Jennifer Lawrence and Viola Davis sat down for an intimate conversation as part of Variety’s Actors on Actors series, where they bonded over the complexities of motherhood.
Lawrence, 32, welcomed her first child, son Cy, with her husband Cooke Maroney in April, while Davis, 57, and her husband of nearly 20 years, Julius Tennon, share 12-year-old daughter Genesis.
At one point during the sit-down, Davis recalled the moment when she’d accidentally locked her daughter in the car as a baby and how those ‘seconds’ of fear left her ‘traumatized.’
This inspired Lawrence to share a time when she’d forgotten to buckle in newborn Cy in the backseat of her own vehicle. She joked that it’s at least ‘good to know that we all almost kill our kids.’
Bonding: Jennifer Lawrence and Viola Davis sat down for an intimate conversation as part of Variety’s Actors on Actors series , where they bonded over the complexities of motherhood
Davis opened the conversation by lamenting about how people are no longer able to connect with one another because we’re all ‘perpetrating a fraud,’ including when it comes to their families.
‘Listen, everything that we do as actors helps people feel less alone,’ The Help actress began.
‘We’re living in a world now where we’re so disconnected from ourselves that we can’t connect with other people. And that’s because everybody is perpetrating a fraud. I mean, everybody!’
She said that after becoming a mother, herself, she realized that none of the mothers she came in contact with were willing to speak honestly about their children and, instead, chose to paint them as perfection.
‘I became a mom. Every mom I’ve run into, all of their kids are gifted. None of their kids have any issues. All of their kids come home with straight A’s. And I’m like, ‘Well, hell — really?” she explained.
Traumatized: At one point during the one-on-one, Davis recalled the moment when she’d accidentally locked her daughter in the car as a baby and how those ‘seconds’ of fear left her ‘traumatized’
Relatable: This inspired Lawrence to share a time when she’d once forgotten to buckle in her newborn in the backseat of her own vehicle. She joked that it’s ‘good to know that we all almost kill our kids’
Davis added that the problem is is that ‘nobody is coming to the table with their truth’ and that ‘nobody wanted to reveal’ the realities of their situation.
Lawrence discussed how the creation of her latest film Causeway occurred during three major events in her life: marrying Maroney, welcoming her first child and navigating the unknowns of a global pandemic.
‘I made the movie right before I got married. And then we had the pandemic,’ explained Lawrence. Production on the film, like many others, was paused as a result of COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown orders that were industry-wide.
‘Two years later, I’m pregnant, we go back, and we make the rest of it. … It was the scariest thing in the entire world to think about making a family,’ she admitted.
”What if I f*** up? What if I can’t do it?’ And I was so scared that I would f*** it up.’
New mom: Lawrence, 32, welcomed her first child , son Cy, with her husband Cooke Maroney in April; Lawrence seen in December 2021
Davis, 57, and her husband of nearly 20 years, Julius Tennon, share 12-year-old daughter Genesis
The anxiety and fear that was brewing inside of Lawrence mirrored the experiences of her Causeway character, Lynsey, who is a U.S. shoulder who is forced to return home after suffering a brain injury during her tour in Afghanistan.
She stressed that her marriage to art dealer Maroney has been nothing but ‘wonderful,’ but her anxieties around motherhood have plagued her daily life.
‘Every day of being a mom, I feel awful. I feel guilty,’ she admitted. ‘I’m playing with him and I’m like, “Is this what he wants to be doing? Should we be outside? We’re outside. What if he’s cold? What if he’s going to get sick? Should we be inside? Is this enough? Is this developing your brain enough?”‘
Davis explained that she experienced similar overwhelming fears, including when she accidentally locked Genesis in the car as a baby during a trip to Target.
‘I locked my kid in the car, and it was sweltering hot outside. I was overwhelmed. I had 50 million things on my plate. My daughter was in the back. She’s happy, all that. I’m just so stressed out going to Target. I love Target. … I walk out of the car, shut the door, and realize I don’t have my keys,’ she recalled.
Honesty: ‘ Every day of being a mom, I feel awful. I feel guilty,’ she admitted. ‘I’m playing with him and I’m like, ‘Is this what he wants to be doing? Should we be outside? We’re outside. What if he’s cold? What if he’s going to get sick? Should we be inside? Is this enough? Is this developing your brain enough?”
Davis explained that after becoming a mother, herself, she realized that none of the mothers she came in contact with were willing to speak honestly about their children and, instead, chose to paint them as perfection
‘I threw myself on the concrete, Jennifer. I screamed. You would think I was in a Greek tragedy. ‘My baby! Jesus!’
‘And then I saw these two men. I grabbed their necks and said, ‘My baby is in the car! My baby!’ And then what do I have in my hand? My phone.
‘So the two men whose necks I have in my hand, they said, ‘Ma’am, you just have to call 911.’ And I said, ‘Oh, OK.’ So I called 911, and I proceeded to scream at the operator. Every expletive you can imagine came out of my mouth,’ she continued.
‘They took her out of the car. And the reason why I’m telling you this story is it literally was seconds.’
Davis added that the problem is is that ‘nobody is coming to the table with their truth’ and that ‘nobody wanted to reveal’ the realities of their situation
Later, Lawrence discussed how the creation of her latest film Causeway occurred during three major events in her life: marrying Maroney, welcoming her first child and navigating the unknowns of a global pandemic
Shortly after the scary incident, she got in touch with her friend Michelle, who was also a mother, and asked her: ‘Is this what being a mom is?’
And Michelle replied with: ”Viola, I’m sorry, but yeah. It is.”
Since then, Davis said that she has ‘run into so many women who [have locked] their kids in the car.’
She also added that Genesis is her ‘life’ and she loves her ‘more than anything.’
Lawrence didn’t hesitate to share her own car-related mishap, which she can now look back on and laugh.
‘I drove around with [Cy], didn’t realize [he] wasn’t buckled into the car seat. He was just teetering around, just flying,’ she recalled. ‘OK, great! Good to know that we all almost kill our kids.’
Major: ‘I made the movie right before I got married. And then we had the pandemic,’ explained Lawrence. Production on the film, like many others, was paused as a result of COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown orders that were industry-wide
Mirrored: The anxiety and fear that was brewing inside of Lawrence mirrored the experiences of her Causeway character, Lynsey, who is a U.S. shoulder who is forced to return home after suffering a brain injury during her tour in Afghanistan
Lawrence waited six months to reveal her child’s name and gender to the world in a candid interview with Vogue that was published in September.
The Hunger Games actress ‘felt like my whole life had started over’ after giving birth but that it was ‘scary’ to talk about becoming a mother after friends warned her that she may not ‘fall in love right away.’
She told the outlet that she and Cooke decided on the name Cy after the postwar American painter Cy Twombly, who is one of her gallerist husband’s favorite artists
Lawrence admitted that she was reluctant to speak out on her baby, explaining ‘it’s so scary to talk about motherhood. Only because it’s so different for everybody. If I say, It was amazing from the start, some people will think, It wasn’t amazing for me at first, and feel bad.’
Davis explained that she experienced similar overwhelming fears, including when she’d accidentally locked Genesis in the car during a trip to Target
Shortly after the scary incident, she got in touch with her friend Michelle, who was also a mother, and asked her: ‘Is this what being a mom is?’
Source: dailymail.co.uk
