Shailene: I had seen that movie as a kid, but I didn’t know that was the same person!
Glamour: Knowing what I know about you and Joseph, it seems you guys are very similar. Agree?
Shailene: We are both so curious about the world. With Joe, it was everything from the fact that he’s really involved and fascinated by technology, by democracy, and his company, HitRECORD, is something that I’m fascinated by. So we had a lot of discussions about everything from the state of our country, the state of our world, technology, etc.
Snowden
Glamour: How difficult is it to watch yourself on screen?
Shailene: The first time I ever see a film [that I’m in], it’s hard to be objective because you’re constantly analyzing and you’re remembering where you were at that point in your own personal life, like, "Oh, I got in a fight with my boyfriend last night!" or whatever dialogue is going through your head as you remember these scenes. The second time is easier for me to watch it objectively. Watching a film back, it’s sort of like a report card or a way of analyzing and self-critiquing, not necessarily in a negative way, but in a way I feel I can call bullshit on moments that are authentic or not. So I actually like watching projects back because I feel like it helps me grow as an artist.
Glamour: The film takes a look at privacy, which you know a thing or two about. What do you wish your fans better understood about the life you lead off-camera?
Shailene: I wish people honestly knew that even if our external circumstances look different, a lot of that is a projected idea. So, on a human level, my experiences externally may look different than your experiences externally, but my internal experience is exactly the same as your internal experience, in a sense that we’re all just human beings just trying to do the best we can, trying to make it through our journey and be happy along the way. Every time someone pulls a camera out, it trips me out in my mind to think, "What is it about me that they find particularly special?" because I feel like there’s a certain facade that society has created between those that are famous and those that are quote unquote not. And that facade tells us, or wants us to think, that we’re different, that one is maybe superior over the other. I wish there was more of that rhetoric out there, which is there isn’t a need necessarily to take a photo, especially if there hasn’t been a memory created that garners the need to have a physical representation of that memory. I don’t take photos on the street. I only take photos if I’m doing some sort of political rally or on the front lines or if I’m working. The reason for that is it’s easy to lie and represent our experiences in a two dimensional way that says, "I met Shailene Woodley," when in all reality, you didn’t meet me. You actually didn’t even ask if it was me. I could just be someone who looks like me and took a photo, and now all the sudden on Instagram your story that you’re telling the world is that "I met Shailene Woodley, we hung out, and now here’s a photo of us." But something I wish people understood even more about privacy in general is that it’s not just actors or musicians or athletes who struggle with privacy—it's that privacy is not a human right anymore. Privacy is a privilege, but it’s only a privilege if you’re aware that it’s a privilege.
