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In Nia DaCosta’s “Hedda,” Tessa Thompson’s titular socialite spreads chaos. She is manipulative. She cuts people’s bones with a pinch. She pours more drink.
Hedda Gabler, the heroine of Henrik Ibsen’s 1890 play, has long been one of the theatre’s most tragic figures, a woman torn between social convention and fear of her own scandal. She’s that and more in DaCosta’s new “Hedda.”
“Many people think of her as a woman who is suicidal,” says Thompson. “I think of her as a person who is dying to live, and dying to live on her own terms. She may do some questionable things in pursuit of it, but I think the real goal is really ambitious and beautiful.”
“Hedda,” which will be released in theaters on Friday and stream on Prime Video on October 29, is a blistering tour de force for Thompson. In a career spanning 42 years and two decades los angeles Native, no role has given Thompson a more complex, contradiction-filled character that displays all his charisma, all his cunning, all his ability to stir things up.
This is a somewhat rare full-length scene of Thompson, usually from Marvel films.creedAnd it’s something all the more charming and sensual for Thompson, whose roles – sympathetic, compassionate – are often closer to her own thoughtful personality. But in “Hedda” Thompson is cruel and brutal.
“Even the costume, taking up so much space, is really an exercise in occupying space,” Thompson said while relaxing in a room. toronto The hotel restaurant shortly before the premiere of “Hedda” earlier this fall. “I’m sensitive to people, I would say. I used to say I’m a people pleaser and then I read a really great thing that said: So you’re a people pleaser. How many people are currently happy with you?”
Thompson laughs a lot. Far from gathering enemies, Thompson has steadily gained a wide following because of the nuance and intelligence he brings to various roles. “Hedda” puts her in the (very competitive) mix for a Best Actress Oscar nomination this year. Whether that’s the case or not, it’s a performance that firmly places Thompson in the league of Hedda Gablers, from Ingrid Bergman to Cate Blanchett.
“It’s challenging but it’s incredible to be a part of a tradition,” Thompson says. “It adds pressure in some ways, but in some ways it alleviates it. It’s not everything. There are lots of versions, and we’re doing our own thing. And I also think that if you’re going to take on a classical piece, you should have real skin in the game.”
Putting a personal spin on Ibsen
And for both Thompson and DaCosta, “Hedda” is a deeply personal film. DaCosta, who also wrote the adaptation, makes significant changes to Ibsen’s play, while remaining faithful to its tragic premise. His “Hedda” transports the play from 19th-century Norway to 1950s England. Here, Gabler is queer, but not openly, and has instead taken up social shelter by marrying a rich man (Tom Bateman) unsuspectingly.
On the film’s chaotic night, they are hosting a lavish party at their expansive country estate. One of the most notable guests is Eileen Lovborg (Nina Hoss), Hedda’s former lover who is not hiding his sexuality or his ambition. (In the play, Lovborg is a man.) Eileen is accompanied by his girlfriend (Imogen Poots) and a new manuscript that is destined to propel his career as a writer and professor. The gender reversal allows DaCosta’s film to present a portrait of not just one but three women, each of whom swims her own way through white, male patriarchy.
Thompson and DaCosta have been friends since meeting at Sundance Labs. Thompson starred in DaCosta’s directorial debut, the 2018 indie crime drama “Little Woods.” DaCosta says he wrote “Hedda” for her.
“I knew she could do it and I knew she would surprise me,” says DaCosta. “She’s energetic, like an older sister, very sweet and the opposite of the character. But she’s incredible at playing these characters who have so much going on that they can’t show. Like in ‘Passing.’
“Hedda” shares some DNA with Rebecca Hall’s 2021 play. In it, Thompson played a black woman and Ruth Negga played her white friend in 1920s New York. “Hedda”, similarly, revolves around a character who is hiding her true nature – in some cases so brutally – from both society and herself.
“That way, I feel like it’s really modern. I think we all do,” Thompson says. “It’s death by raise. We have to cut off parts of ourselves to fit into anything. I experience that in Hollywood too. There are certain things that basically don’t really work for me and I force them to work because I want to exist inside this industry.”
A Hedda like many of us
Thompson began acting in Los Angeles theatre. His break came in the series “Veronica Mars”. Then came roles in acclaimed independent films such as “Dear White People” (2014), “Selma” (2014), “Sorry to Bother You” (2018) and “Sylvie’s Love” (2020). In between, she’s been mixing it up in franchises: as Valkyrie in the MCU, the aspiring singer in the “Creed” trilogy and starring in 2019’s “Men in Black: International.”
Mostly, Thompson has built a career on his own terms. She came out publicly as bisexual in 2018. With her own production company, she has become a producer for films such as “Hedda”.
“I found, in a way that Hedda didn’t have, a kind of agency,” says Thompson. “Starting a production company a few years ago was really helpful in that regard, the ability to develop something that felt less like a cog in a moving thing. Also, obviously, being able to take yourself out of the frame sometimes.”
But it’s clear that Hedda has left an impression on Thompson. She admits that this character is one that she still thinks about like a puzzle that cannot be completely solved.
“There’s such a contradiction in him,” she says. “He’s focused on existing within society. On the other hand, he’s brave enough to do a lot of things that you wouldn’t do if you’re interested. But he’s not brave enough to do the ultimate thing, which is to decide to live outside the parameters of what’s expected of him. In that way, he’s a complete coward. Like many of us.”