“Looking back I’m like, ‘Damn!
I can’t believe I just casually did that,'” Greenblatt tellsEntertainment Weekly.
Life moved fast for the actress since then.
Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina in ‘Borderlands’.Murray Close/Lionsgate
She gained widespread attention as Sasha, the daughter of Oscar nomineeAmerica Ferrera’s Gloria inBarbie.
Greenblatt speaks with EW about her career journey ahead of the new film’s release this Aug. 9.
Murray Close/Lionsgate
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Are you still feeling theBarbielove even this long after the movie came out?
Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha in ‘Barbie’.Phillip Faraone/Getty, Warner Brothers
ARIANA GREENBLATT:Yeah!
I feel like I will feel theBarbielove for the rest of eternity, which is the biggest blessing.
So, not complaining.
Hayden Christensen and Ariana Greenblatt on ‘Ahsoka’.Lucasfilm
You also played Young Gamora inAvengers: Infinity War.
Did that prepare you for big Hollywood blockbusters beforeBorderlands?
I totally think so.
Ariana Greenblatt’s Tiny Tina, Cate Blanchett’s Lilith in ‘Borderlands’.Katalin Vermes/Lionsgate
That was my first movie I ever filmed.
I really have to use my brain to create the world around me.
What do you remember from your days filming those scenes?
I was so young, I wasn’t starstruck by anybody.
I was more starstruck by people on Disney Channel than RDJ [Robert Downey Jr.].
I talked to RDJ in passing.
It was so weirdly normal in my head, but looking back, I’m like, “Damn!
I can’t believe I just casually did that.”
Did the makeup and prosthetics get better by the time you got toAhsoka?
I found it so fun and relaxing and I was learning all this.
Do you still remember all your lightsaber moves?
I don’t think I could forget it.
That was the craziest, most intense stunt training boot camp I’ve ever done for a role.
It’s so specific.
In the timeline of shootingAhsokaandBarbie, when did you audition forBorderlands?
I filmedBorderlandsthree and a half years ago, I want to say.
I was 13, and I filmed it two weeks after filming another movie,65.
It was such a whirlwind in my life.
It was so exciting, and everything was going and going.
Lucasfilm
Do you remember your audition?
I have this tape.
I need to get in by tomorrow."
We were going through the sides and really breaking it down.
It was two scenes.
You really get hit with a bang with those sides.
I was like, “What the hell are they making me do?”
I made that tape I think at 3:00 a.m.
I was delirious and had work the next morning, but I had to get it in.
My mom went to Walmart or Target, and she created this Tina outfit to resemble the video game.
It was definitely a team effort, but those sides were crazy.
She doesn’t use her brain, and that’s the mental state I was in for sure.
When I saw you inBorderlands, I first thought of Louise fromBobs Burgers.
I was obsessed with those ears.
Before filming, I would wear bunny ears every single day.
Everyone probably thought I was a freak, but I needed to feel this energy of being a bunny.
During CinemaCon, you mentioned that you modeled Tiny Tina after Harley Quinn.
Were you already intoMargot RobbieinBirds of PreyandSuicide Squad?
I’ve always loved Harley Quinn and theSuicide Squadmovies.
I fully geeked out.
She was like, “That is so cool.
Katalin Vermes/Lionsgate
What was the most fun day you had on set?
It was [director]Eli Rothand I going back and forth speaking in code.
It’s not in the movie, so I’ll just spoil it.
There was this mannequin that we had.
We cut the head off and filled it up with spaghetti.
Eli was like, “Go feral.
I’ve never gone so wild in a scene before that.
It wasn’t even scripted.
I was shoving my face with disgusting gluten-free pasta.
It was the most let-loose moment I ever had in my entire acting career.
How would you describe your connection to Eli?
I describe it as Eli and I share a brain.
It’s so weird.
I mean, Elis a teenage girl and he wont admit it.
Its just so crazy how fast we clicked.
We only spoke in inside jokes.
We were filming a scene and he was saying, “It is tone orange.
It needs to be tone red.”
I was like, “I got it.”
We spoke in music and stupid references.
We can’t have a conversation without referencing a niche thing from however long ago.
We weirdly listened to Michael McDonald.
He bought me a shirt with his face on it.
I have a Tom Cruise mug from him.
We would watchEmpire, an Andy Warhol film.
It’s literally eight hours of just the Empire State Building.
Same shot, same frame, just the sun goes down, and it’s riveting.
It’s fantastic.My Dinner with Andreis also an incredible reference that we always bring up.
It got out of hand.
People were like, “What are they saying?”
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