“Star Wars” is shaping up to become the biggest movie of 2015, but it also played a big role in helping Brie Larson bond with her 9-year-old “Room” co-star while making one of the most critically acclaimed dramas of the year.
The actress had to figure out how to get Jacob Tremblay to feel comfortable around her while filming in such close quarters, his love of the science fiction franchise created by George Lucas did the trick.
“We went to a pizza parlor and he had these little ‘Star Wars’ Lego figurines, and I asked him some questions about ‘Star Wars,’” Larson told Yahoo Movies. “And once he knew that I could talk shop regarding ‘Star Wars,’ then it was easy.”
Larson plays Ma, a woman who is being held captive in a small room with her 5-year-old son after a man named Old Nick kidnapped her and locked her inside for seven years.
The 26-year-old actress knew she had to form a close relationship with the kid she would be hulled into a small space with during production. Larson said that their friendship has by far surpassed that, even stating that they are now best friends.
“He’s an actual actor, he’s not a kid that we tricked to get a performance out of,” she said. “He was my partner in crime, he was my best friend, he was my coworker, he was right there. He spent just as many hours on set as I did. He was an equal participant.”
“She likes ‘Star Wars‘ like me,” Tremblay told People at the Los Angeles premiere of “Room.” “So that’s why we’re best friends. We talk about it all the time.”
“Room,” which opens Oct. 16, is getting a lot of positive buzz after it received both a standing ovation and the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The film was directed by Lenny Abrahamson, based on the award-winning novel by Emma Donoghue of the same name.