Jena Malone
Do we like her? I grew up watching her in movies (Stepmom, Donnie Darko, Saved, etc.), but have a greater appreciation for her as an adult. She is a very solid actress; makes unusual choices, but she's always brilliant in whatever she's doing, whether it's indie flicks made for $5, or The Hunger Games. She's really one of the few working character actresses we have.
I follow her Instagram page and she seems like a down-to-earth hippie chick (and not in a flashy faux hippie way—I mean like a legitimate backwoods hippie who washes with Dr. Bronner's, hangs out at dive bars, and smokes American Spirits). I remember reading an interview with her where she said she was raised essentially homeless by her lesbian mom and her mom's partner, hopping from motel to motel and living on the road. It was really interesting and a bit sad, but her tone indicated the opposite. She recently had a child, but I don't believe she's publicly named the father.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 44 | June 23, 2019 4:13 AM
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Yes, I think she is very talented.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | June 20, 2019 9:17 AM
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Yeah Ive loved her since Saved. She was also the best part of the best Hunger Games movie
by Anonymous | reply 3 | June 20, 2019 10:38 AM
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I've never seen The Hunger Games (which it seems has very much bolstered her fame), but I've caught her in a lot of weird indie flicks that I've rented/seen over the years, and she's always been fantastic in them, even when the movies themselves weren't great. She was memorable Saved as well, which was a genuinely funny movie.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | June 20, 2019 11:03 AM
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She was the best part of The Neon Demon. I have to watch that again, strange film.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | June 20, 2019 11:10 AM
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Her cameo in Nocturnal Animals scared me.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | June 20, 2019 11:22 AM
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Always loved her. She's a 'cool chick' for sure.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | June 20, 2019 11:22 AM
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A beautiful Instagram post she made on Father's Day
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 8 | June 20, 2019 11:41 AM
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She is phenomenal, and, save a handful of parts, has not really had a truly great lead role just yet.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | June 20, 2019 12:14 PM
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This is the interview OP is referring to where she talks about her childhood. She's had a colorful life, that's for sure. She's one of the few people in Hollywood these days who earned her way on pure talent and didn't get her foot in through insider connections/nepotism. Jena came from jack shit--her parents were basically desert-dwelling bohemian white trash. Her life trajectory has been extreme. Good for her.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 10 | June 20, 2019 12:19 PM
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Very talented and beautiful. I like her OP!
by Anonymous | reply 11 | June 20, 2019 12:19 PM
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I like her because she keeps it real and doesn't play the Hollywood game. She still lives in Lake Tahoe, for Christ's sake. She's talented and does fantastic work, but seems like a low-key person in real life, which is a breath of fresh air.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | June 20, 2019 12:29 PM
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She held her own with a bunch of Brits in Pride & Prejudice. Her accent was very good and she was also quite touching in that role.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 13 | June 20, 2019 11:26 PM
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She was brave to be naked in The Neon Demon because she doesn’t have that standard Hollywood body of big boobs and ass. She relies on her talent. Great actress and I think she will get her due one day.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | June 20, 2019 11:45 PM
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Jena's PR is working overtime here.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | June 21, 2019 12:00 AM
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Why does someone always have to suggest that a PR person is involved whenever there's unanimous praise of an actor/musician/etc. on here? Maybe we just like her because she's a good actress and not some phony, untalented cunt who hacked her way into Hollywood through her parents' connections (*cough* Kristen Stewart *cough*).
by Anonymous | reply 16 | June 21, 2019 12:15 AM
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Does anyone remember when she was doing impromptu street shows with her steamer trunk full of instruments? She's weird, but I like her.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | June 21, 2019 12:19 AM
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Stepmom is my #1 cry movie. Never fails!
by Anonymous | reply 18 | June 21, 2019 12:20 AM
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Malone was the perfect Nancy McCoy in HATFIELDS & McCOYS, where she got to scrump with delicious DL-fave Matt Barr.
