# The “ridiculous” 2012 role Greta Gerwig was talked into playing: “It feels kind of disgusting”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-ridiculous-2012-role-greta-gerwig-was-talked-into-playing-it-feels-kind-of-disgusting/
- Published: 2026-08-03T14:15:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-03T15:23:05+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/ridiculous-2012-role-greta-gerwig-talked-into-playing/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Gerwig was reluctant to star in co-written film *Frances Ha*.
- Baumbach persuaded her to play the lead.
- The role became a key career breakthrough.

## Summary

Greta Gerwig initially hesitated to star in *Frances Ha*, the 2012 film she co-wrote with director Noah Baumbach, because she felt the arrangement seemed overly self-indulgent. Baumbach reportedly dismissed her concerns as “ridiculous”, and Gerwig ultimately took the title role in a film that became a significant early milestone in her rise as a filmmaker and actor.

Gerwig compared writing and starring in the same project to “baking a cake and eating it yourself”, saying it felt “kind of disgusting” and likening the undertaking to Orson Welles. *Frances Ha*, shot in black and white on a small budget, follows an aspiring dancer navigating friendship and adulthood in New York; Gerwig’s performance helped establish her as a major independent-film talent.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.