Ryan Gosling. Rachel McAdams. Liam Hemsworth. To think, you may have never known their names if it weren’t for one of the weepy romances by Nicholas Sparks, the writer behind “The Notebook,” “The Last Song,” “Dear John” and more. And as we ring in a new year of cinema, we find yet another actress toying with the lever on Sparks’ star-making machine: Massachusetts native Taylor Schilling. Fans of NBC’s short-lived medical drama “Mercy” may recognize the 27-year-old as nurse Veronica Flanagan Callahan, though she’s since hung up her scrubs, making the transition from TV to film in earnest this year with roles in the Sparks adaptation “The Lucky One” and Ben Affleck’s “Argo.” We chatted with the actress about her breakout 2012 and whether making out underwater is as hard as it looks.
MTV News: Does this year feel like a particularly big one for you?
Taylor Schilling: Last year felt like a big year. This year feels just kind of like riding the wave. I did some fun work last year, so I’m excited to see how it shakes down.
MTV: Has transitioning from TV to film been an intentional career move for you, or were those simply the roles that were coming your way?
Schilling: When I audition, I take the parts that I get that I like. I feel so grateful that those have been these kind of amazing film roles. And I have to say that there is a big difference [between TV and film]. On a film set, for me, there’s so much more time to process what’s going on than there is on a television set. There’s more wiggle room to try things and fail and try again and get to the heart of what’s going on in the scene, which is really fun for me. It’s what I like to do.
MTV: First up for you this year is “The Lucky One,” co-starring Zac Efron. Let’s cut to the obvious question: Is kissing Zac as amazing as one might imagine?
Schilling: Oh my gosh. I’m not going to let you down. It’s not a bad way to make a paycheck.
(more…)
Argo (2012)
The Lucky One (2012)
Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011)
