Anna Kendrick on directing, doubt, and reinvention

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Anna Kendrick’s Second Act: Facing fear and finding new purpose in Hollywood

Anna's career started very early. You're probably familiar with her work. She was nominated for a Tony Award by the time she was 12 years old. She's been mostly working ever since. There were the Pitch Perfect movies. Up in the Air. Into the Woods. She has always captivated audiences with her comedic timing and her incredible voice.

Like a lot of us, Anna has been doing the same thing for a very long time. She'll turn 40 next year. That's nearly three decades that she's been acting. I really love talking to people who've had this kind of early professional success. There's always a necessary moment where it's just time to grow, to try something new. But that very success often becomes the challenge. When you're recognized and celebrated for one set of achievements, you start to wonder: am I even capable of anything else? Is it possible to be a true beginner again?

Not long ago, Anna stepped into the director's chair for the first time on a film, a Netflix film called Woman of the Hour.

It's impossible to overstate how different acting and directing are. In a film, actors are subjects. They bring a set of emotional tools to their characters. Directors make the creative calls that shape a film. They guide every aspect of production, from choice of scenes, to musical selection, to lighting. This new role would be a big challenge any time, but Anna also chose to direct a film that's very different than most of her earlier work. you know, her last movie, Alice Darling, addressed emotional abuse. This movie takes us further. It's based on a true story about an aspiring actress.

This is a film that asks us to consider the degree to which we listen to women's voices and the vulnerability all of us experience in our own lives. In other words, it's no musical comedy. Now, you might want to watch the movie before you listen to this episode, but either way I'm delighted to bring you Anna Kendrick. You can listen here , or below:

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