ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: We know the movie is about Molly Bloom, but not much else.
What parts of the story does the film dive into?
What does she have to become for men to allow her to be a leader?
Credit: Michael Gibson/STX Films
You see where she begins and where she ends and the journey of what that is.
So how would you describe Mollys depiction in the movie?
Is she an anti-hero?
We learn a lot about her.
We still root for her because shes a person who takes responsibility for her decisions.
You met personally with Molly Bloom for the role.
When we meet people, theres the idea of, okay, Molly came to meet me.
She knew I was going to play her.
I know that I am with you guys.
You know what I mean?
And so thats what my job is as an actor, and thats what I was doing with Molly.
I really like her, and she hasnt seen the film, so I do have some anxiety.
I was blown away.
I mean, in the beginning, they didnt know necessarily that I was there as research.
And, actually, it was wonderful.
Once they found out, it was great.
They got to tell me about their experiences of being around her.
You know, there were no women there gambling.
Id read her book, so there wasnt a lot to be surprised by.
No matter how much you hear about it, its still shocking.
What a persons name means, what their integrity means.
What do we value women and men most for?
So, for me, this film explores that dynamic in terms of gender.
You mentioned the poker world being dominated by men, and of course, Hollywood itself is boys club.
I wasnt playing femme fatales or you know, the sexy girlfriend.
Those were never the characters that I was playing.
Its not about the tone of his voice or, I dont know, how much he smiles.
So I see that dynamic.
Its glaring at me, that.
What does it mean to be a good leader?
Not that they actually do possess her sexually, but the idea that theycould.
Hes such an incredible actor, a really funny person.
It was 45 pages of dialogue, and all of our scenes were done in 10 days.
Id never ever done 45 pages of dialogue, of Aaron Sorkin-style dialogue in six days.
Like, we did, a quarter of the movie in the first week.
So it feels like weve been to war together, and were closer from it.
How are your own poker skills?
At least it wasnt for her.
So my skills are terrible.
