411 Movies Interview: AnnaSophia Robb of Bridge to Terabithia Posted by Tony Farinella on 06.19.2007
411's Tony Farinella sits down with one of the stars of Bridge to Terabithia
TONY: What were your initial thoughts on the book when you first read it?
ANNASOPHIA: I read the book when I heard it was being turned into a film. I loved the book. It made me cry so hard. I was sitting in bed, and I was just bawling my eyes. My dad comes into the room and goes: "AnnaSophia, what's wrong?" He had already read the book. I said: "I'm just at the end of the book, dad." He goes: "Oh, Ok." He totally understood because he had already read the book. He was like: "Ah, no biggie. I know what you're going through." It just touched me. I just loved the characters and the storyline and everything about it.
TONY: How similar are you to your character in the movie?
ANNASOPHIA: I'm not very similar. I have a few things: I'm an only child, I have one dog, and these are just little things. I like to read. I do love clothes. I want to make my own clothes like Leslie. I love to use my imagination. I'm an individual I'd say. I step away from the crowd a little bit. If I'm wearing some interesting outfit to school and I find that people are starting to wear that too, I'll change. I want to be different. I want to look different from everybody.
TONY: How did you and Josh find your chemistry on screen?
ANNASOPHIA: We hung out together so much. We actually went on a little road trip before we started filming. I think that's when we really started to bond. We actually started to bond as soon as we got on the airplane. We started talking and hanging out. We found out that we had similar interests. Josh is a real likable person and very funny. We just kind of clicked.
TONY: You also sing a song for the soundtrack on Bridge to Terabithia. Is music something you want to pursue as well?
ANNASOPHIA: They asked me to sing the song, and I was really nervous. I was like: "What?!" I loved the experience. It was a great experience. I'm so thankful that they let me sing a song for the film. That being said, I think I'll stick to acting. I really enjoy acting at the moment, and I'm having a wonderful time doing it.
TONY: How much do you use your imagination?
ANNASOPHIA: When I was little, I used it every day. I used to play with Barbies, I used to play in my tree fort, and I had the best time. I just did it every day. I made up my own magical land and everything. It was just like Jess and Leslie in the movie. Now, what I really start to do is use my imagination in acting. In acting, I have to use my imagination a lot. I have to pretend and become another person. I LOVE to read. I really read a lot of books. When I read, that's my Terabithia. That's my place where I go to and use my imagination. I'll read the scenes, and I'll picture it. It's really fun for me to get into a good book.
TONY: What themes and messages in Bridge to Terabithia were most important to you?
ANNASOPHIA: All the message are very important. I think some of the big ones, for me, is to just keep on using your imagination. Just pretend and have fun. And that boys and girls can still just be friends. Definitely just your imagination and don't be ashamed of it.
TONY: What's your most vivid memory from shooting Bridge to Terabithia?
ANNASOPHIA: I had a great time on this film. Every day was so much fun. We lived on the beach, and I would play in the ocean a lot. We had painting parties as well. All the cast members came over one time, and we just painted and had a big party. We had a lot of great food! It was so much fun to play in the water. That was really fun for me.
TONY: How similar was the movie to the book?
ANNASOPHIA: I think they're very similar. I think they did a great job at adapting the book into a film. They pretty much kept everything. They added more special effects and more things in Terabithia. People wanted to see special effects and see what the Terabithian's kingdom looked liked. The tree fort's a little bit cooler in the movie than it is in the book.
TONY: Who do you look up to in Hollywood?
ANNASOPHIA: I just recently worked with Charlize Theron, and she's amazing. She is a really close friend of mine. She's an amazing person to be around and totally inspirational and extremely professional. She's also really funny. She's very involved in the world and helping Africa. I want to do that.
TONY: What was it like working with Hilary Swank on The Reaping?
ANNASOPHIA: She's a really down-to-earth person. She was really great to me. She loved popcorn, which I thought was pretty cool. She's just really down-to-earth. She walked on set and gave me a big hug. She's just great. She's very personable.
TONY: What was it like working on a horror film?
ANNASOPHIA: The set of a scary movie isn't as scary as watching a scary movie. It's all special effects and smoke and mirrors. It was really fun for me. Stephen Hopkins, the director, is wonderful. I love him to death. He's so good, and he made every moment on set a good one. Hilary was great. I just had good fun during the whole film.
TONY: How do you handle all the pressures of Hollywood?
ANNASOPHIA: First of all, I don't live in Hollywood. I also don't live in L.A. L.A. just seems to be packed with industry. Everything's about it. I live at home, and I go to school and see my family. I think that definitely keeps me grounded. My parents have been really great supporters. They've been keeping me grounded, and they help me to pick which projects I do. That's a big thing.
TONY: What was it like working with Johnny Depp?
ANNASOPHIA: Johnny is wonderful. He's like a family guy. He's really nice and very mellow. He's kind of quiet. He talked about his kids a lot. He was totally normal. I loved watching him, because he'd go from this normal guy to this weird Willy Wonka character when they said "action."
TONY: What's the best acting advice you've ever received?
ANNASOPHIA: Charlize gave me some good advice. She told me to just go from your gut and go from your first instinct. Your first instinct is usually the correct one.
TONY: What's surprised you the most about Hollywood?
ANNASOPHIA: Everybody was telling us that Hollywood's crazy and that the people are mean. They're not at all. Some of the nicest people work in the industry. They've become some of my best friends. They're just really kind and very supportive.
TONY: Do your real-life friends treat you any differently because you're an actress?
ANNASOPHIA: Not yet, no. I still go to school. I still live at home. I just go out and make movies for three months, but I always come back. It took a little while for my friends to get used to me leaving, but now they're okay with it. It's kind of a bummer, because I miss some important family events and stuff like that. School is a little hard to work out as well. I love it, and I know I'm always going to be able to come home.
TONY: Finally, what do you have planned for the future?
ANNASOPHIA: At the moment, I'm working on Ferris Wheel and West Texas Children's Story. Their dates are yet to be announced. I think Ferris Wheel is going to be renamed to Sleepwalking. Jumper is coming out in late 2007 or 2008. I have a small role in that. Right now we're just looking at a couple of projects.
