Emma Stone is confident about her “honest” performance in Poor Things.
Stone, 35, opened up about creating intimate scenes in her latest movie — which hit theaters last month — during an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row on Tuesday, January 16. In the film, Stone plays Bella Baxter, who has been brought back to life with the brain of her own baby and goes through a sexual awakening.
“Bella is completely free and without shame about her body,” Stone explained. “[Sex] is obviously a huge part of her experience and her growth, as it is, I think, for most people in life.”
Although Stone admitted she’s “not a person that just wants to be naked all the time,” she still wanted to “honor” Bella to her full potential.
She continued: “So much of this was about being true to Bella’s experience. … She doesn’t know to be embarrassed by these things or to cover things up or not dive into the full experience when it comes to anything.”
To Stone, sex was just another aspect of Bella’s reawakening, which also focused on philosophy, dancing, eating and more.
Poor Things was re-edited ahead of its U.K. release date earlier this month due to a controversial scene where Bella sees two boys watching her work as a prostitute. Stone, however, felt it would have been dishonest for the camera to “shy away” from the more uncomfortable moments.
“To say, ‘OK, well, we’ll just cut all of this out because our society functions in a particular way,’ it felt like a lack of being honest about who Bella is,” she said on the radio show.
Earlier this month, Stone took home the 2024 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy for her role as Bella. Poor Things also won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
“Playing Bella was unbelievable,” Stone gushed in her acceptance speech. “I think this is a rom com, but in the sense of Bella falls in love with life itself. She accepts the good and the bad in equal measure and that really made me look at life differently. This means the world to me, thank you so much.”
Stone was again awarded at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, January 14, where Poor Things was also up for Best Comedy, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Hair and Makeup, Best Visual Effects, Best Score and Best Editing.
Costar Mark Ruffalo was nominated for Best Actor, but Robert Downey Jr. won for his part in Oppenheimer. Director Yorgos Lanthimos was also bested by Oppenheimer’s Christopher Nolan.
