Jennifer Lawrence Opens Up About On-Set Anxiety and Filming Awkward Scenes

Jennifer Lawrence is speaking honestly about the anxiety she feels before starting a new film and why she prefers to get uncomfortable scenes done as early as possible.

During a conversation with Josh Horowitz at 92NY on Jan. 7, the 35-year-old actress said she often feels anxious when beginning a project, especially when she has to film intimate or awkward scenes with a new co-star. To manage that stress, she likes to tackle those moments right away.

While working on her latest film, Die My Love, Lawrence revealed that she filmed a nude and highly physical “tiger-like” sex scene with co-star Robert Pattinson on the very first day of shooting. According to Lawrence, doing so was actually easier because the two had not yet gotten to know each other.

She explained that filming intimate scenes with close friends can feel more awkward. Laughing, she compared the experience to kissing her longtime friend Josh Hutcherson during The Hunger Games, saying it felt stranger because of their friendship. Working with someone new, she said, can sometimes be more comfortable.

Lawrence also described acting as “very embarrassing” at times, especially when director Lynne Ramsay asked her and Pattinson to physically act like tigers attacking one another. To prepare, the pair took interpretive dance lessons weeks before filming began.

She recalled arriving in Calgary three weeks early and feeling completely mortified during the dance sessions. Both actors admitted they were bad dancers, and Lawrence joked that being told to “move like a tree” was more embarrassing than eventually being asked to film nude. By that point, she said, they were relieved it was no longer interpretive dance.

Die My Love centers on Grace, a writer and young mother who begins to slowly lose her grip on reality after moving from New York City to rural Montana. As her behavior becomes more erratic, her partner Jackson, played by Pattinson, grows increasingly worried and helpless.

This is not the first time Lawrence has spoken openly about anxiety. In November, she shared that she experienced severe postpartum anxiety after the birth of her second child with husband Cooke Maroney. The couple also share a son, Cy, who is 3.

In a separate interview with The New Yorker in October, Lawrence described intense fears after giving birth, including worrying constantly about her child’s safety and feeling like she was failing as a mother. She later said she was prescribed Zurzuvae, a new medication for postpartum depression, which helped her symptoms significantly.

By opening up about both her professional and personal struggles, Lawrence continues to shed light on the emotional challenges that can come with acting, motherhood, and life in the public eye.