Anna Kendrick…Into the Woods and Full of Neuroses

Photo Credit: Peter Mountain/(c) 2014 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved

In an Oscar season sadly lacking in dance numbers and witches played by Meryl Streep, it's good to know we haveInto the Woods. The film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's 1987 musical features a clan of familiar, but decidedly more adult fairytale characters who cross paths on their way to their respective happily ever afters. The movie stars Meryl, but also Johnny Depp, Chris Pine, Emily Blunt, and pretty much every other Hollywood A-lister. But it's Anna Kendrick (of Pitch Perfect fame) who takes the crown as a klutzy Cinderella just trying to get home before midnight in one piece. Been there, sister.

When did you first see Into the Woods?
I saw the Bernadette Peters version on PBS. I think a sign of a good musical is when you want to play every role, and Sondheim does that so often. I want to be Jack, I want to be the Witch.

Was it intimidating playing an iconic role like Cinderella?
Maybe if I were playing a more traditional version of her, but this version is so broad and neurotic. I didn't feel like I had the dreams of every little girl on my shoulders, because that's not who this Cinderella is.

You're in this and The Last Five Years, both musicals. Was that a conscious choice?
I've been doing musical theater since I was 12 -- before that even. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, but in high school I was told by cooler kids that it wasn't and that I sucked. But being in Into the Woods defines my idea of a dream role.

The Last Five Years is a very different show.
They couldn't be more different. Into the Woods had this huge set and production value. With The Last Five Years we had no time or money, and we did a very stripped-down, emotionally honest version -- not to mention, it's just two people.

You're great on Twitter. What's your approach to it?
I like Twitter because I'm incredibly long-winded, so being forced into brevity is a good thing for me.

Into the Woods opens in theaters Dec. 25. Watch the latest trailer below: