While there might be millions of dollars to be gained by landing a big budget Hollywood film, these 5 actors and actresses just aren’t that interested and say that they prefer smaller independent films. Some just like it when the director has complete creative control and can thus achieve a more unique vision than a big film, while others like that those working on the film became a tight family while at work which makes it a more intimate experience. Others believe that the money isn’t enough to make them want to go for a bigger film when they get to play better characters that they understand in smaller films. They all have their reasons for selecting smaller films even after many have played larger parts.
Jesse Eisenberg
Jesse likes indie films that aren’t made just out to make money: “No. I mean, it really hasn’t. The next movie I’m doing is the same size as Holy Rollers. It’s taken the same amount of time to raise the money, two years. It’s nice to be in things that people like, but it hasn’t really changed for me. My career, I guess, hasn’t changed. I’m attracted to a very certain type of movie that doesn’t get made based on prior success. I like personal stories, and I like smaller movies, in general. The movies that are really big, at least in my experience, oftentimes don’t have characters that I feel as personally connected to.”
Naomie Harris
Naomie has experienced big budget films and likes to work on smaller films because there is a family attitude: “I’d done the big Hollywood thing and it was great, but it’s such a different experience working on a big movie. You feel like a very small cog in a big wheel, whereas when you do a small movie, you’re a small band. There were nine of us who went out of England to Kenya to do ‘The First Grader’. So you feel really included, you feel like a family. You feel you can contribute to the script. In all areas, you’re hands on. It’s just a different experience. It’s just more rewarding. More creative.”
Nicole Kidman
Nicole has always been attracted to smaller parts because that’s what she was trained for: “I come from Australia, I was trained in indie movies. It’s an unconscious decision — it’s who I am. As an actor, you live and die by your choices. I don’t associate with mainstream films anymore. I don’t do so well in them, either. I guess I have a foot in both worlds. I’ve been offered some studio films this year and turned them down. They just didn’t align with who I am.”
Shia Labeouf
Shia has done plenty of big budget roles in the past but he thinks it stunts the director’s creativity because you have to answer to certain people: “There’s no room for being a visionary in the studio system. It literally cannot exist. You give Terrence Malick a movie like Transformers, and he’s f**ked. There’s no way for him to exist in that world.”
Sienna Miller
Sienna is drawn to smaller and more artistic roles because they’re more interesting to her personally: “Well, if these films are well done I can find them quite entertaining. But no, I prefer indie, arty films really. It’s not the kind of film I’d normally go and see. SI don’t really love any of my films. I love the experiences I had on them, but I see the flaws within my performances.”
