“I’ll never forget when I auditioned for the Coen Brothers for True Grit – I was so serious. I was so prepared, I was so ready for that moment. I walked in, and I’m doing a couple scenes and they were rather serious scenes…I’m doing my thing, I’m feeling really good about how it’s going until I start to hear Joel and Ethan laugh. They’re just giggling at what I’m doing and I’m obviously keeping to [the scene], but I’m thinking to myself, this is not supposed to be funny! It wasn’t until then, or even after I did the film, that I realised I do have this comedic… I don’t know if it’s timing or this sense of playing through tragic circumstances with a built-in comic relief, and I’m able to touch on that as well.”
Now starring in Disney+’s Hawkeye alongside the Avenger’s resident archer, Clint Barton, played by Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld takes on the role of Kate Bishop, Barton’s archery-savvy protégé who dreams of becoming a certified Avenger herself. And despite her entrance to the Marvel universe being a daunting new venture for the infectiously charismatic actor, playing a radical heroine is something she’s certainly used to. The third and final season of Dickinson, in which Steinfeld plays the empowering female poet, Emily Dickinson, and serves as executive producer, has also hit the screens for the last time. So what makes Steinfeld so undeniably sought-after on-screen and celebrated off-screen? Her irresistible humour, according to Woody Harrelson.
Covering our Winter 2021 issue, actor, musician, and producer Hailee Steinfeld connects with her former Edge of Seventeen co-star, Woody Harrelson, to chat jumping from the 1850s to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and her uncanny comedic timing…