The actor reflected on her life and career during a Life In Pictures talk at BAFTA in London on Friday.
Hudson, who acknowledged her strength in rom-coms during the 2000s, revealed that she and the studio executives at the time initially disagreed on the direction for “How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days.”
The actress revealed that she had “approval of everything” in the end, because she “fought back on a lot of things,” including on the choice for her co-star. Former Paramount Pictures CEO Sherry Lansing reportedly asked Hudson for her first pick to play Benjamin Barry, opposite Hudson’s Andie Anderson, at which point the performer suggested McConaughey.
“We had an energy together, I wanted to play with him,” Hudson said.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Hudson discussed the difficulty in getting the tone right for comedy, and how much energy it requires from the actor. “Comedies are more exhausting, to keep that pace all day and to find the energy,” she said. “When the day is done doing comedy, I want to go to bed. When the day is done doing drama, emotional work, I want to go for a drink.”
While discussing her place in the rom-com genre and comedies more broadly, Hudson revealed she would be open to taking on a franchise-scale project in future, and discussed the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She mentioned her half-brother, Wyatt Russell, and recalled a conversation about his work as John Walker/U.S. Agent in 2021’s Disney+ series “The Falcon And The Winder Soldier.”
The actor also spoke about the lack of female-led films while discussing her 2009 film “Bride Wars,” which she starred in alongside Anne Hathaway and also produced.
Although Hudson’s Life In Pictures talk spanned more than 20 years of her career, the actor said she and her stepfather Kurt Russell spoke about landing one role every five or 10 years that “gives you another 10 years in the business,” and nodded to Russell’s work with Quentin Tarantino. As for her own once-a-decade experience, she praised Rian Johnson for casting her as Birdie Jay in this year’s “Glass Onion.”
The conversation turned to television, which Hudson said she would be open to exploring more in the near future. She revealed a project is currently in development in partnership with “Girls” creator Lena Dunham, and that she is “actively looking” to direct and is considering starting with a television project.
