Laura Dern is having a pretty great decade.
A lot of us grew up knowing Dern as Ellie Sattler from "Jurassic Park" (a character she will be returning to in the coming sixth installment of the franchise), but the actress has now won awards for HBO's TV series "Big Little Lies," has appeared in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and Greta Gerwig's "Little Women," and has been nominated for two best supporting actress Oscars — one for "Wild" and one for Netflix's "Marriage Story," the latter of which she just won a BAFTA for.
This hot streak of work has led to the term "Dernaissance" being created — and Laura Dern is all for it.
"I've heard that phrase floating around before," Dern told Insider at Sunday night's BAFTAs.
"And I love it! But there is a reason that that term is being created and that my career has taken this turn. Roles are changing because culture is changing. People say, 'Wow, you've played a couple of powerful women this year.' Well, because there are a couple of powerful women to play!
"Women are CEOs and heads of finance and divorce lawyers, and they weren't 15 years ago."
The character Dern just won a BAFTA for portraying — the divorce lawyer Nora Fanshaw in "Marriage Story" — certainly fits into this category. She is hotly tipped to win her first Oscar for the role, too.
Her portrayal of CEO Renata Klein in "Big Little Lies" — and perhaps even Vice Admiral Holdo in "The Last Jedi," wherein she went toe-to-toe with Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron — also fit this bill.
But Dern believes a more a surprising character is the most powerful one she's played.
"Marmee, in 'Little Women,' being the most powerful frankly in her nobleness," she said. "But amazing characters to play. And yes, I feel incredibly lucky. Particularly to celebrate with you," Dern said, referring to Britain.
"I mean it. I went to RADA [London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art], I worshipped Shakespeare. I wanted to learn to act here and this means the world to me."
Watch a clip from the interview below:
—Jacob Sarkisian (@JacobSarkisian) February 3, 2020
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