It’s 2 a.m. in Australia when Rose Byrne hops on the phone for this interview. She’s up because she’s just received an Oscar nomination back in Los Angeles (19 hours behind), and the recognition was relatively expected as far as these things go. The actress already won a Golden Globe award for her performance in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, and she’s also nominated for best lead performance at the Spirit Awards, which will be handed out Feb. 15 at the Hollywood Palladium.
The A24 dramedy, written and directed by Mary Bronstein and co-starring A$AP Rocky and Conan O’Brien, follows an overextended psychotherapist trying to care for her daughter with a pediatric feeding disorder. Since its 2025 premiere at Sundance, the film and Byrne’s performance have had extraordinary legs (yes, pun intended) — a career-defining moment that Byrne is still processing.
“I knew, reading the script, that it was singular and unique and unbelievable,” says the 46-year-old actress who shares two sons with her partner, Bobby Cannavale. “But the rest, I could never anticipate.”
Here, Byrne describes working with Bronstein on a story that was personal to the director, how she mentally prepared for the heavy role and which scene was the most challenging for the veteran actress.
What a journey from the film premiering at Sundance a year ago to you receiving an Oscar nomination for your performance. When you first read the script, did you have any indication it would resonate so much?
I’ve given up trying to figure out what will resonate and what won’t. But I knew it was extraordinary and special, and I just knew it was an opportunity. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I cannot mess this up.” It’s a gift for an actress. And I got to try everything: I was stretched. I was challenged — and in a feature film, too, which is so rare to get this opportunity. I was so hyper aware of that when I signed on and Mary approached me.
What were those first conversations with Mary like?
She can speak more to it, but it was a very personal story to her. It was very much a personal expression of something she’d gone through. I think after that, she started to think about, who could bring these characters to life? … I just honestly could not believe it had come my way. I just thought, “This is incredible,” and she’s a fierce personality, and she made this movie happen, and the character is really the film, and the film is the character, so an acknowledgment of this performance is really, truly, for me, an acknowledgment of the film. The film is amazing. It’s a piece of art. It is singular, and it will live on.
How did you prepare for the role mentally, especially because it was such a personal story for Mary?
We had a long rehearsal period, she and I, which was incredible. For five weeks, we worked together, like three days a week, just poring over the script, going through every line and sharing stories. And I was obsessed with, who was this character before? There’s very little information given. Like, who was she before this? Why is she reacting like this? This is my kind of detective homework. Also, the film is obviously very heavy and dealing with challenging stuff, but in between, [there’s] levity. You have a child on set, so we’re keeping it light and always trying to keep that energy in the air. And it also moved so quickly: We shot in 26 days, [we had a] tiny budget, so it’s two takes, maybe three. It felt like a tightrope. The whole experience was thrilling, but in a kind of terrifying way.
Did you ever feel the need to decompress after a scene?
I’m gifted at disassociating, so I could just very much separate myself and shut off my valve and my battery to recharge. … [The crew was] protective of me, and they would find me rooms here and there and all that stuff. But I never wanted to get too far away from what I had to do, because it was like lightning in a bottle. It’s like trying to get these moments, and I never wanted to be too far from the feeling, so it was always that technical, emotional dance.
There’s often criticism that a lot of female roles are not written by women, and especially with a movie like this, going through the female experience, it was so refreshing to see that this was written by someone who clearly understands our psyche. Did that help you in going through the motions of this film?
I’ve been so lucky to have a female lens on this story and the female voice. … And it does matter, and it is a different lens on the storytelling, and we need more of that. And this year is actually really exciting — The Testament of Ann Lee, Hamnet [all directed by women]. I like to be among this kind of movement. But just because we’ve done a few, that doesn’t mean we stop. Let’s get to 50 percent female directors and writers and actors out there being nominated. It’s just about keeping those stories going and keeping those lenses alive, because it does make a difference.
What was your most challenging scene?
The ocean at the end was physically the most challenging. It was very challenging screaming at A$AP Rocky and being really mean when he’s so charismatic. … But truly, the hardest scene I did was on the first day, and it was the first scene in the movie where she’s breaking down in the doctor’s office explaining her child’s illness. I’m working with Mary and we’re establishing everything and the camera is two inches away from my face. That, for me, was the hardest and scariest day, for sure. The stakes were just so high, trying to figure out exactly where she’s beginning when we meet her. I still am haunted by that.
What was it like shooting with A$AP Rocky?
He couldn’t have been cooler. He was so cool, and he was so respectful. He loved running lines. We were line nerds, and when we would run lines, he had a lot of curiosity and questions. It was fun. It was funny. We did laugh a lot.
This story appeared in the Feb. 11 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
