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Shailene Woodley loves nature, even when it could kill.
Its a woman learning to commune even deeper with nature after experiencing such a traumatic event.
Shes spent months soaking in it, and years fighting for it in her urgency to protect the planet.
You met the real Tami Oldham when she visited the set.
We havent spoken about it, but I feel like its almost something she cant articulate.
Her affinity for the ocean far extends anything my mind could possibly conceive.
She had to dig deep and find forgiveness within the reverence that she holds for the ocean.
And I think that forgiveness is what has propelled her to continue this dance with the sea.
She had to rely on the ocean and on Mother Nature so that survive.
Right now, the ocean needs all the help it can get.
How did Fiji compare?I had never been to Fiji.
We got to learn about the culture and their local practices from the locals themselves.
Its very different from Hawaii, because Hawaiis under the jurisdiction of America.
The Fijian government operates differently.
Thats very similar to Hawaii.
Its something that probably comes with a lot of island life.
Because youre stuck on an island, youre forced either to get along or not.
Its much easier to create community and have one anothers backs.
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Maybe well never solve America because were just too big.Yeah.
Theres so many people here.
She doesnt have that perfectly curled fake beach babe hair.
Is that a conversation that you have to have?
Let me look like a normal person?Obviously, it was something I felt very passionate about.
I didnt want her to have makeup on.
We never even did mascara.
It was always just eyelashes.
I wanted that sense of authenticity, because I know that life so well.
Whatispriority is making enough money to put gas in your tank to get your surfboard to the beach.
Baltasar [Kormakur], our director, was completely onboard with that as well.
Had Tami in real life worn a lot of makeup, we would have done that.
She never had makeup on.
She always had salt in her hair and dirt under her fingernails, and bruises and scratches from sailing.
We wanted to portray her as honestly as possible.
Which means, in the scene when she jumps off a cliff, you jump off a cliff.
Obviously, not the life-or-death situations.
But swimming in these large swells and being in river gorges, I was comfortable in those landscapes.
Is acting like jumping off a cliff?
It doesnt feel like youre jumping off of a cliff into a rabbit hole.
Regardless of how talented anyone is, I think its important to have a No jerks policy.
To work with actors who are inspired to be actors, and who love what they do.
At least in the beginning.
Once he knew what my abilities were, and Sams, then we did it on our own.
And it was comforting to know that we had an incredible marine team.
Baltz was a competitive sailor growing up in Iceland.
Our DP Bob Richardson has lots of sailing experience.
It establishes a certain confidence in yourself, as well.
And then a little bit is skill-based.
Tami had the mental skills and the mental capacity to survive.
Tell me about the day a hundred dolphins showed up on set.That was magical.
There were so many moments doing this movie that felt like blessings from whatever however you want to interpret.
And the second we finished it, they disappeared.
To me, it was divine.
It felt to me like nature was blessing me.
What do you even do when that happens?You want to jump in.
It took everything I had not to just jump in the water and swim with them.
What were your dreams like makingAdrift?Like, my hearts desires?
Like, your actual dreams when you went to bed at night.Wow, thats a great question.
So I think my slightly inebriated mind just didnt dream while I was doing the movie.
You were sent the script forAdriftthe day you got arrested protesting theDakota Pipeline.
What was your year of probation like?
What couldnt you do?Youve gotta be careful.
Dont do anything thats against the law.
see to it that you lay low.
Basically the probation that I was on just meant I couldnt break the law.
Which is tricky because when youre arrested for protesting, that means you … cant protest?Yeah.
Its tricky to live in America right now.
Youve mentioned that youre thinking about getting involved in politics.
And I think we also have to reframe our idea of what running for office looks like.
When we think about specific positions in politics, you think about Congress, governors, the Senate.
We dont often think about school boards, city council, mayors.
People in their 20s have so much to offer, specifically because of the technology thats available today.
Women in Hollywood are coming together and having conversations about where we want this moment to go.
From there, evenDivergenthad Zoe Kravitz.
Ive always worked with women.
But its also perhaps luck.
Its important to talk about and explore the complexities of both females and males.
Was that quote taken out of context?And that quote was so long ago.
It was also in a different time of feminism.
You know, feminism has had so many forms over its many, many decades of being around.
To me, I say today that I resonate as a feminist.
So I can call myself a feminist all day long.
Or I can say Imnota feminist all day long.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
