Tessa Thompson: ‘Hedda’ is struggling to hold onto her sense of self

NEW YORK, Nov. 30 (UPI) — Creed, Thor and Westworld actress Tessa Thompson says the title character she plays in Hedda is in great emotional turmoil when audiences first meet her.

Now streaming on Prime Video, writer-director Nia DaCosta’s film adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 stage drama, Hedda Gabler, transplants the action from 19th century Norway to 1950s London and follows the beautiful, charming Hedda through a particularly eventful party at her home.

Throughout the evening, Hedda is seen flirting with guests, sparring with her husband George (Tom Bateman) and re-connecting with her former lover Eileen (Nina Hoss), whose professional success makes George uneasy, and whose romantic happiness with Thea (Imogen Poots) breaks Hedda’s heart and makes her spiteful.

“I don’t really think of any of the moments as quiet because I think in Hedda’s brain they’re just so loud. And the sort of engine of the piece begins pretty swiftly. For me, the kind of riot or chaos in Hedda’s mind begins when she first hears Eileen’s name,” Thompson, 42, said in a recent virtual press conference.

“She understands that Eileen is called and gets to come back into her life. And, so, I think we get very few moments actually with her where she’s not in relation to somebody else or in some kind of performance,” the actress added. “Even in the moments when she’s alone, I think she’s a woman who is struggling to really find and identify and to be able to hold onto a sense of self.”

Thompson worked with DaCosta to balance that with the public moments of the party and the private moments Hedda shares with others.

“You get to see very few still, quiet moments inside of Hedda,” the actress added.

“I think that was a part of the challenge of the character and, also, the great opportunity in playing her.”