Jennifer Lopez Says Playing a Mom in a "Dysfunctional and Unhealthy" Relationship Was "Very Cathartic"
"At the end of the day, you bring a lot of yourself to these characters."
After filing for divorce from her husband of two years Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez is back in the spotlight promoting her new movie, Unstoppable, and discussing what she has in common with her character in the film.
On Saturday, Sept. 8, while appearing at the Toronto International Film Festival for the film's premiere (and wearing a revenge dress that featured daring head-to-toe slits on the side), the actress and singer opened up about her character, Judy Robles, and her tumultuous relationship.
"Women who are moms who get in relationships, and you struggle with them, and you find yourself in dynamics that are not healthy, but you care about the person, you love the person," Lopez told People at the time.
"That's those complications dynamics about life that I understand really well," she continued, adding that depicting Roble's real-life "dysfunctional and unhealthy" relationship with her husband, Rich, was "very cathartic" for her.
Jennifer Lopez poses on the Toronto Film Festival red carpet in a Tamara Ralph naked dress.
The actress went on to say that "everybody can relate to" a story like that, before clarifying that by "everybody" she means "a lot of women and men."
"I think all of us do," she added. "I don't think there's anybody who is exempt from experiencing those types of things at times."
Of course, it is difficult not to assume that Lopez was somewhat referring to her recent relationship with Affleck. After months of rumors surrounding their marriage, Lopez officially filed for divorce on Aug. 20, exactly two years after the pari celebrated their nuptials in Georgia.
"Jennifer said she was tired of being humiliated by Ben and she waited until the two year anniversary because she wanted to sting," a source told the Daily Mail at the time. "But it did not sting him. He's been done for a long time and deep down she knows this. He let her have this so that she wouldn't look like the villain."
Unstoppable, which is produced by Affleck's company, Artists Equity, follows the real-life story of Anthony Robles, a college wrestler who was born with one leg and went on to win the NCAA national championship.
(Affleck skipped the premiere, and was instead spotted in Los Angeles where he lives.)
When preparing for the role, Lopez said she spoke to Roble's mom, Judy, to better understand her story.
“When Judy and I first spoke, it was just about, for me, learning as much as I could about how she really felt and all of these things and what really happened,” Lopez said, before adding that Judy Robles was "very open" with her and, in turn, Lopez was "open with her about my own struggles."
"At the end of the day, you bring a lot of yourself to these characters. You have to understand something about them that you love and that you understand and that you empathize with," she continued. "It was a real honor for me to do it and very cathartic for me as well.”
