Interview: Shailene Woodley dives into ‘Allegiant’

Going back to the identity within each character. If you think about it, essentially each one is divergent in their own way. For instance, Caleb grows up in Abnegation, but he has the influences of Erudite when he goes there. So how do you think that this series and this film replicates or reflects on our current society?

I think there’s a lot of parallels that can be drawn. The first movie deals with mass genocide, the second movie is all about civil war, and this third movie is about entering a culture and understanding where your place is within the rules and restrictions of a formed government. That being said, there are parallels and I think there are subjects to reflect on in our on society, but I think using this as a direct tool and platform to directly relate to what’s happening right now isn’t it. I keep getting asked about the election right now and what’s happening in politics and to relate it to this movie, and I’m like, “Guys, this is a fantasy film. This is very different than the chaos happening in America.” [Laughs]

And what about the internal connections between each character?

Yeah, I mean inherently I think that’s one of the reasons why everybody relates to the movie. You not only have the relationship between Tris and Four, but you have a relationship between two strong females with Christina and Tris. There’s no envy, there’s no competition, there’s no jealousy. It’s really rooted in a supportive nature for one another and supportive ideas. You also have the exploration between siblings and the hurt that only a family member can really affect you with more than anyone else. There’s something about that bloodline. And you have the loss of parents.

One thing that I think is really fascinating as well is that all the antagonists in these movies, specifically Kate Winslet’s character and Jeff Daniels’s character more than Naomi Watts’s character, is that they’re considered antagonists because they have opposing opinions to Tris and do tragic and horrific acts of physical violence to their society, but at the same time, where those things are stemming from are from a deep belief that’s rooted in wanting to help society and wanting to help their community. For instance, Jeff Daniels’s character really believes that if his prophecy is fulfilled, if what he wants to do is allowed, then he will be able to help the world. And that’s what Jeanine’s character wanted to do as well.

Tris really focuses on trust, and she’s looking for authenticity in her connections. Have you taken away any lessons from this particular role?

Yeah, I’m kind of one of those people who trust you no matter what, and if you do something that society would say I should retract my trust from you because of an action you performed, I’m very quick to forgive. I think we’re all really messy people and we all make mistakes and we all have to learn. The biggest thing in my books is learning from the mistakes that you make and moving forward; not necessarily preaching that you’ll never make that same mistake again, but trying as hard as you can not to and to learn from your actions. So yeah, trust is something that’s pretty influential. But it is important to also know that trust doesn’t just belong in the hands of other people. It belongs in your gut, and so when I meet someone and my gut tells me not to trust them, it’s not necessarily that I don’t trust them, it’s that I trust my gut more.

The movie sometimes strays away from the source material in the books. Has that affected your portrayal of Tris in any way?

I didn’t actually read Allegiant the book because the director said the movie is going to be incredibly different from the book, and I shouldn’t read the book. So I chose not to because I didn’t want what happened in the first movie and second movie to happen again. There are parts in the books that I love so much that I wish had been a part of the film, but because there’s only so much you can adapt and create, you have to just surrender to the process of the writer and the director. But I think with this movie especially, I would have been attached to a lot of the themes and subjects that Veronica Roth came up with and I wanted to be loyal and faithful to the script. So maybe after the next movie I’ll read the book. [Laughs]

So from the three movies, we can see that you’re very athletic, you’re very active. So what do you do on your down time?

Anything and everything [Laughs] I’m a California girl so I grew up outdoors and hiking, and going to the beach often so whether it’s biking, surfing, or skateboarding, you know just anything active. I’m not really involved with formal sports, but if you want to do squats right now, I’m down. [Laughs]

You’ve done both big-budget films and small, indie films. Is there one you prefer more?

They’re all just very different. You know, in these movies I don’t get to explore emotion necessarily as much as I do on smaller films. You don’t get to explore the depths of the character’s relationships. Because there’s so much exposition that has to be explained and portrayed in these movies, there’s only so much time to really get into the meat of the characters, but at the same time, on a small, independent film I don’t get to learn about green screens or the technological side of film-making today. Cinematically, the cranes and different cameras that we use on these movies are so different than what you get on an indie. So yeah, they’re both rewarding in different ways.

You talked about how in this process you’ve worked with so many different creative individuals. With so many different visions thrown into this story line, how do you stay true to what your perception of Tris is and how to tell her story?

It’s hard. It’s actually difficult because from day one my perception of Tris has been the Tris that Veronica created. I loved that Tris. When I signed on to these movies, we didn’t have a script for Divergent; it was just the book as the source material. So it’s difficult to retain the integrity of who Tris is in a world that doesn’t cater to that. Then, at the same time, it’s a good challenge. And we were very fortunate to have Theo because he fully is on the same page with his character and we can reflect back and forth on one another. We’re lucky that even if our very structures have shifted some things from the source material, they’re also very open to collaboration and to our ideas as much as they can help incorporate the story.

Finally, do you have any other upcoming projects that you’re excited about?

I have a movie coming out later this year called Snowden, and it’s about Edward Snowden, which I’m really excited about because that entire situation that unfolded a few years ago really affected me. I’m pumped to have this be a vehicle in educating more Americans about why he decided to do what he did. And then I’m working on a HBO miniseries right now called Big Little Lies, which is also a really neat experience because Jean-Marc Vallée who did Dallas Buyers Club and Wild is directing, and there’s something about having this really fluid French energy around that’s really nice and completely different than having an American director. The cast is just really phenomenal as well, so I’m feeling very creatively stimulated.

 In theaters now.