Single-minded
Hailee Steinfeld continues to amaze onlookers with her talent
Frank Grice listens to what the young actor says about her life
Celebrating 15 years in front of the camera lens, Hailee Steinfeld continues to amaze onlookers with her talent, temperament and temerity of spirit. For her it means that the plan is essentially to have no plan.
She is beautiful, talented, charismatic and famously single.
Hailee approaches life and her career content with the fact that she is driving her own ambitions rather than being tied to someone else’s.
“The thing about having a partner is something I get asked a lot,” the 25 year old singer and actress says, adding: “Of course, I have been in relationships but it feels so unimportant for me and that whole gossip thing is really only interesting for a short time.”
It’s clear that the California-born star has other things on her mind…
She is already one of Hollywood’s youngest achievers, landing an Academy Award nominee nod in 2011 at the age of 13 for her performance in the Coen brothers’ movie True Grit, as well as a Golden Globe recommendation in 2017 for The Edge of Seventeen.
And she went on to notch up a string of pleasing performances in Romeo & Juliet and the sci-fi thriller Ender’s Game alongside Harrison Ford. Her addition to the Barden Bellas in Pitch Perfect 2, as Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and as Angel Recruit in Charlie’s Angels prove diversity in an industry that loves to pigeonhole actors.
Hailee explains: “I think variety is really important for anyone in the entertainment industry. I know some like to sell off familiarity; but personally, I live more in fear of people getting bored with me!”
“I always want to play characters that aren’t a huge distance from where I’ve been in terms of age and experience. It’s understood that acting is about stepping outside yourself; but at the same time, you have to be true to who you are and what you can bring to a role,” she explains.
Steinfeld elaborates: “I would never want to play anything outrageous, overly fantasised, exaggerated or something I cannot relate to – that would feel a bit too false for me.”
Her music career has also provided a string of talking points when it linked her with One Direction’s Niall Horan in one of those much talked about romantic liaisons – though now, the couple professes to being nothing more than good friends.
“Having the benefit of being in both those industries is very interesting because they are so very different. The music industry is so fast-paced, whereas films you have made often sit around for months and months before they see the light of day,” she says.
Hailee adds: “I don’t think you could find two things that are so further apart; and it can take some getting used to when working on two projects at the same time.”
Most recently, Steinfeld wowed in Hawkeye alongside Jeremy Renner. The Marvel miniseries, which was screened on Disney+, saw the actress take on the role of Kate Bishop.
“I’m not exaggerating when I say that the whole thing was the biggest machine I could have ever wanted to step onto. Even Lucky the dog was aware of how big the thing was. Jeremy was amazing and held my hand through the process,” Hailee reveals.
Steinfeld continues: “Obviously, I’ve done a few big things in my career before now. I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of recognition for it too; but often, the biggest projects don’t have the biggest budgets; and sometimes, they aren’t what you get the nominations for.”
“Other times, it all comes together; and you know from the very start that you’re part of something massive – and that’s genuinely how it felt with Hawkeye and Marvel,” she affirms.
Next up, Steinfeld voices Gwen Stacy again in two further Spider-Man animated adventures.
She asserts: “I’m heading towards my mid-20s; and I don’t believe I’m equipped to deal with this industry – I have so much to learn.”
“I don’t know all the answers; and maybe you’re never meant to have them all because that’s what we’re all trying to do – figure out what we want to be in this world and where our place is,” she ponders.
Steinfeld affirms: “I’m one of those people who has a romanticised version of the past and I am lucky enough to have had lots of happy experiences. It’s good to go back mentally – though I feel I have to quickly press the reset button and get back to the present-day… because the present and the future is what counts.”
“I really wish I didn’t care as much about what everyone else thought of me. That would be my one tip to my younger self. Concern yourself with yourself and you can’t go wrong from there,” Hailee adds.
And she concludes: “I can’t tell you how liberating that realisation was when I had it; it’s like one of my most important life lessons… and I only wish I had it sooner.”
– Compiled by hub.branded
“Of course, I have been in relationships but it feels so unimportant for me and that whole gossip thing is really only interesting for a short time
“I know some like to sell off familiarity; but personally, I live more in fear of people getting bored with me
“I always want to play characters who aren’t a huge distance from where I’ve been in terms of age and experience