try to deal with the emotional and ephemeral nature of doing something. Even though it's not real, I'm still going through a month of mourning this character, and it feels great to play Heads Up! for five minute increments; “It reduces the heaviness.” He even helped form romantic bonds between the characters.
Their warm-ups weren't all fun and games. Larson brought a rowing machine so he could practice in his spare moments, like his character does. “Rowing was very important,” he says. “He is very methodical. If you're not in a state of flow, it feels surreal and clumsy. And it's very exhausting and very exhausting. So I felt like there was something about Elizabeth asking her body to keep up with her, no matter what. Pain, pregnancy… she was going to go ahead and say, 'Everyone else has to keep up, keep up.' “She will never lower her bar.”
No matter how hard she tries, Elizabeth can't control all of life's variables and little by little she allows herself to love a world of people. Larson felt the same way on set. “When you have the opportunity to work with actors who are simply with you, you share moments. I understand that everything is fake, but our souls are still there. It's a feeling that your vulnerability is safe in the hands of your co-star. “When you experience that, you really are bonded for life.”
She feels the same way about her character. “What I learned during this work is that this planet is here to please us and make us fall in love if we open ourselves to it. “Elizabeth’s style is not my own, but it was beautiful to dance with her for so long.”
