NEW YORK − For Renate Reinsve, the spotlight can be a little hard to stomach.
The Norwegian newcomer broke through in Joachim Trier’s 2021 romantic dramedy “The Worst Person in the World,” winning best actress at Cannes Film Festival for her tour de force as Julie, a flailing twentysomething navigating sex, drugs, career and relationships. It was her first time leading a movie, and the unbridled character was both raw and exposing.
“I felt so stupid and ugly, like I was being too honest. I didn’t know how people were going to take it,” Reinsve recalls with a grin, eating a croissant while doing a crossword on a recent morning. “Then all the reviews came out and people related so much to what I felt was so shameful. I just started puking, it was so overwhelming!”
Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox
All eyes are once again on Reinsve with “Sentimental Value” (in theaters now), a quietly devastating family drama that Oscar pundits unanimously predict will earn her a best actress nomination. Co-written and directed by Trier, the movie follows a lonely theater actress named Nora (Reinsve), whose estranged filmmaker father, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård), asks her to star in a deeply personal new project.
