An Interview With Jennifer Lawrence

Courier-Journal.com interviews Jennifer Lawrence, the actress who plays doomed teenager Claire in Mother’s Little Helper:

How was it meeting the “Medium” folks?

I didn’t have any scenes with Patricia Arquette (Allison Dubois). Scheduling is very weird. Even if you have scenes with somebody, most of the time the person isn’t even there. They would just shoot me talking to the other actor, and they’d shoot that actor another day talking back. If they’re showing me talking to someone, they would be wasting money on the other actor just sitting there. Sometimes it’s really hard, especially when you have to look at something and be terrified by a piece of tape. Say I’m watching
a murder, I’m just watching a wall with a little strip of tape on it.

I’ve heard of actors having to do that with special effects but not actual humans.

. . . Shooting it was so weird, because it was the first thing I had starred in. I didn’t know it was so demanding, and what the hours were like, because I’d always had just a few scenes. I’d never been the guest star. It was a lot of fun, hard work and everybody was amazing.

Can you give us a sneak preview of the episode?

It’s called “Mother’s Little Helper.” And I’m mother’s little helper, because I’m helping at her bridal shop. We both get killed, and I’m showing Ariel what I saw, and my mom is showing Allison her side of the story.

Is it traumatic to die onscreen?

I had to fake my death a million times, over and over again. I had a squib, which is a pocket of blood that goes in your shirt, and it’s sound-activated. When the gun goes off, it pops and explodes a hole in your shirt. It was terrifying. I didn’t know it was going to be scary, but it was so scary. I was being shot in my back, so I couldn’t see who was shooting me. If I saw him, I would expect the sound coming. I’m afraid to see the show and see myself waiting for it. I’m afraid I did a bad job, and I’m afraid I’m going to just cringe. (Full article)

I think she did a first-rate job. You?

Tags: guest star, jennifer lawrence, medium, medium nbc, mother’s little helper