Shailene Woodley on Chemistry with 'The Fault In Our Stars' Co-Star

Good to have you back.

Yeah, man. Thanks for having me.

We had a little birthday party for you last time.

Yeah, it was, we did. It's actually my birthday again today.

Is it? Like, wait, wait, it's May, right? What what is today? What what day? May, oh my gosh, what is the date? You're gonna like really show my ignorance right now.

12. It's May 12th. My half birthday is in three days.

Oh my gosh. Do you keep track of your half birthday?

That is such a lie. My half birthday's in March, I think. I don't know.

I've never heard of a half birthday before.

No?

No.

I think I, yeah, I know. Half birthday.

Do you celebrate?

No.

You just know when it is?

I just know when it is.

Do you tell people it's your half birthday?

No. It's I I forget. I just thought it was a witty response to thinking about.

It is. So, wait. I read that your dad is a high school principal.

Yes, he was.

So's mine.

Oh yeah.

Was yours the principal of your school?

No. See, mine was. No. He was a not, he was a principal of an elementary school.

How do they feel about acting like when from the time you were young? Cause my parents always, it was weird. Like when I chose to go into this business, fully supportive. They were sort of like, as long as you're making your own money and you're doing fine, they were really supportive about it.

Yeah, no, they were really, I mean, super supportive. They, I had three rules in order to continue acting growing up: I had to stay the person they knew I was, do good in school, and have fun.

I love that. Yeah. No, I think that's the key. As long as you're doing as long as as the grades are good then you're fine.

Yeah, pretty easy, people. Well, grades are good, but also like you gotta be, you know, the person that that that they knew I was, and also having fun. I always, when I was a kid, I was like, that's so weird that you would tell me to have fun. But now, like as an adult, it's so, I mean, it has to be fun, right?

It has to be fun. It has to be fun. Especially when it gets, I mean, especially for you when your life gets crazy and the business gets crazier and crazier, keeping that sort of sense of fun. And I know you've talked about that before, with scripts, if you don't get butterflies,

Yeah, then it's meant for somebody else.

And in this film that I saw today, which by the way, if I'm puffy, it's because I've been bawling my eyes out. And I saw the movie with two grown men and they were both crying too.

You're not puffy at all.

Yeah, it's definitely a tearjerker. It's it's like a tear pour, actually.

Like a tear pour?

It's kind of that, because it's like a it's like a festival of tears, but in such a good way. But, um, I was thinking about Ansel. I was thinking about sort of the chemistry that you two have. And when you said either you're right for a part or you're not right for a part. Do you think chemistry is something you just have with somebody and you don't when you're shooting, or do you think that's something you can create?

Um, no. I mean, I think it's something you have or you don't have. But I did a movie once with somebody and I didn't feel like we had much chemistry. And everybody was like, "God, your guys's chemistry is out of control."

Yeah, really?

While we were filming and I was like, "Really? I don't really, I don't feel that natural chemistry." And then I saw the movie and I was sort of like, "Wow, we do have great chemistry."

Wow. So there's a great scene in the film, it's sort of the first time that you and Ansel have like, a meeting. It's sort of outside. And you say to him, "You ruin the whole thing." because he pulls out a cigarette. And it's kind of like that thing where girls, and I was the one, I was laughing out loud and the two guys that I was with sort of didn't didn't get how much meaning that has for a girl, because basically it's like you're having this perfect first meeting with a guy and he does that one thing, but you call him out on it. You're like, "You've ruined the whole thing."

Really? It is disgusting. What? What, do you think that that's cool or something? You just ruined this whole thing.

The whole thing?

Yes, this whole thing. Oh man. Even though you had freaking cancer, you're willing to give money to a corporation for the chance to acquire even more cancer? Let me just tell you that not being able to breathe sucks.

Hazel Grace, they don't actually hurt you unless you light them.

Hmm? I never lit one. It's a metaphor, see? You put the thing that does the killing right between your teeth. But you never give it the power to kill you. A metaphor.

Do you think there is a perfect, have you had a perfect first meeting? Whether it's like romantic, whether it's like in any, in any sort of encounter you've had.

Yeah, I mean, I feel like every kind of first meeting is sort of epic in its own right, you know? You sort of, if I like look back on the way I've met any of my my closest of closes, they're they're all such sort of funny situations or random situations. But life is like that, you know, where we're always sort of being thrown really random curveballs and what not.

There's also in the movie you have sort of pet peeve words and one is like people talk about you having cancer and they sort of talk about your journey and you're like, "Mmm, do not use that word." And then they say in your support group they're like, "We're here for you." Do you have, because in this business, in Hollywood, I feel like there's so many sort of pet peeve phrases, sayings, things that people say. Do you have any pet peeves?

