Erin Kellyman on Starring in Scarlett Johansson's Directorial Debut ‘Eleanor the Great': ‘This Job Has Changed the Way I See Myself as an Actor'

Yahoo

20-05-2025

When Erin Kellyman arrived in New York City to shoot Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, 'Eleanor the Great,' she couldn't help but cry.
'You know when you feel like you've arrived home?' the 26-year-old asks Variety over Zoom from her living room in Birmingham, England. 'But I'd never been there before. It was such a surreal experience, like it felt so familiar but so new.'
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The 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' and 'Falcon and the Winter Soldier' star plays Nina, a 19-year-old born-and-raised New Yorker who strikes up an unlikely friendship with 90-year-old Eleanor, played by June Squibb. The two bond over grief, with Eleanor having recently lost her best friend and Nina mourning her mother. The film, which shot in New York City over eight weeks, will premiere in the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard section on Tuesday.
For Kellyman, 'Eleanor the Great' marks a 'monumental' moment in her career. 'I feel like this job has changed the way I see myself as an actor and the way I see work,' she says, praising Johansson for fostering an environment where she could 'fully be in Nina's head.'
Below, Kellyman tells Variety more about working with June Squibb, Johansson as a director and teases her '28 Years Later' role.
I entered auditions expecting it to be a few months before I'd be hearing, but it was just so fast. And then all of a sudden I was in New York. [Scarlett and I] had another Zoom just before I went out and I had assumed it was going to be her telling me what she thought of the character, but she was actually just asking a bunch of questions about what I thought. I was like, 'Wow, this is already such a collaborative piece,' which I really appreciated because I had my own ideas already, but in past experiences I've kind of waited for somebody to direct me in a certain way. But it wasn't like that — the first few conversations were just so collaborative and I really appreciated having that input.
It was genuinely probably one of the most calm and respectful sets that I've ever been on. Not to say that the other sets I've been on have been disrespectful in any type of way, but everybody just went above and beyond to kind of make sure everybody was able to do the jobs that they needed to do. The thing that sticks out the most is [Johansson's] ability to be in every department constantly, but with 100% enthusiasm and commitment. It wasn't like she was ever half talking to anybody. And she's also an actor, so the way that she would communicate with me and June was so helpful because she's already done it for so long.
One thing that I really appreciate about June is that even when the camera's off, she's still giving 110%. The days were long and it was a lot, but she was still giving absolutely everything that she could, which is exactly what you want in a scene partner. And she was also so eager to be friends too, like off-set. She's 95, she has so many friends, she didn't need to get to know me very well. But she seemed invested in that and we actually became friends and still are now.
Honestly, Scarlett and everyone in the crew created an environment that enabled me to fully be in Nina's head. And I never felt like I wasn't fully in her. I've done roles before where I've got outside noise and I'm just distracted, but this felt like the first time that I was able to fully commit to Nina and I think that was probably the environment of the set. Also, I have a big family and with big families comes a lot of loss so I guess I could pull on that. But for the most part, it was just feeling like I was Nina and reacting to what was around me, you know? I think it's easier to do your thing when everyone else around you is so incredible — it becomes an act of reacting rather than performing.
One thing I was super nervous about was the fact that she was born and raised in New York and I've obviously never been. So I had a few days, like a week maybe, before we started shooting and I was speaking to as many random people as I could on the street and going into local spots and trying to fit 19 years of experience into a week. I made a playlist for Nina as well and I just tried to kind of live as her for a little bit. Not in a super Method way — I was still very much Erin — but just trying to soak up the New York experience.
In terms of her finding herself and her confidence, I think anyone who knew me as a kid, this career path is not expected. I was such an introvert, if I was walking on the street my head would just be down. I was so unbelievably shy. And I think I've found my voice a little bit just from working and being forced to meet new people all of the time. So I think that journey of kind of finding her voice I really relate to.
I think the main thing is to trust myself. Scarlett would ask all the time, 'Are you happy with that?' And she wouldn't move on without asking me that. And I was always like, 'I don't know, are you happy? Because if you're happy then I'm happy.' But I think by the end of the shoot, she would ask me and I would be like, 'Yeah, actually I am happy.' I think I felt almost awkward to say that I felt good about it, but I realized that I was going home and not hating myself for the performance that I'd done so I was like, 'I must be happy with it.' I just started to own that a little bit towards the end and trust what I was doing.
I'm under lock and key. I watched some of it in ADR and my jaw has never been on the floor more in an ADR session in my life. I was like, 'I cannot believe this is a real thing that people are about to see.' It was so insane. And I did ADR with a group of people too, and they paused it and it was just silent. We were like, 'What the hell is this?' Like, in a good way.
I'm genuinely really open to any project to come through. 'Eleanor the Great' and '28 Years Later' are so different from each other, and I really enjoyed the complexities that were in both. But to play a character that just wore jeans and was my age was really fun. Nina was the first one in a while where I just got to be a girl in her 20s going through something and making new relationships. And so I don't know, anything super naturalistic and real. I want to make people feel something.
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