The “uncomfortable” 2000 role that saved Jennifer Connelly’s career: “A real turning point”

Jennifer Connelly said the role of Marion Silver in Darren Aronofsky’s 2000 film *Requiem for a Dream* was a turning point in her career. After years of feeling that attention focused on her appearance rather than her acting, she pursued the demanding part because it inspired her and helped her take her own work seriously.

Connelly auditioned repeatedly and prepared by attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings and spending time in an apartment like her character’s, designing clothes and thinking about addiction’s isolating effects. Marion is an aspiring fashion designer who becomes caught in heroin addiction and sex work; Connelly later described the emotionally draining role as a moment when she began to pursue challenging work on her own terms.