The Hollywood Reporter: What happened in your interview with director Sean Baker?
Dree Hemingway: I’m so passionate about this character, but a lot of it was how I perceived her and who I thought she was and to clarify if I’d do the porn scene. And really wanting to assure me that they’d use a body double and just wanting to make sure I’d be comfortable with the whole situation. And everything he was saying about the character was something I had thought of, and there were things that I wanted to bring, and it was really nice. And what really hooked it was the communication between us.
THR: So you weren’t uncomfortable with the porn thing?
Hemingway: I mean, it freaked me out, I’m not going to lie. I think I was so passionate about the whole story that it’s kind of something that it needed. It freaked me out, but also knowing that it wasn’t me was kind of OK for me -- although I’m not in denial that people are going to think it’s me because a lot of people don’t watch the end credits, and it’s really well cut. But as much as it scares me, and is such a scary thing to do, it’s such a neat film that I think that one ending scene is kind of the most perfect ending for any movie, and I just love it. … I’m not a huge fan of porn, but I really wanted to embrace the world from a different perspective, where it’s not a tragedy, it’s not coming from a tragic place.