Anna Kendrick visited Boston on Wednesday, Nov. 16 following the release of her new book, “Scrappy Little Nobody.” The event was an hour-long Q&A presented by Harvard Book Store and hosted by the Back Bay Events Center.
At 31 years old, Kendrick has a lot to say about growing up multi-talented—from her early days as a musical theater child star to her more recent roles in popular films. The Maine native was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway musical “High Society” at just twelve years old, as well as a Golden Globe for her role in “Up in the Air” as an adult. Kendrick has also starred in musical films including “Into the Woods” and “The Last Five Years,” her two favorite roles, but she is most popularly known for her role as Beca in the “Pitch Perfect” franchise.
Beyond Kendrick’s credentials as a singer and actress, many would argue her to be quite the comedian, including myself. Known for her funny quips on Twitter, Kendrick was offered a book deal to provide a bigger platform to express her humor—and the result shows that 140 characters just didn’t do her justice. A collection of autobiographical anecdotes and essays, “Scrappy Little Nobody” reflects all of the dark, biting wit—and human honesty—that Kendrick has to offer. In her talk, Kendrick explained of the book, “I’m just passing down the misery. Like ‘The Ring.’”
From friend and boy troubles in grade school to hard times in her twenties, Kendrick’s stories explore those moments that have helped her grow as a person, and have shown her who she is; some are embarrassing and funny, while others are humbling, trying, and telling. She recalled moments when she thought, “Oh, this is gonna be one of those things that messes with you forever.” But Kendrick has an optimistic view of life’s trying times and all of her most flawed, human moments; she admitted to being quite annoying when she was younger, but continued, “Life has to beat the brat out of you sometimes.”
In fact, Kendrick referred to herself as always having been annoying, and even still being annoying. This kind of humorous self-deprecation and honest imperfection are what make Kendrick so accessible to her demographic—which mainly consists of young women. In a pop culture world where many celebrities, and therefore their fans, feel pressured to hide their imperfections, Kendrick posts and talks about them openly for all to see. One Twitter post states, “That thing where you haven’t shaved your legs in a bit so you decide to wait and get a wax but then you don’t do that either.” That one’s a personal favorite.
Kendrick’s Q&A proved the actress to be just as down to earth in person as she is on social media. After discussing the book, the interviewer took some interesting questions from the audience. One question, “What are some of your favorite TV shows?” opened a can of worms about “Stranger Things.” Kendrick replied, “I just want Barb to be O.K.” and, after an interjection by an audience member, “Did someone just yell spoiler?! Get your life together!”
The conversation continued, and Kendrick had the audience laughing with every answer. Her fans were illuminated on things like Kendrick’s Hogwarts House—Slytherin—her go-to bedtime show— “30 Rock”—and her hope for “Game of Thrones” victor of the Iron Throne—Cersei Lannister. On Kendrick’s favorite inspiring piece of music, Stephen Sondheim’s “Now/Soon/Later” received high praise. Most notably, Kendrick lauded Margo Martindale as the person who has most inspired her; the two worked together on “Rocket Science,” a film released in 2007.
To summarize her message with this release tour, Kendrick spoke about being true to oneself despite the pressures to act like someone else. “You’re never anything but what you always were,” she states, “which is kind of the thesis of the book.”
For more of Anna Kendrick’s humor and a look into her life and thoughts, pick up a copy of “Scrappy Little Nobody” or purchase the audio book (recorded by Kendrick herself) for a great read or listen. And if you want to see some of those 140-character quips, follow @AnnaKendrick47 on Twitter.
After all, Kendrick says, “I’m a sucker for a Boston accent. So, you know, tweet at me.”