Brie Larson is much more emotional than her “Lessons in Chemistry” counterpart: 'Elizabeth's just not a crier'

"Sometimes I would have to do takes where I would just let out a big cry and then we would just keep filming because it was like I’m touched so deeply," the actress recalled.

Brie Larson may have donned Elizabeth Zott’s ‘50s haircut and learned a vocab set fit for a chemist, but there is still one aspect of her Lessons in Chemistry character that she struggled to embody: a sense of emotional detachment.

"There’s a lot that I identify with," Larson said of her character in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "I do have intense focus. If it’s something that I want to do, I can just stick with it and I’m very dedicated to the things that I love and the things that I want to do. And, yeah, I’m bossy and opinionated. I believe in what is true. I also think I’m a pretty literal listener, and I’m pretty clear with how I feel and not afraid to say that."

But in other ways, the role presented Larson with an unexpected challenge: "I think the biggest difference between Elizabeth and me is that I’m just far more emotional than she is," the actress explained.

"Just the beauty of life makes me cry all the time. Sadness makes me cry as well, but I would say I’m constantly moved and touched by humanity and Elizabeth’s just not a crier," Larson said, "She doesn’t have access to that. And I didn’t think about it so much until we were actually doing these scenes and [series creator] Lee [Eisenberg]  just kept going like, ‘Nope, you gotta keep it down.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t think I can.'"

Ironically, Elizabeth’s story is quite the tearjerker, and she has plenty of reason to cry herself. The Apple TV+ drama based on Bonnie Garmus' best-selling novel follows the research chemist as she suffers an unimaginable loss and forges a new path in the wake of that tragedy.

But the way she responds to that loss didn’t always line up with Larson’s natural instinct.

"Sometimes I would have to do takes where I would just let out a big cry and then we would just keep filming because it was like I’m touched so deeply," she said. "I don’t have that capacity. So keeping that sense of detachment is interesting. It’s a cool part of my job that I get to explore different ways of being in the world. But I’m emotional. I can’t do it."

While it made for quite a few tearful takes, Larson’s open-hearted portrayal of the character earned her plenty of praise from the series creator.

"She did so much research," Eisenberg told EW ahead of the series release. "She's a very believable chemist, and she is a more than believable cook. More than that, she just has a giant heart, and all of that comes through."

The miniseries sees Elizabeth go from lab tech at the prestigious Hastings Laboratory to launching a second career as the host of a hit TV cooking show, Supper at Six. All eight episodes of Lessons in Chemistry are currently available to stream on AppleTV+.

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