Puja Talwar
Charming is the first word which comes to mind as Jennifer Garner sits with HELLO! for an exclusive chat. Flashing her megawatt smile, her pulsating energy is infectious as she starts chatting about her latest thriller The Last Thing He Told Me.
The limited series is an adaptation of Laura Dave’s novel of the same name and Garner confesses being a fan of the author and the book’s compelling premise. “I was drawn to the surprising blend of family, drama and love story between two women really. The thriller aspect really pulled me in”, she said.
Garner plays Hannah, a woman in search of the truth behind her husband Owen’s (played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) sudden disappearance, who forms an unexpected relationship with her 16-year-old stepdaughter Bailey (played by Angourie Rice) who dislikes her. So did the actor resonate with her character at any level?
“The trickiest part was how much I did not like Hannah. Hannah is more still than I am and has much more gravitas in her daily life than I have. She is more reserved and not maternal at all. So I was trying to chip away pieces of myself more than anything else,” she answers with a laugh.
The actor who has three children, two daughters Violet, Seraphina and son Samuel with former husband Ben Affleck, admits that she enjoys being around teenagers.
“I love having teenagers, they are smart, they are engaged, they are funny and figuring out who they are. I just adore them,” she said. She reveals that, like her onscreen daughter Bailey, her children too think she is a bit ‘extra’ and, like any mother, she has several moments in a day when she has to bite her tongue. But she confesses being very close to her children. The recent images of her and her 17-year-old daughter Violet Affleck’s startling resemblance as they strolled down a street, caught the attention of the media.
With a career spanning nearly three decades in the business, the actor shot to fame with her turn as CIA officer Sydney Bristow in the spy thriller Alias (2001 -2006), which also won her a Golden Globe award. The actor shares that her character in the upcoming thriller is very similar to her Alias character Sydney.
When it comes to her process, Garner confesses that it has remained the same throughout.
“I still like playing all sorts of characters and it’s one of my favourite things to do. I did a comedy before The Last Thing He Told Me and, after the film, I shot a wild family comedy. But all of it would not have been fulfilling, if this movie had not grounded my year and asked so much of me and my cast mates dramatically,” she said.
As India seems to be a favourite destination amongst Hollywood stars, the actor says a trip is definitely on the cards. “I would love to visit India, but it won’t happen this year but in the near future for sure.”
The Last Thing He Told Me streams on Apple TV on April 14.
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