Jennifer Lawrence once turned to her friend Adele for career advice — and in hindsight, she might wish she had taken it.
The Oscar-winning actress revealed that Adele had warned her about starring in the 2016 sci-fi romance Passengers, yet Lawrence accepted the role anyway. As she later admitted, Adele’s intuition was right.
Lawrence and Adele have been friends for years, with Adele famously known for her close-knit circle of A-list pals.
Since moving to California, Adele has befriended a slew of Hollywood stars, including Emma Stone, Nicole Ricci, and Cameron Diaz.
So, when Lawrence was weighing a role in Passengers, she felt comfortable seeking Adele’s opinion on the project.
The plot of Passengers revolves around Lawrence’s character, Aurora, who wakes up on a spaceship headed to a new planet.
Alongside co-star Chris Pratt, who plays Jim, they face unexpected dangers as they navigate the consequences of a malfunctioning spacecraft. Despite its star-studded cast, the film’s reception was anything but stellar.
During an interview with The New York Times, Lawrence reflected on Adele’s advice.
“Adele told me not to do it! She was like, ‘I feel like space movies are the new vampire movies,’” Lawrence revealed. The comment stayed with her, especially as Passengers underperformed at the box office and among critics.
The movie’s lackluster reception made her second-guess the decision to ignore Adele’s warning.
Passengers was met with a tepid response, earning a 30 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Financially, it barely recouped its costs, grossing just over $300 million worldwide against a $110 million budget.
For Lawrence, this film became a turning point, as it clashed with the expectations that audiences had of her post-Hunger Games fame.
In a reflective moment, Lawrence acknowledged her fans’ disappointment with the movie.
“I was like, ‘Oh no, you guys are here because I’m here, and I’m here because you’re here. Wait, who decided that this was a good movie?’” she shared, noting how Passengers highlighted a period of less favorable career decisions.
The backlash Lawrence faced seemed to coincide with a larger shift in public perception of her.
Embed from Getty Images“I just think everybody had gotten sick of me. I’d gotten sick of me,” she admitted.
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This realization was part of what led her to take a step back from Hollywood, marking a pivotal time for her both personally and professionally.
Lawrence also opened up about her struggle with people-pleasing, especially in her early career.
Embed from Getty Images“I think that I was people-pleasing for the majority of my life. Working made me feel like nobody could be mad at me,” she explained.
Over time, however, she learned that pleasing others wouldn’t bring her the fulfillment she had hoped for.
After taking a much-needed break, Lawrence returned to the screen with a new mindset.
Her role choices became more intentional in the Netflix satire Don’t Look Up and the introspective drama Causeway. These films highlighted her maturity as an actress and reestablished her connection with fans who had followed her journey.
Passengers may have been a career misstep.
Embed from Getty ImagesHowever, Lawrence’s accolades — including three Golden Globes, two SAG Awards, and an Academy Award — demonstrate her enduring talent.
Fans are far from “sick” of her, and her career trajectory shows that even a few bumps can’t tarnish her broad appeal and success.
