Jennifer Lawrence is known for her various film roles that have shown her range. But when she started out, she got the chance to star in her own Disney show. She would later upset her parents by turning down that opportunity.
Jennifer Lawrence once starred in a television series.
Before he became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, a young Lawrence was part of Engvall’s Big Show. The family sitcom ran from 2007 to 2009 and was Lawrence’s first lead television role. Lawrence had many reasons to appreciate her time on the show. In addition to the exposure he gave her, the show offered Lawrence the opportunity to later do the kinds of projects she was passionate about. Which has served the actor well.
“[Taking that show] It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” he once said in an interview with Stylist. “Even independent actors do a studio once in a while because it means you can still go back and do as many independent movies as you want afterwards. I don’t think at 16 I really had the ‘If I do that, then I can do this’ mentality, I just think it happened that way; but, yeah, that show meant I could afford to turn down the bullshit movies and do what I loved.”
Jennifer Lawrence angered her parents by turning down her own Disney Channel show
Engvall’s Big Show It wasn’t the only TV series Lawrence was looking for. In a resurfaced interview with Filmmaker, Lawrence recalled once being approached by him for a Disney TV show. But she politely declined the offer.
“I remember being 14 years old and telling a Disney executive that I didn’t think it was very Disney and I didn’t want a TV show,” he said. “There are people for that and they are extremely talented, but they all have a different path that they take and I didn’t fall for those things.”
Even back then, Lawrence knew the types of movies he wanted to appear in. And she wasn’t willing to compromise her preferences for a salary from Disney.
“I fell in love with the dramas, the grunge, the edgy and the dark, whatever you want to call it,” he continued. “The things I’ve done are just the things I really wanted and cared about.”
But after telling her parents that she turned down Disney’s unexpected offer, her parents didn’t share the same sentiment.
“When my parents picked me up, they yelled at me a lot. They were spending a lot of money to give me the opportunity to do this, and I had the potential to be on a TV show that would obviously pay for everything and I was like, ‘Nah,’” she said in a 2012 interview with wake (via Young Hollywood).
Jennifer Lawrence wanted to be a TV star forever
Lawrence’s career has gone through a great evolution since his engvall days. But before the actor’s mega-stardom, she didn’t care about her comedy actress status. If a younger Lawrence had his way, she would have lived that lifestyle for as long as she could.
“When I started acting, I was totally satisfied when I was on a sitcom because I had a fixed salary. And I was like, ‘Maybe I can find a way to be in sitcoms forever. I was totally satisfied and fine. I never dreamed that I could have this kind of career,” he once told The Hollywood Reporter.
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