Anna, congratulations.
- Fantastic film. - Thank you.
It must have been a lot of fun to shoot.
It was. I mean, it was a dream and there were so many moments where I couldn't really believe
that I got to be there and the sets were extraordinary. And there was a moment where I was standing
next to Tracey Ullman, Chris Pine was riding in on a horse and Emily's there and Meryl's
there and the set is just enormous and we were like, I can't believe we get to be here.
But then I was like, "I can't believe Tracey Ullman's talking to me!" Like, all of it was
so incredible.
And obviously, when you're acting, you're kinda putting yourself out there aren't you?
How does singing compare to that? Is it worse or does it help?
I mean, I think sometimes it can be hard and it's hard to justify and you get this, like,
false start thing where you're like, "And now I'm gonna sing a song!" And Sondheim just
writes the music so well that it just feels like, yeah and now I'm singing and It's such
a smooth transition and his work, I think, helps you. It's not easy but it helps your
performance so much 'cause it's so smartly written. It's written with the performance
in mind and with the intention in mind and there's never a point where you're like, "Oh,
I've really gotta figure out how I make this make sense. Why am I just holding the note
for no reason?" Everything has a reason and purpose so if you just let it carry you, you
have the world's best guide, you know?
- Good help. - Yes.
Did you go into this, as I imagine I would if I were you, thinking, "I get to be best
friends with Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep forever!"
Well Johnny- The Wolf I knew was a small part so I knew Johnny was only probably gonna be
there for a few days. And Meryl- God, everybody says such nice things about her but I was
really just expecting her to be scarier than she was, so I wasn't thinking we were gonna
be friendly even. I just like, "Don't make her mad. Just don't have that moment where
Meryl Streep says something to you that crushes your soul and stays with you forever. Just
try to avoid that." And then, you know, she's just like- she's like a bloke, you know? She's
just cool and wants to hang out and she's like- She was like, "Hey, did you watch those
MTV Movie awards? Oh, it's crazy." And you're like, "What is happening?! Why are you so
normal? How are you so normal? You have every right to be the craziest diva on the planet,"
and she's just like the coolest.
- One of the lads. - Yeah.
- Classic Meryl. - Oh Meryl.
Obviously the overriding message of this is be careful what you wish for. Could you relate
to that or have you been quite lucky in the stuff that you've wished for?
You know, I think be careful what you wish for is one of those expressions that I think
some people think it means that you'll get your wish and completely regret it, and certainly
not in our film, that's not the message. It just means that you might get what you want
and in the real world you might work for something and get what you want but it will come with
complications and no situation is perfect. As adults, and as children too I guess, we
learn this lesson again and again and again that- we feel like if I just had this one
thing then everything would be perfect, then I'd be happy and, of course, everything comes
with its own set of complications, so. I mean, I've been in that situation many many times
but, you know, you just hope that thing that you want and the thing that you work for is
worth those complications.
And I've often thought to myself I wouldn't mind being Anna Kendrick, because you-
Often?!
I mean, not every day.
Okay, great.
Is this weird? I don't know.
Good. No less than every day.
Just every single day. No, you get to work with some amazing people including Hollywood's
handsomest men.
It’s true. Very lucky. I know.
I mean, I've interviewed them and I get all weird. How do you work with them every day?
You know, I don't mean to be- I don't mean to over simplify it but- And I'm sure it's
the same for them, but when you see a guy at five in the morning and he has to get in
the hair and makeup trailer with you and he's grumpy and he hasn't had his coffee. It's like-
When you work with them on a film set, it's like you see the parts of them that they wouldn't
show until, like, the third year of a relationship So, you know, you're like, "It's just a dude.
He's just a dude." So you get to see- And it's the same thing with every actor and God
knows it's the same thing with yourself, you're like, "I'm too tired to keep it together anymore."
So you sort of see the best and worst of everybody in a film environment. So you just can't be
intimidated by somebody when they're grumpy and asking a PA to get them a smoothie or
something.
So by the end it's like you've been in a three year relationship with Chris Pine.
I know. And didn't get any. What the hell?
Why am I not getting any?
And, before I go, what is the overriding best experience or memory that you'll take from
this project?
Umm... Oh, it's so hard. I mean, it was just such a magical experience and it's-
I dunno what I would take away, I guess but-
Was the dressing up as a princess fun? Because those were some good outfits.
I preferred the rags. The rags were so much fun and I get to be, like, dirty, like covered
in soot and stuff and it felt like I got to run around a lot more. But while I was living
in London I got to watch a lot of panel TV shows and we don't have panel shows. We don't
have, like, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and 8 out of 10 Cats, we don't have an American
equivalent to a panel show at all and I think they're the greatest thing. Like, if I could
watch QI for the rest of my life, I'd be so happy.
So your favourite part of Into the Woods was-
British panel shows, yes. It was British trashy TV. And Come Dine with Me! What- What is that
show?! I love it, I love it!
Did you watch Gogglebox?
No but we stayed at a hotel with, oh my god, oh my god- Dominic!
Oh, and Steph!
We all stayed in that hotel when we were shooting at Dover Castle for the wedding scene. Every-
We stayed before they were famous, we were at that hotel and his accent was so posh that
I thought he was doing a bit, so when he came to greet me at the door, because it got in
very late so they had to let me in, he was like, "Oh, have you been travelling for very
long?" And I was like, "It's been exhausting." Then I had to, like, slowly dial back the
accent because I was like, "Oh, you're for real, that's really your accent." I thought
he was joking. But it was crazy, crazy how posh they are. Like, that's not a normal level
of a posh accent, right?!
No.
Okay. Oh my God. I was like, "Oh! Okay..."
We're not doing a thing, okay.
So I had to weed out the accent really slowly.