I like her as vengeful, dark, violent females.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 19 | June 21, 2019 9:19 AM
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She's very good in Too Old to Die Young.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | June 21, 2019 9:27 AM
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She was really good in Bastard out of Carolina, such a sad character.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | June 21, 2019 9:30 AM
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Not only was her acting superb in Saved, but she was really believable as Mary Louise Parker’s daughter. Both have very similar gestures and a common aura. Or else they made it happen, which is even better.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | June 21, 2019 9:35 AM
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Her necrophilia scene in The Neon Demon was horrifying and emotionally devastating in context of that character. She is a truly fearless actress, and the best part of that film.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | June 21, 2019 10:08 AM
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Because PR R16 had to promptly come out to respond. You've been outed, dear.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | June 21, 2019 10:13 AM
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The notion that any publicist would come to these bowels of the internet to fish for compliments is hilarious to me.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | June 21, 2019 10:18 AM
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What r25 said. Some DLers are really full of themselves, thinking this site is more important than it is.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | June 21, 2019 10:49 AM
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I love Stepmom!
“Listen up limp dick as for you pitiful knowledge of what a real women wants. I’m not going to waste my time on some loser who doesn’t even know what snowblowing is. It has to be said my new boyfriend he's in high school and every time we talk about you he laughs his ass off about you.”
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 28 | June 21, 2019 1:18 PM
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The undercarriage always smelled vaguely of vomit
by Anonymous | reply 30 | June 21, 2019 1:27 PM
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Haunting in Donnie Darko.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | June 21, 2019 1:50 PM
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[quote]She was really good in Bastard out of Carolina, such a sad character.
I cried to that movie.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | June 21, 2019 1:57 PM
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I'm glad someone mentioned "Angelica", which I guess was just too weird for acclaim. But hers was a great performance on an underrepresented subject, the backwardness and inevitable horrors of the Victorian era.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | June 21, 2019 1:58 PM
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R21 not to mention that was her first job and she hit it out of the park.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | June 21, 2019 6:23 PM
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Met Jena during "Saved." She's icy. No charm. But not dumb. Just ... cold.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | June 21, 2019 6:36 PM
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She needs to play Karen Carpenter in a biopic.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | June 21, 2019 6:39 PM
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The Carpenter estate will never let a biopic come out, after Todd Haynes’ mess with Barbie dolls. He was an asshole to have made that movie.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 37 | June 22, 2019 1:36 AM
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I used to think that this place was too obscure for PR people, but those Johnny Depp/Amber Heard threads are filled with comments that sound like they were publicists.
However, Jena Malone doesn't seem as dumb and shallow as Depp or Heard, so I don't think that's the case here.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | June 22, 2019 1:43 AM
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Tell more, R35. I'm curious. She seems odd, but I wouldn't think her to be cold.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | June 22, 2019 7:30 AM
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'Saved' was a brilliant movie and I cannot understate the significance it had for me as a closeted gay teenager. I didn't come from a religious household either, so I can only imagine what it meant to gay kids from uber-Christian homes who saw it. I re-watched it recently and it was still as sharp and funny as ever. I'd imagine it was a project that was pretty close to the hearts of Jena and Mandy Moore--both of them have lesbian moms.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | June 22, 2019 7:42 AM
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[quote]She recently had a child, but I don't believe she's publicly named the father.
From her Wiki page:
[quote]In May 2016 Malone gave birth to a son with her boyfriend, photographer Ethan DeLorenzo. The couple announced their engagement on August 30, 2016. Malone and DeLorenzo separated in late 2017 but continue to co-parent.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | June 22, 2019 8:27 AM
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R16 I've never understood the constant pr accusations I see on this site either. This also happens if a single poster dares praise an actor that everyone else dislikes. There will be about fifty posts trashing someone and then the first poster who disagrees will be accused of being a PR shill.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | June 22, 2019 8:39 AM
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I remember when she was in that Kevin Kline movie 'Life As A House' that she said at first they didn't think she was sexy enough for the part.
by Anonymous | reply 43 | June 22, 2019 9:13 AM
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She's not conventionally beautiful R43, so I can see that. She's got an unusual face, but I certainly don't think she's ugly.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | June 23, 2019 4:13 AM
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