To say Taylor Swift was in good company on the set of The Giver is an understatement. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, 23 — who has a supporting role in the long-awaited film adaptation of Lois Lowry’s 1993 classic children’s book — was in some of the best company Hollywood has to offer. And she knows it.
“I couldn’t believe it was happening to me,” she gushed to Access Hollywood of shooting the movie, which also stars Oscar winners Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep, as well as A-listers Katie Holmes and Alexander Skarsgard. “I still can’t believe I shot in South Africa and shot all my scenes with Jeff Bridges. It was unreal.”
Having acted before in the 2010 romantic comedy Valentine’s Day, and in the second season finale of New Girl earlier this year, the “Red” singer was eager to hone her craft. “I just tried to work as hard as I could and just throw myself into that environment as much as I possibly could,” she added, noting that it was “one of the most amazing experiences” of her life, despite the “really long hours.”
“I learned so much,” she continued. “It’s crazy how educational just getting into a situation and doing it [is]. You learn so much more…I have taken acting classes and read as much as I possibly can on it and done theater before all this started, [but] you learn more by actually doing it than you could ever learn in preparation.”
Swift’s role in the movie is that of Rosemary, whom Bridges’ character mentors prior to meeting Jonas (played by Australian actor Brenton Thwaites). Holmes and Skarsgard play Jonas’ parents, while Streep stars as the Chief Elder of Jonas’ community. Last month, Holmes joined Twitter and retweeted a photo of her with some of her Giver costars (including Bridges and Swift) hanging out together in South Africa.
The Giver is set to be released in August 2014.
