Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone slips into tennis whites in this month’s Battle Of The Sexes, the big-screen account of the legendary 1973 showdown between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. Here, she talks to co-star Sarah Silverman about what’s changed since then, what hasn’t, and getting what’s yours
SARAH SILVERMAN: Emma Jean Stone [Stone’s real name] took tennis lessons from Billie Jean King. Did you mention that same-middle-name fun fact to her?
EMMA STONE: I did bring it up to her pretty early on, and I think that bonded us quickly. Our tennis coach, Vince Spadea, who was also [co-star] Steve [Carell’s] double, gave me tennis lessons every day. But I met Billie Jean a couple of months before we started shooting. We went to this court in New York and she realised no one had ever really played catch with me or monitored my hand-eye coordination. [So] I became like a human golden retriever, and she would just throw the balls at me. We had to start simply like that. So that was what my tennis lesson was like with her. It was playing catch.
SS: I feel you truly inhabited her. Was there some kind of exterior element for you, like when you put the glasses on?
ES: There were a couple of things. I had never really considered the physicality of a person or of a character. So that was what I focused on more than anything: building from the outside in. I said to Billie Jean, “I’m working with a voice coach every day,” and she was like, “Why? I have the same voice.” And I was like, “Back then, you had this kind of high voice. You were much quieter.” And she was like, “Well, we had to be. The only way we could get our point across as women was to move gently. We couldn’t say something loudly and forcefully, ever. You would scare people off.” That was very interesting.
SS: Even though she took a giant outspoken step forward, she still concealed so much from herself and from the world. [King felt she could not reveal she was a lesbian in the 1970s. But she was outed in 1981, after her partner sued her for palimony.]
Denne historien er fra October 2017-utgaven av Marie Claire Australia.
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Denne historien er fra October 2017-utgaven av Marie Claire Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
SHANNEN DOHERTY
The rebellious actor died in July after a nine-year battle with cancer. Zara Wong looks back at the legacy of a woman who always lived on her own terms
IN THE WILDS OF ALASKA
Nature served up a spectacular array of delights, while cruising the majestic waters of the far north.
Back to EARTH
In its earliest days, the farm bred draught horses for export. Now Tasmania's 1840 cottage Leighton House has been restored as a glorious getaway
ODE to LIGHT
Created by master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian in 2011, Elie Saab's Le Parfum has since gained a cult following and become an industry icon. Here, Sally Hunwick uncovers the origins of the stunning chypre floral scent
JEN ATKIN
The Ouai beauty guru is regularly called on by the Kardashians and a host of other A-listers. Here, she talks about hair, her beauty cupboard and how she keeps up her energy levels
A NEW DIRECTION
When she was 16, Jordan Lambropoulos told her surgeon she'd rather die than wake up with a colostomy bag. Today - 10 years, countless operations and 14,000 Instagram followers later - she's proof that a colostomy bag is not the end. In fact, it can be the beginning of a whole new life
LADY LUCK
Rosalía takes her accessories as seriously as she takes her art. The Spanish musician spent three years working on her much-lauded album Motomami, finessing the details and perfecting the finishing touches. And when it comes to her outfits, she's no less specific
Wait... superhero movies are cool now?
Who had Emma Corrin and Juno Temple as supervillians on their 2024 bingo card?
CURTAIN CALLING
Brisbane-born star Vidya Makan steps into the shoes of America's founding mother in the long-awaited return of Hamilton
LEIGH-ANNE
The English singer on colourism, freedom and reuniting Little Mix
