Renate Reinsve nearly became a carpenter. Now she's Oscar-bound. ~ COSMO MAG

NEW YORK − ForRenate 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!"

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All eyes are once again on Reinsve with "Sentimental Value" (in theaters now), a quietly devastating family drama thatOscar punditsunanimously predict will earn hera 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.

Nora is more emotionally guarded than Julie of "Worst Person," and carries deep resentment and hurt from childhood wounds. We gradually learn that Nora has long struggled with depression, as she withdraws further from Gustav and her protective younger sister, Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas). For Reinsve, 38, it was vital to capture the physicality and detachment of someone retreating inward.

"I've seen a lot of very big, expressive performances of characters struggling with mental health, and I was scared going in another direction, like, 'What if this is too invisible?' " Reinsve says. "She's trying all the time to hide. She'll get attention away from her by being silly, and then she'll get so far into the depression that everything is just shut down."

"Sentimental Value" marks Reinsve's third film with Trier after a bit role in 2011's "Oslo, August 31st." She jokes that they "bring out the melancholy" in one another, and much of this movie was born from their conversations.

"I feel very safe with Renate," Trier says. "She has a very special energy in front of the camera that's quite unique. We were discovering it as we went along and that's a sign of trust."

'Sentimental Value' star Renate Reinsve nearly quit acting for woodworking

Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård, left) and Nora (Renate Reinsve) tiptoe around their feelings and desire to be seen by one another.

"Sentimental Value" explores the discomfort of what's left unsaid between parents and their grown kids – themes that couldn't be more resonant during the holiday season.

"You go back to your family to celebrate and it's like you magically become 14 again," Reinsve says. "But until you've had that conversation where you set boundaries and say, 'This is me now,' it will stay the same."

It's an idea that the amiable actress understands well. She was raised in a remote forest village outside Oslo. While her family worked in her grandfather's hardware store, she was off making short films with her friends: "We had this morning news show and we'd play all the weird people from where I grew up," Reinsve says, laughing.

She was "really shy" and "existential," yet she also had a rebellious streak. By 16, she was kicked out of school and then her home for being a wayward student, and she ran away to Edinburgh, Scotland, in part because "it was the cheapest ticket" she could find.

"I just went around the streets trying to get a job," Reinsve recalls. "Eventually, the hostel felt so sorry for me that they hired me."

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