Here’s how Brie Larson feels about being Hollywood’s new It Girl

The phrase “It Girl” is all but meaningless to Brie Larson, an actress whose star is very much rising in Hollywood. In a recent interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Larson replied to a question about being labeled the new “It Girl” with bewilderment.

“But what is “it’? There is no ‘it’! And who was ‘it’ before ‘it’? And when does ‘it’ go away? When did I get ‘it’? Who’s gonna take ‘it’ away?” She quizzed interviewer Tracy Smith. She later added, when asked about her Oscar chances for her much-buzzed-about role in the intimate drama Room, “But isn’t it sort of like planning your fantasy wedding, and you don’t even have a boyfriend?”

The very level-headed Larson, beloved in the indie world for her performances in Short Term 12 and Don Juan as well as her turn as the kidnapped teen turned captive young mother in Room, certainly has had enough experience in the movie biz to understand what’s important and what isn’t. Moving to LA at age 12 with her sister and their newly divorced mother, Larson quickly started up a TV career, landing roles in several series that never quite got off the ground. Her teenage years were spent moving from one TV stint to another, finally landing a major role in Diablo Cody’s Showtime series United States of Tara.

This lucky break quickly led to film roles in increasingly visible projects, with supporting work in 21 Jump Street and Scott Pilgrim Vs the World gradually giving way to lead roles.

Despite an overall successful arc as an actor, Larson faced a lot of difficult rejection in her formative years. ” It’s all of these nos. And it becomes very confusing, especially when you’re growing into your womanhood to constantly be told what you’re not. And it always felt like such a blow to me,” she told Smith.

Her 14 years as an actor have paid off, both in terms of success and building the strong character needed to survive in Hollywood. “I don’t believe in ‘deserved,’ but I might believe in ‘earned,” she admitted. And an It Girl status, as pretty as it looks on a magazine cover, is simply not something she’s interested in earning.

Check out the interview below, and see if it doesn’t make you, too, give up practicing that Oscar speech in the shower. View More: Entertainment News|Live News|More News Videos

(Image via Universal)