Haley Lu Richardson initially turned down ‘Five Feet Apart’.
The 24-year-old actress stars opposite ‘Riverdale’s Cole Sprouse in the new romantic drama, which tells the story of two teenagers with Cystic Fibrosis – the genetic condition resulting in mainly respiratory and gastrointestinal problems – but Haley admitted her character’s controlling nature made it difficult for her to connect at first.
She told The Hollywood Reporter: "Fun fact: I actually passed on this movie. I wasn’t super into this script the first time I read it, to be honest. Not because of what these characters go through, but because there were things about Stella that were hard for me to connect to. And I think that aspect of being so in need of control, that was scary for me because you can’t fake that innate need or pressure or whatever it is to have these control issues. Her whole life is built around that. The majority of it is because of her situation and her CF, so honestly it was hard. It was hard to picture that happening in this big, magical teen romance world and it was scary to imagine doing justice to that and making that grounded and real in this big genre teen movie.
"Honestly, I think it scared me at first because I didn’t know if it was possible, but then it’s also a challenge and exciting being as grounded and real of a character and having conversations and saying words that a teenager can actually relate to with this magical, high-stakes situation happening around them."
Haley also praised her co-star Cole, 26 as "awesome" and said their work in the movie was a real partnership.
She said: "Cole’s awesome. I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s always a bummer when you show up and you meet someone that you’re gonna be doing a movie with and you get the sense that they don’t really care as much as you do about doing a good job and about doing the best they can or they’re not invested in the creative or collaborative aspect of making a movie, and Cole is so not that. He’s so deeply artistic and caring and thoughtful, which made it possible to create those scenes and work with him on making these characters real and taking the time they need to make them real, well-rounded people. I just felt like I had a real partner in him, and I appreciated that."
Haley Lu Richardson turned down Five Feet Apart