So many. I mean, so many in especially in this industry, but I'm going to remove it from this industry and make it even bigger. The one word that I just cannot stand is stuff. Like, is there no other adjective or noun or anything you can use to replace the word stuff? Why stuff?

Now I'm afraid I'm gonna be using it in the interview. It's like subliminally it's gonna come out.

It's not necessarily in like di, like actual interaction. It's more over written email. Like if I receive an email or a text from somebody and it's like, "Yeah, you know, I just went to this place and bought some stuff." Or, "I just got stuff." Or, you know, "I'm I'm doing this and stuff." I'm just like, "Really? There's no other, there's no other word you have that's."

Maybe I'm just, I'm a writer and it's not I heard "things" an another word for you.

Fame is one, yeah, if we're talking about like solely this industry. It's not even that I hate it, it's just like a strange sort of I don't I don't really enjoy the words fame or celebrity or whatever the other ones that they all use. It's 'cause I feel like it sort of puts somebody else above somebody else and I don't like that. Like I feel like it's we're all just human beings and what we do may be different, you know, with our with our lives and our lifestyles, our careers, or what not. But we're all human. We all go home and like still dirty dishes in the sink and still dogs take care of or whatever it may be. So the whole like layering, the tiered thing is just not into it. And I feel like fame is a word that represents that.

Right. Your character in the movie, her she she's obsessed with a book and it sort of changed her life. Have you had a book, a film, a TV show, anything sort of either when you were a teen or sort of growing up that sort of shaped sort of your your adolescence?

1984 really affected me as a teenager. Um, just sort of looking at the world and looking at at uh, sovereignty and and sort of the paradigm and society that we live in now. And so that was a big book for me growing up that made me question a lot of things.

Any reality shows? If you were to watch one,

Top Chef.

Really? Oh, God. Are you a good chef?

I love to cook.

You do?

I do. Yeah. But that show, I've been watching since day one.

Really? Watch anything. Um, I saw something, yeah, I know, something on your Twitter about baking. I think it was a while ago.

Baking. Yeah, cooking in general. Anything cooking, I'm there. Food, food, food.

Do you have a favorite to cook?

Yeah. My favorite is like kitchen sink dinners. Like leftovers from 500 different things that are in your fridge, throw it all together. That's my favorite.

Um, I read that you said being an actor means being an pro listener.

Mmm.

And I think the really good actors are really the ones that can be in that moment and really listen to what's happening. Do you think being a good listener as an actress makes you a good listener in life, necessarily?

I think when I'm open to listening in life, yeah. I mean, I I don't think that they necessarily compare, but I definitely not automatically. I think the observation thing is definitely something that I take in in real life, like I'm always noticing.

Growing up with two psychologist parents, I think really started that at a young age, just observing people, not necessarily even their body language, but observing like, "Wow, this person just said this to me, I wonder what internally they're feeling in order for them to feel like they had to elicit that response or what not." And so that's what I think I'm I'm always observing. And then in acting, yeah, you really just sort of have to for me, what works well is or feels right, is to surrender to the moment and just actively react to what's happening.

Have you watched this film? Do you watch your films generally?

I always do, yeah. Because I feel like it's a report card. It's like a way for me, yeah, you know, it's a way.

Really? You can have 20,000 people and they all do report back to you what was good or not good about the movie or your performance or whatever. But to me, the only thing is because I don't do this for other people. I do it for my own sort of like, you know, artistic, whatever. And so to watch a movie is like being able to say, "Wow, that was good or that was really awful." Or, "I remember that scene and I was so not there and it shows." Or, you know, it's a way to sort of dissect it in order to like grow my craft, I guess.

Are you able to be objective? Or you?

Not the first time I see a movie, no. The first time you see a movie you're like, "Oh my gosh."

Right. Like, do you cry when you watch this movie? Or what what you, did you?

Yeah. So you can't get through it either without tears. No way. I don't know, I don't know how anybody could. It's so it's just so relatable and it's so, um, you know, I think all of us in life right now know somebody either with cancer or who knows somebody with cancer. It's kind of one or two degrees of separation. And even if it's not cancer, even if it's AIDS or there's some sort of, you know, illness that people are dealing with. And so I think that it it will touch every single person who sees it.

Thanks for coming in. Great to see you.

Thanks for having me.

Yeah, man. Come back again on your half birthday or birthday or whatever. We'll have another party in here.

When I'm not puffy and crying.

You're not puffy at all. Such a good movie and a must see for everybody. Thanks again.

Thank you, man.