I Want to Punch People In The Face: Lauren Hadaway and Isabelle Fuhrman on The Novice | Interviews

LH: For me, I got into this headspace, especially with the assembly edit that I cut, where I knew that I would crash. The shoot was intense. I got home, I immediately started editing, and I didn't take days off. We did six days a week of shooting; on the day off, I would edit, because losing momentum was the worst thing. I got back to LA, I edited at a cafe 28 days straight, from basically the cafe opening to closing. Then I would go home and watch the movie on loop, like Howard Hughes, like a crazy person, sitting on my living room floor, drinking a beer, just watching the film over and over, obsessing on it and trying to get into the moment. 

I was trying to just be totally immersed, because I think that's what it takes to really shave off the elements of a story and hone in to what it is. The process of making this film, especially post-production for me, felt very poetic in the sense that it was mirroring what the character was going through on screen. Now, it's the moment at the end with the smile, the “Graduate” moment. You've done it, but now what? It's bittersweet.

“The Novice” never directly answers that question that was on my mind throughout: Is this worth it, for Alex? You both committed intensely to this project, so I wanted to ask as well how receiving awards attention for “The Novice” feels, given the film’s focus on competitive drive. 

IF: For Alex, I have no idea what the answer is. I didn’t have an answer, playing her. You can’t really think about that when you do anything in life, so that was my approach while making this movie. For her, it's overcoming a challenge. When this script landed in my lap, and I read it, I remember being like, “What a challenge! Can I do this?” 

I did literally give everything to this role. It’s funny. Nothing is what it seems, at all. The night before the nominations yesterday, my credit card was declined, and I couldn't put gas in my car. I’m standing there, crying, looking at my card bill, being like, “How the fuck am I gonna pay for this?” And then I just remember being like, “I really hope tomorrow is a good morning, because I need to figure something out.”