Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers (born October 1, 1989), known professionally as Brie Larson,note is an American actress, director, and singer.
Larson got her start in acting as a child, appearing in works like the short-lived Bob Saget sitcom Raising Dad, the Disney Channel Channel Original Movie Right on Track, and the 2004 teen comedy Sleepover. During that time, she also began a short-lived music career, eventually releasing a studio album titled Finally Out of P.E. in 2005 (one of the songs wound up being used in Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus). Larson would later admit as an adult to being disillusioned with both her music and acting careers at the time, because the roles she was given weren't the ones she really wanted and her recording company refused to let her control her image as a musician. She then quit and worked "normal" jobs before ultimately returning to acting in her late teens.
In 2009, Larson began starring in Showtime's United States of Tara as the title character's daughter Kate Gregson, for which she received positive attention over its three-season run. During this time, she also appeared in 2010's Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and 2012's 21 Jump Street film reboot.
Larson's critical (and commercial) prospects increased tenfold beginning with her role in the 2013 film Short Term 12, which garnered her much Oscar buzz in award circles. Though she was ultimately not nominated for her performance in that movie, her turn as Joy "Ma" Newsome in the 2015 adaptation of Emma Donoghue's novel Room earned her an Oscar for Best Actress. Outside of arthouse indies, Larson also appeared in mainstream fare like Trainwreck, Kong: Skull Island, and Don Jon.
In 2016, it was announced that Larson had been cast in the coveted role of Marvel Comics character Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her own dedicated solo film was released in 2019, and she reprised the role in Avengers: Endgame the same year. The character's next major appearance was in the 2023 film The Marvels.
In addition to her acting career, Larson is also a director. Her feature film debut, Unicorn Store, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017, and was officially released by Netflix in April 2019.
She also has a YouTube channel
.
Films with pages on TV Tropes:
- 13 Going on 30 (2004) as one of the Six Chicks
- Sleepover (2004) as Liz Daniels
- Hoot (2006) as Beatrice "The Bear" Leep
- Farce of the Penguins (2007) as "I need a Z Pack" penguin
- Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) as Envy Adams
- Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023)
- 21 Jump Street (2012) as Molly Tracey
- Don Jon (2013) as Monica Martello
- The Spectacular Now (2013) as Cassidy
- Short Term 12 (2013) as Grace Howard
- Trainwreck (2015) as Kim Townsend
- Room (2015) as Joy "Ma" Newsome
- Free Fire (2017) as Justine
- Kong: Skull Island (2017) as Mason Weaver
- The Glass Castle (2017) as Jeanette Walls
- Marvel Cinematic Universe as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel:
- Captain Marvel (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) note
- Ms. Marvel (2022) note
- The Marvels (2023)
- Unicorn Store (2019) as Kit note
- Just Mercy (2019) as Eva Ansley
- Fast X (2023) as Tess
TV series with pages on TV Tropes:
- United States of Tara (2009 — 2011) as Kate Gregson
- Community (2013 — 2014) as Rachel
- Lessons in Chemistry (2023) as Elizabeth Zott
Discography:
- Finally Out of P.E. (2005)
Her works provide examples of the following tropes:
- Action Girl: In both Kong: Skull Island and her tenure as Captain Marvel.
- The Cast Showoff: twice.
- In Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, she shows off her singing skills with the song "Black Sheep".
- In The Marvels (2023), she shows off her singing skills again on Aledna, where the majority of communication is done by singing.
- Drag King: Anne Hathaway, Kristen Stewart and her do this in the music video for Jenny Lewis' "Just One Of The Guys".
- Large Ham: In Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, in the best way possible.
- Method Acting: Invoked for her role in Room; she stayed at home for a whole month to get an impression what Ma and her son were going through. It earned her an Oscar.
- Ms. Fanservice:
- A number of her earlier films such as Tanner Hall, The Trouble with Bliss, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World often highlight her sex appeal.
- She has also leaned into this on her YouTube channel more and more as she has gotten more fit, posting vlogs of her exercising or just lounging around in revealing clothing that shows off her body.
- Period Piece: Like fellow MCU actor Hayley Atwell, she's developing an affinity for them with Kong: Skull Island (set in The '70s), Free Fire (ditto) and Captain Marvel (set in The '90s).
- Production Posse: A member of director Destin Daniel Cretton's, whom she worked with on Short Term 12, The Glass Castle, and Just Mercy. She also has a cameo in the post-credits scene of Cretton's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, reprising her already-established role as Captain Marvel.
- Star-Making Role: Room and Captain Marvel. Although Larson had popped up as a major player in several acclaimed independent and mainstream films prior to 2015, her performance in Room was what brought her massive attention and led to her winning the Academy Award for Best Actress. Additionally, it quickly led to her signing up as the titular character in Captain Marvel.
- Those Two Actors: She's starred in four films alongside Samuel L. Jackson: Kong: Skull Island, Captain Marvel and The Marvels (2023), and Unicorn Store (which she also directed). They also both appear in Avengers: Endgame, although they don't share any scenes.
- What Could Have Been: She made two YouTube videos in which she discussed various roles she auditioned for but didn't get. These included:
- At least one unspecified role in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, most likely one or both of Rey (ultimately Daisy Ridley) and Rose Tico (ultimately Kelly Marie Tran).
- At least two unspecified roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (before becoming Captain Marvel): a role in Iron Man 2 (quite possibly Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, ultimately played by Scarlett Johansson); and a role in Thor (presumably either Jane Foster, ultimately played by Natalie Portman, or Darcy Lewis, ultimately played by Kat Dennings).
- An unspecified role, most likely Princess Mary (ultimately Emily Blunt), in Gulliver's Travels (2010).
- Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games (ultimately played by Jennifer Lawrence).
- Teenage prostitute Cindy Paulson in The Frozen Ground (a role ultimately taken by Vanessa Hudgens).
- Sarah Connor (ultimately played by Emilia Clarke) in Terminator Genisys, a role which she didn't get because she "wasn't believable carrying a gun".
- Casey in Tomorrowland (ultimately played by Britt Robertson).
- Either Tracy or Evie in Thirteen (2003) (ultimately played, respectively, by Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed).
- Two roles where she got down to the final two, but then lost to Katie Volding - Katie Brinker in Brink! and Angie in Smart House.
- Carmen Cortez in Spy Kids (ultimately played by Alexa Vega).
- Penny in The Big Bang Theory (a role for which she was considered too young, being 18 versus 22-year-old Kaley Cuoco)
- Ki in Mars Needs Moms (ultimately played by Elisabeth Harnois).
- Noelle in It's Kind of a Funny Story (ultimately played by Emma Roberts).
- Solara in The Book of Eli (ultimately played by Mila Kunis).
- Alex in The Descendants (ultimately played by Shailene Woodley).
- Annabeth Chase in Percy Jackson and the Olympians (ultimately played by Alexandra Daddario).
- Wendy in Peter Pan (ultimately played by Rachel Hurd Wood).
- Mari Collingwood in The Last House on the Left (ultimately played by Sara Paxton).
- Becky Barnes in The Sorcerer's Apprentice (ultimately played by Teresa Palmer).
- Needy in Jennifer's Body (ultimately played by Amanda Seyfried).
- Piper in Drive Angry (ultimately played by Amber Heard).
- Sheeni Saunders in Youth in Revolt (ultimately played by Portia Doubleday).
- Unspecified roles in Juno, Avatar (the audition for which she admitted completely forgetting even doing), Sucker Punch, Get Him to the Greek, Gossip Girl, Pitch Perfect, Legion (2017), Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, Into the Woods and Halt and Catch Fire.
