There are very few popular actors to whom you could bestow the title of ‘cool,’ and that label is widely accepted by the public. It’s a small group of people, including Colin Farrell, Winona Ryder, and Chloe Sevigny, whose works reflect the point. Emma Stone is one of the best in this group, having consistently switched between mainstream and indie films, demonstrating her creative versatility. Stone first endeared herself to fans in 2000s films like Superbad and Zombieland before becoming a substantiated star in 2016’s La La Land.
Stone has continued to hone her craft since that time. Many of her fans regard her performance as the young Cruella de Vil in Cruella, an origin story of the 101 Dalmations antagonist, as one of her definitive performances. Set in the 1970s London punk scene, the performance gave the character that Glenn Close most famously played in 101 Dalmations a new edge.
Although many people think of Stone primarily as an actor, she is much more than that. In an interview with The Talks, she was asked to reflect on the moment she first realised “the power of music.”
Stone then discussed her love of the form, revealing that she believes singing is a better medium for “expressing feelings” than speaking, a feeling she attributes to her mother’s performance of Les Misérables when she was a child.
“When I was growing up, my mom would play Les Misérables in our house,” Stone explained. She told me the story, and when I was eight, I saw it on stage, and it changed my life. It was fantastic. After that, singing became a medium for expressing feelings that was far more powerful than simply saying them.”
When asked if this was when she began performing in the theater, Stone replied, “I did do musicals growing up, but dance is probably my favourite art form.” I studied dance for ten years, mostly tap. I could never be a ballerina because I was never a technically proficient dancer. Because I couldn’t do a lot of that stuff, acting spoke to me in a different way.”
“I think I connected with being able to bring to life what I wanted to do more with acting,” she adds. As a child, performing allowed me to channel my energy elsewhere, to put it out instead of turning it inward. It was nice to have an outlet like that when I was really struggling with panic attacks when I was a kid. Being on stage early on made me less afraid to try new and challenging things.”
