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Megan Fox is reflecting on a particularly emotional day on the set of 2009’s Jennifer’s Body.
The actress, now 39, reflected on filming the Karyn Kusama–directed teen horror movie at a special screening held in Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 25.
When asked about the physical demands of her role as Jennifer Check, who undergoes a supernatural transformation, and how it pushed her, Fox recalled two scenes, including one that made her cry after it “unlocked” unexpected emotions.
Coming off her turn in 2007’s Transformers, which had Fox “doing a lot of physical stuff,” portraying the titular high-school cheerleader — who becomes possessed by a demon after a satanic ritual — was a completely different can of worms, Fox said at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures event.
Playing Jennifer in the 2009 cult classic (opposite Amanda Seyfried as her best friend) “wasn’t super physical for me,” the actress said, “but it did stretch me.”
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“There were some moments that required a lot of vulnerability that I don’t think I went into it prepared to show,” Fox said, “because it’s so revealing about possibly my own past, my own childhood, whatever, those moments where something comes through — whether it’s when I’m in the mirror putting on the makeup, trying to cover up my skin because I’m not beautiful anymore.”
In addition to the mirror scene, there was one moment in particular that demanded a lot from Fox: the ritual sacrifice. “It was a really upsetting day,” director Kusama, who was also at the L.A. screening, said of the day they filmed the disturbing scene, led by Fox and Adam Brody.
“There was something about maybe from a past life, I don’t know, something about having a circle of men standing around me, and when they would start chanting the song taunting me before they were going to kill me, that triggered something so deep in me where I was just, like— I was weeping,” Fox recalled.
“It unlocked things that I wasn’t prepared [for],” she added. “It was like an ayahuasca trip, to be honest. I didn’t know it was going to unlock those things, but it brought things to the surface….”
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During the screening of Jennifer’s Body, which has a long-awaited sequel in the works, Fox also recalled how “lost” and angry she felt while working on the supernatural horror-comedy.
“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 … at that time, before we started filming.”
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“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 explained.
“And I walked out just to try to get to my car, and they’re all shooting,” Fox recalled. “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,” Fox continued. “And so I had all of this grief and sorrow and also anger and rage that needed a place to go.”
Jennifer’s Body is currently streaming on Hulu and Tubi.
