NYLON - March 2008 - (Page 160) GUIDING LIGHT There is a rare, slightly devious charm to the characters played by Olivia Thirlby in United 93, Juno, and now Snow Angels. She eschews the dull, predictable winsomeness that so many roles written for young actresses seem to demand, while bringing to her scenes a quirky casualness that is both honest and endearing. There’s no better example of this than the sex scenes in Snow Angels—they’re not erotic, exactly, but they do recall vividly the oddness and happy awkwardnesses of high-school romance. One of them transpires while Thirlby’s character is eating a plate of waffles in bed. “They were so sweet,” she says of these scenes, over a drink in a restaurant several blocks away from her West Village apartment. “When I watch them, I say, ‘Oh, I remember that. It’s that feeling of taking a deep breath and holding it, before you plunge under water.’” Thirlby’s charm is needed in Snow Angels, David Gordon Green’s relentlessly dark adaptation of Stewart O’Nan’s harrowing debut novel. (Thirlby effuses about working with Green, whom she calls her “favorite director.”) The film, which takes place in the working-class town of Bedford, Nova Scotia, follows the intersecting relationships of several friends and lovers affected by the murder of a woman close to them all. As Lila, the crush of teenager Arthur (Michael Angarano), Thirlby is the only character not directly affected by the death. Though Lila plays a minor role in the novel, Green expanded the character in the film. Despite the fact that she’s billed relatively low on the cast list, Thirlby had the considerable burden of balancing out the tragedy that stains the film, in virtually every scene in which she doesn’t appear. Whenever Arthur sees her, he seems to melt with relief—and the audience feels the same way. “Lila’s the light in the darkness,” says Thirlby, who in person speaks Though she possesses that rare ability to make a scene her own, actress Olivia Thirlby is in no rush for success. By Nathaniel Rich. Photographed by Jason Frank Rothenberg directly but carefully, with a savvy view of her own career that belies her 21 years. “She doesn’t arc in the film, she doesn’t have much subtext. That’s why the scenes are so light and airy, because there’s not really anything brewing underneath.” She overstates the case—after all, Lila’s magnetism derives not just from her charm but also from her intelligence and candor, hardly qualities devoid of subtext. But Thirlby’s comments only underscore the scope of her desire for serious work. “The most important thing for me right now is finding roles that are interesting, roles that I haven’t already played before, in films that are going to be important,” she says. “Playing the ingénue over and over again gets a little boring. Most ingénues are written the same: she’s the girl of his dreams, a wonderful person on the inside who has to deal with some insecurity that makes her conflicted. And it’s like, la-di-dah, you know what, we all have insecurities. That does not make an interesting character.” Though she has five films scheduled for release this year— including Jack and Diane, a teen romance in which she will pair up again with Juno’s Ellen Page—Thirlby does not feel the need to rush into higher-profile roles. “There’s a huge obsession with youth in our culture right now, which is unfortunate because many actors are forced to carry films before they’re ready. It’s so intimidating. There’s always pressure to do bigger projects, but being a good actor is dependent on life experience and there’s no question that you develop your skill exponentially as you grow older. I don’t know when I’m going to be ready to carry a film in a dramatic role. It might not be soon.” The surprise of Snow Angels is that Thirlby does carry the picture. It looks like it happened sooner than she expected. stylist: kristen naiman. hair: thomas mckiver for redken/artists by timothypriano.com. makeup: matin, neutrogena cosmetics science expert. shot at pochronstudios.com. cardigan by prada, shirt by shipley & halmos. http://www.timothypriano.com http://www.pochronstudios.com
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