“Good morning, winner.” Billie Lourd isn’t too proud to call Booksmart the “best experience” of her career, even though the critically-acclaimed movie wasn’t nominated for a single Academy Award this year.
The American Horror Story actress, 27, gushed over working alongside Olivia Wilde, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever in the outrageous coming of age movie. Booksmart made its theatrical debut in May 2019 and was the first directorial project for Wilde, 35.
“Olivia Wilde is a straight up genius, I adore her. It was the best experience of my career,” Lourd told Us Weekly exclusively at the Casting Society of America’s Artios Awards in Beverly Hills on Thursday, January 30. “I’ve gotten really lucky and had some amazing experiences. But working with Olivia is just tip top.”
Despite scoring some of the best reviews of the year, a Writers Guild of America nod for Best Original Screenplay and a Golden Globe nomination for Feldstein, 26, Booksmart was snubbed from the 2020 Oscars completely. Many fans and critics believe Lourd, who plays an eccentric and affluent high school drama queen named Gigi, should have had the Best Supporting Actress category locked down.
The Scream Queens alum, however, still has the fondest memories about filming — and even auditioning for — the soon-to-be cult-classic.
“I got in there … terrible. I didn’t know what I was doing,” Lourd joked about her first read-through in front of casting director Allison Jones. “I couldn’t decide if I wanted my jacket on or off and messed up and kept being, like, ‘I got this, I got this, I got this’ – I did not have it. So I was making fun of myself and ended up doing this weird stand-up routine and they were laughing and I was like, ‘Oh my god, are they laughing at me or with me? I’m pretty sure at me.'”
Born into a family of fiery female stars, Lourd is working hard to keep the spirits of her mother, Carrie Fisher, and grandmother, Debbie Reynolds, alive after both of their deaths in December 2016. The Billionaire Boys Club star posted a heartbreaking tribute in honor of her two family members in December 2019 and encouraged other people grieving during the holidays to “feel all the feelings.”
“I do what my mom said: Take your broken heart and turn it into art,” Lourd explained to Us. “That’s why I like to do those kind of songs, because my mom loved music and doing something to honor her like that makes me less sad.”
With reporting by Emily Marcus
