Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winsteadis an American actress and recording artist, best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films The Ring Two, Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, Death Proof, The Thing, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and 10 Cloverfield Lane. She appeared as John McClane's daughter Lucy in Live Free or Die Hard and A Good Day to Die Hard, the fourth and fifth films in the Die Hard franchise, Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and Kate...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActor
Date of Birth28 November 1984
CountryUnited States of America
I do get starstruck working with Bruce because even though he is such a nice guy he's a real movie star. I grew up watching his movies it is just really hard to get used to just being around Bruce Willis. I mean, he's Bruce Willis!
My first paying job was guest starring in 'Touched By An Angel' when I was 12. It was very exciting. I couldn't believe you got free food all day and people were so nice to you.
When you are playing someone who is dealing with issues on a really personal level, if you don't bring your own issues into the equation, it's not going to feel really personal to the people watching it.
Going forward, I would love to work with directors like Rian Johnson and Joss Whedon; people like that who are doing big films but do have really independent voices. That's kind of what I want to focus on, is always working with people with at least an independent point of view, even if it's not an independent film.
I can remember when 'Pulp Fiction' came out. I was, like, 10 years old. But I remember the impact that it had.
I was always telling myself I could handle a more complex role, I could handle something bigger and more interesting than the work I was doing. But I wasn't demanding that of myself. At a certain point, I realized it was never going to come my way unless I started taking more control of it. That's what I realized I had to do.
I acted in theater and I took film classes when I was 12 and just obsessed over it. I loved it and spent hours and hours in the film studio learning and watching.
I've never worn incredible clothes - I'm not used to playing someone so put together and fashionable.
I actually came to New York when I was 12 and did ballet school for a little while. I was being groomed to be professional, and a lot of the professors and teachers there were drawn to me and thought that I could become a professional ballerina.
It's surprising to a lot of people because ballerinas look so long, but it's more of a proportion thing. Their legs are long in proportion to their body but in reality they're very tiny.
I have a sister who is a dancer and dance teacher. We grew up dancing together. I wanted to become a ballerina when I was a kid, so she and I were always at ballet conservatories and going to school with our hair in buns.
I want to be inspired by the characters that I play and excited by the projects that I do.
It's just about trying to find material where I'm doing more than just being a plot device. I want to actually get to do scenes that go to interesting places and are challenging to me.
You do sometimes have to work on things where you love the cast and you love the filmmaker, and the role might not be great but it's fun. I'm totally down to do those things, and will continue to do those things, as well, but it at least has to be peppered with roles that are really interesting and that are hard.