Megan Fox Was Angry While Filming ‘Jennifer’s Body’ Because of ‘Fame,’ Paparazzi

In Jennifer’s Body, Megan Fox’s character goes through a lot. While filming the movie, so was she.

At a Los Angeles special screening of the 2009 cult classic on Saturday, Oct. 25, Fox, 39, reflected on her headspace during filming. For the actress — who had just shot to new levels of stardom thanks to her breakout role in 2007’s Transformers — it was a trying time, she revealed at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures event.

Asked if she could go back and give advice to her younger self as she prepared to film Jennifer’s Body, Fox recalled how “lost” and rageful she was during that period, feelings that stemmed from her treatment in the film industry, particularly from the paparazzi.

“Oh, I don’t know that I would give myself advice. I think where I was at that point in my life, so lost, so full of that rage that I had towards how I had been treated in the industry,” Fox said, “and how I was dealing with fame and the constant … at that time, before we started filming.”

Fox then shared an anecdote from the 2009 premiere of the supernatural horror-comedy, which centers on the friendship between Jennifer Check (Fox) and Needy Lesnicki (Amanda Seyfried).

“I just left a premiere for something where I had to go — I’m obligated to go — and I remember the paparazzi were so ruthless back then — the way they would talk to women,” she recalled. “And I walked out just to try to get to my car, and they’re all shooting. And one guy’s like, ‘Megan, why are you such a bitch?’ And another guy is like, ‘Megan, do you think you’re overrated? The internet says so,’ and I’m just trying to do my job.”

“I was asked to be at this premiere. I’m trying to get to my car. And so I had all of this grief and sorrow and also anger and rage that needed a place to go,” Fox continued. “And like I said, being able to just have the permission to be unhinged even in between takes or maybe the entire time we were there, that was very cathartic for me.”

The star was referring to a moment earlier in the screening event when she recalled how she resonated with Jennifer — who undergoes a supernatural transformation that is out of her control — and how embodying the character allowed her to tap into “qualities” she couldn’t elsewhere.

“I read the script and I think it just resonated with me because there’s something about that, whether it’s just perceived or not, I felt like I was being persecuted at that time in my career, and I was struggling a lot with fame and kind of traumatized by fame,” Fox said.

“And so I resonated with those deeper layers of… you know, before she becomes a monster, she’s just a teenage girl who gets sacrificed for somebody else’s gain,” the star continued. “And that very much resonated because that’s kind of how I got… I came into this industry, I think I was 19 when I made my first big movie, and that, I felt like, was reflecting back these energies that existed inside of myself.”

Embodying the now cult-favorite character, Fox said, “also gave me a place to put those qualities of myself that are really unhinged, that are not appropriate to express every day of your life, but are still there nonetheless. And so there was something so fun about getting to tap into that darker feminine energy that no one really wants to allow.”

“That was very healing for me,” Fox later explained, “because I was really struggling at that time. And if I had been able to warn myself or give myself advice or have any sort of grounding or clarity, I don’t think you would’ve gotten the performance that you got.”

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The story of Jennifer’s Body may continue sometime soon, screenwriter Diablo Cody teased to PEOPLE last year. While chatting about her latest film, Lisa Frankenstein, the Oscar-winning writer, 47, said she’s hopeful that a reboot or sequel to the beloved teen horror “will happen” soon.

Star Seyfried, 39, has also teased a sequel. While looking back at her past roles in a video for GQ earlier this year, the actress said she’s “looking forward to the sequel,” and said she would be game to reprise her role as Needy.

“They’re working on it,” Seyfried teased of the rumored second installment. “I already said thumbs-up. I was like, ‘Whenever you’re ready, I’m ready’ … We all just had a lot of fun, so I wanna celebrate it by doing a sequel.”