Near-ubiquity can be a death knell for even the most winning celebrities (weâre pulling for you, Anne Hathaway). But omnipresence has yet to betray Anna Kendrick. The 31-year-old Oscar- and Tony-nominated actress, who moved to L.A. from Maine in her late teens, has been in six movies over the past year and five times as many as that since 2003. Her self-deprecating tweets have become the stuff of internet listicle legend, and every foul-mouthed, magnetic interview she gives would suggest we are all Anna Kendrick and she is all of us. (She survived on coconut Snoballs and Fritos during her first months in L.A., just as you probably did.)
âââI talk about this in the bookâ is going to be my catchphrase for the next five years.â
Such likability only bodes well for her first collection of essays, Scrappy Little Nobody (out November 15), which tells stories of her sexual exploits, career highlights, and earliest years in Los Angeles. The book echoes the candid tone sheâs become known for on social media, and while it covers a lot (âItâs my whole life,â she whispers conspiratorially), it doesnât quite cover it all. Here she talks her fantasy a cappella group and the merits of Taco Bell nachos.
Soundtrack to a musical montage of your life?
âBrick House.â
What?
No hesitation.
Why though?
You know those compilation CDs that used to be advertised on TV? I bought Pure Funk, and one of the first songs was âBrick House.â I was like, âThis is the coolest piece of music I will ever hear,â and I wanted it to be my theme song immediately, even though it describes someone who is the opposite of me: A voluptuous, strong, athletic woman who is probably not white. But in my heart I feel like a brick house.
In your book you say if acting hadnât worked out, you might have been a âprudish porn star.â What would your stage name be?
According to the gameâyour first petâs name and the street you grew up onâit would be Pixie Fuller. Thatâs a little dirty, so it works.
You bake. Dessert that best reps L.A.?
A Swedish Princess Cake.
Someone watches The Great British Bake Off.
I do watch The Great British Bake Off, but I have made a Swedish Princess Cake before, when I was 21 or 22.
Thatâs incredible.
It was one of the hardest things Iâve made, I think.
Why is L.A. a Swedish Princess Cake?
Because itâs just really light sponge and really light cream and a little fruit jam. Itâs sugar on top of sugar on top of sugar. Thereâs nothing in a Swedish Princess Cake that cuts itâlike, are we going to say that the almond flavor in the marzipan cuts it? Because thatâs pure sugar as well.
Name for your L.A.-based bakery that would never be publicist-approved?
So weâre going for double entendre?
Always.
OK, I get it. When I was baking a lot, there was a tweet I thought of about the pages of my cookbook sticking together, because when you bake you get stuff all over the cookbook. And I was like, Oh, thatâs what guys say about porn magazines! Nobody thought it was funny but me. So itâs like, âIâm so into pastry that the pages of my cookbook stick together,â but I donât know how to condense that into a bakery name. Maybe thatâd be our motto? âWeâre so into pastry that the pages of our cookbook stick togetherâ? Itâs one of those jokes that you have to explain, which is really the best kind of comedy.
A musical revue of your life opens tonight at the Pantages. Whatâs it called?
Vertically Challenged. Or Drive-In Matinee.
Drive-In Matinee�
Listen, listen, listen. When I was nine, I was like, If I ever release an indie rock album, it would be called Drive-In Matineeâbecause you wouldnât be able to see a drive-in matinee. I thought I was being really clever.
Whoâd play you?
James Marsden, because I have a perverse desire to see him in heels. Is that weird? Has he awakened something in anybody else?
Me, ever since Hairspray. So I feel you. Four Angelenos youâd recruit for your dream a cappella group?
Adam Lambert, who was one of my first friends in L.A. He did my makeup on the night that we met. And then five years later I was like, âOh, do you sing? Oh, I see.â Thatâs on me, I did not know that. Steve Martin seems really musical, and we should have someone with a music theory background. Kelley Jakle, who is one of the unsung heroes of Pitch Perfect. She always knows everybodyâs parts, so she would do all the legwork. And then maybe Emily RararararaâŚ?
Ratajkowski? The model?
Yeah, the one whose last name I get too nervous to say. I donât know if she sings or not, but if our group was a train wreck, sheâd just stand on stage in a trash bag or a cardboard box people would be like, âThis is great! I am having a great time!â
Former costar youâd want to be serenaded by?
Rebel Wilson for sure. Iâve heard a lot of technically great singing in my life, and there are times when you just want a passionate Australian to throw things like pitch and tone out the window in favor of soul and emotion. Itâs not that sheâs not a proficient singer, itâs that she doesnât let that get in the way of the message.
You love Taco Bell. And also Ariana Grande. Nachos BellGrande or Ariana Grande?
Iâd commit several murders to keep certain Taco Bell menu items in the world. But. Eating nachos while driving: risky. Eating nachos at home: soggy. Ariana Grande: always perfect. So Ariana Grande, and Iâm going to stick to my Gordita Crunch. Itâs the perfect food because itâs all the textures.
Disney character whoâd be the least annoying paparazzo?
Fox Robin Hood, whoâs weirdly hot. Way more attracted to Fox Robin Hood than Prince Eric. Heâd be really charming, and Iâd be like, âOh fox Robin Hood! All those other guys give you a bad name. Youâre one of the good ones, arenât you?â
Anna Kendrick will be at Barnes and Noble at the Grove on November 21, where she will take photos with fans who purchase a pre-signed copy of Scrappy Little Nobody.Â
Marielle Wakim is the Arts and Culture Editor at Los Angeles magazine. She went viral once, which is not how she thought sheâd spend her 15 minutes of fame. You can follow her on Twitter @mariellewakim, on Instagram @marielle.m.n.o.p, and on her website. She wrote A Discourse on Frozen Yogurt.
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