Samantha Morton has opened up about how tough it was being unexpectedly axed from the 2014 movie Her, which won an Academy Award.
The 49-year-old actress is currently soaking in the praise for her standout performance as Circe in Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey, which is no doubt eyeing up next year’s Oscars.
But the road to this latest acclaimed role has been far from smooth for the English actress, who has also known her fair share of rejection.
In 2013, she was cast in and recorded the voice for the key supporting character, also called Samantha, in Spike Jonze’s critically acclaimed movie Her about the strange relationship between a lonely writer and a piece of Artificial Intelligence (aka Samantha).
The stacked movie also starred Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Chris Pratt, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde and Bill Hader, to name a few.
Over 13 years on, Morton has reflected on being cast and bringing the role to life, only to find out she had been replaced by the Jurassic World star, 41, post-production.
‘Well, I have to say that it’s every director’s prerogative, in regards to the final cut of the film.
‘And for any job, you’re never guaranteed to be in it in the end because unless you are the lead in the movie and you’re pivotal, you never really know,’ the two-time Academy Award nominee shared.
In fact, she explained to the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast that prior experiences had taught her not to get ‘too excited’ as anything could happen to your role.
Nevertheless, she said, when it came to it, she ‘was surprised and a little bit sad would be an understatement’.
Calling her time on set with Spike and lead star Joaquin ‘special’ regardless of the outcome, she noted that her version of the character was much more English compared to Scar Jo’s ‘very, very different’ American take.
‘I got it, but I was sad… it does hurt when you’re fired from something, or before it. What I’d have wished for was another chance in a booth to do an American accent, but I mean, it’s Scarlett Johansson, come on,’ she concluded.
Even though she has scooped up a Bafta fellowship and a Golden Globe during her career, with her latest spin on the witch Circe the cherry on top, she’s also navigating the industry as an ageing woman.
She admitted to host Josh Horowitz: ‘I haven’t worked for a year since making The Odyssey, you know, and I’ve got really good agents and a manager, but at the end of the day, I’m 49.
‘I do believe I’m a good actor, [but] there are other good actors out there. Do you know what I mean? So, the politics of the industry have changed massively.’
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Still, she was looking at the glass half full, sharing that she feels ‘confident I will keep working till I’m in my 80s’ and her gratitude at working on a Christopher Nolan movie in my lifetime.
Morton recently reflected on the grief she’s going through after her older sister died aged 53, just 18 months after her biological father also died.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, she said: ‘‘I sadly lost my sister on April 22 this year, she was 53.
‘I am still dealing with the coroners and the trauma. I lost my real father 18 months ago. Trauma. So the past is always with me and I’m not saying I’m not going to be all right next week, but every day I wake, say a prayer and say “Please help me”.’