Any actress on the cusp of becoming the next big Hollywood star can be forgiven for copying the same path of her predecessors to reach such heights.
But not “The Nice Guys,” “The Beguiled,” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming’s” Angourie Rice. Because with “Every Day” the 17-year-old decided to take on a complicated love story packed with complex themes and a subtle message that could, if handled poorly, have easily gone over the heads of its intended audience.
You see, “Every Day” revolves around 16-year-old Rhiannon, played by Rice, who falls in love with a spirit named A, a travelling soul who wakes up in a brand new body every single day, and then spends 24 hours living an entirely different life.
Last week I had the opportunity to talk to Angourie Rice over the phone about “Every Day” and her career, and, even though we only chatted briefly, the way she spoke about the film, gender, sexuality, and how she selects her roles made it abundantly clear that she is the right actress at the right time to take Hollywood by storm.
What stood out for you about “Every Day”?
“I really loved the idea of different theories of how we exist in the world, and who we are, and challenging those ideas. I think this book asks how would someone live in our world today if they didn’t have a gender or a sexuality or culture or race? How would that impact their life? I thought that was such an interesting question. And I loved how the book explored that. It examines such a big complex idea with so many levels. But at its core it is still just about falling in love for the first time, and friendship, and family, and those things are universal.”
What do you look for in your roles?
“I look for stories that I want to tell. Sometimes a script will come through and it will be fantastic, but the role isn’t great. It will just be the girlfriend or the friend next door that doesn’t do anything. And that isn’t what I am about. I don’t just want to stand at the side and watch the hero. I want to play roles that have a proper story arc and a character journey and make things happen in the story. That’s really important for me.”
How do you audition? Are you just yourself? Or will you be slightly different to match a character?
“I think it is probably a mixture of both. Some characters are similar to me, so I will draw from my own experiences. But then I like to challenge myself and try to embody someone that is really different from me. Doing both of those things is equally as exciting for me as an actor. Because it allows me to play with how I play a character.”
How has it been combining school work with these big Hollywood films?
“It’s tough. It is strange because my career has taken off as I have progressed through high school. It is tough to keep it up, because education is really important for me. But you do have to make compromises. Because in reality, when I am on set, I am balancing a full-time job with school.”
“Every Day” is released on February 23.
