Anna Kendrick, the actress who became synonymous with comical roles and quick-witted charm, said she no longer wanted to pursue comedy because of her private struggles.
After an emotionally abusive relationship ended, the 39-year-old actress revealed that she told her agents she wasn’t interested in reading comedy scripts anymore, even though she had long been celebrated for her humorous performances.
Earlier this month, Anna released her directorial debut, Woman of the Hour, which includes themes of gender-based violence—a subject that resonates with her because of the emotional and psychological abuse she allegedly suffered in her personal life.
Anna Kendrick, known for her quick-witted charm, revealed she no longer wanted to pursue comedy due to her personal struggles
“It does feel like the most revealing piece of work I’ve ever done. It created a window into my mind,” she told Independent last week about her role, Cheryl, in Woman of the Hour.
The actress began talking about her past abusive relationship while promoting her previous movie, Alice, Darling, in 2022. She also reportedly told her agents that she was no longer interested in reading comedy scripts.
“I think what was happening at that time was I was being forced into a place of performance and dishonesty in my private life,” she told the outlet. “I just couldn’t spend another second breathing dishonest air.”
The 39-year-old actress recently made her directorial debut with Woman of the Hour, which explores themes of gender-based violence
She mentioned that there was also a point of time in her life when she was even unloading her trauma on random strangers.
“It’s a literal true story that, in the aftermath of this really traumatic relationship, my plumber came over and asked how I’d been, and I just told him everything. I physically couldn’t continue performing,” she continued.
Image credits: VVS Films
The Oscar-nominated actress touched upon the parallels between her own life and her roles as Cheryl in Woman of the Hour, as well as Alice in Alice, Darling—a film about a woman trapped in an abusive relationship with a successful boyfriend.
She went on to explain that second-guessing oneself is a common theme in abusive environments.
“I was being forced into a place of performance and dishonesty in my private life,” the 39-year-old actress said
“Sometimes the most torturous thing isn’t just the disrespect or mistreatment, but the fact that everyone’s acting like it’s not happening,” she said. “Which then convinces you that something’s not happening.”
“It makes you question whether you’re making all of it up, or if you’re being paranoid or too sensitive,” she added.
The Up in the Air actress went on to talk about gaslighting, saying, “You sound crazy. You’re dismissed. ‘He brushed your hair off your shoulder – that’s nothing.’ And yet when you’re there, you can feel the threat that’s hanging in the room.”
Anna’s recent film, Women of the Hour, is based on the horrific real-life story of aspiring actress Cheryl Bradshaw (played by Anna), who crossed paths with serial killer Rodney Alcala.
While speaking of abusive environments, Anna spoke about how it can be “torturous” to constantly question whether your mistreatment is real
When the original director for the movie stepped back, Anna decided to fill their shoes for her directorial debut with the true crime thriller.
She told Variety that directing Woman of the Hour forced her to be more vulnerable than writing her own 2016 memoir, Scrappy Little Nobody.
“Those were real stories from my real life, but I was presenting them in ways that were often glib and mostly designed to be lighthearted and entertaining,” she said about her memoir.
“Even though these are not stories from my real life, it feels, like, dangerously revealing,” she said while comparing the two creative experiences. “It feels like I’m revealing something about myself in every frame, no matter if it’s intentional or not.”
The Oscar-nominated actress said that “every moment” in Woman of the Hour reflected her “own terror”
The Pitch Perfect star said the movie is a reflection of the “terror” she experienced in her own life.
“Every moment of the movie is kind of a reflection of my own terror,” she told the outlet. “I don’t think it’s an accident that I responded to this script at a time when I’d just been through something really devastating and traumatic and that really changed my worldview.”
In 2022, while promoting Alice, Darling, the actress opened up about her former abusive partner, with whom she had been for over six years.
“I was in a situation where I loved and trusted this person more than I trusted myself,” she told People.
Woman of the Hour is a true crime thriller about an aspiring actress who crosses paths with the serial killer Rodney Alcala
“So when that person is telling you that you have a distorted sense of reality and that you are impossible and that all the stuff that you think is going on is not going on, your life gets really confusing really quickly,” she said.
“And I was in a situation where, at the end, I had the unique experience of finding out that everything I thought was going on was in fact going on,” she went on to say. “So I had this kind of springboard for feeling and recovery that a lot of people don’t get.”
Image credits: Netflix
The task of figuring out “what really happened” in the relationship was “the hardest task of my adult life,” she said at the time.
“My body still believes that it was my fault,” she added. “So even with this concrete jumping off point for me, to walk out of that relationship knowing that I wasn’t crazy, it’s incredible the way that recovery has been so challenging.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with domestic abuse, help is available. The Safe and Together Institute provides international domestic violence resources.
Fans have showered the actress with support as she continues to explore her film career
