Emma Stone is ready to talk about aliens. While promoting her new sci-fi comedy Bugonia at the Venice Film Festival, the 36-year-old actress revealed that she believes in extraterrestrial life and thinks it’s self-centered to assume otherwise.
Stone, who stars as Michelle Fuller, a pharmaceutical CEO mistaken for an alien and kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists, shared her thoughts on the universe and what inspired her belief in life beyond Earth.
Emma Stone on Why She Believes in Aliens
Speaking at Thursday’s press conference, Stone said, “I don’t know about looking down on us, but one of my favorite people who has ever lived is Carl Sagan.”
“I watched his show Cosmos, and I fell madly in love with his philosophy and science and how brilliant he seems to be. I think he very deeply believed that the idea that we’re alone in this vast expansive universe is a pretty narcissistic thing to think.”
“So yes, I’m coming out and saying it, I believe in aliens! Thank you!”
Joking About Being an Alien Herself
Earlier in the conference, the La La Land star playfully hinted that she could even be an alien herself. Asked how she’s managed to remain grounded despite global fame, Stone teased: “How do you know I’m not an alien?””
She then reflected more seriously, “I think there’s a tricky aspect to that answer that’s probably longer than anything that anyone would want to listen to right now.”
“But I think everyone sort of deals with that now. We all can relate to that feeling of someone thinking they know you, feeling like you don’t have much control of the avatar outside of me. Because there’s me, and then there’s me, here.”
“There’s the person who comes here, and then there’s the person who I am with my friends and family. They’re the same person, but it’s what I do to keep myself sane.”
Shaving Her Head for Bugonia
Stone also revealed she shaved her head for the role after her character Michelle is captured by Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis). In one scene, her kidnappers cut off her hair in the back seat of a stolen Range Rover, using no CGI, just Stone’s real locks falling onto the leather seats.
Speaking about the experience, Stone said, “It’s the easiest thing. You just take the razor and shave it. It’s so much easier than any other hairstyle.”
She also told Vogue in August about the surprisingly blissful moment that followed, “[There’s] no better feeling in the world. The first shower when you’ve shaved your head? Oh my God, it’s amazing.”
A Personal Connection to Hair Loss
The haircut also carried a personal resonance for the actress. In 2012, her mother, Krista, lost her hair while undergoing treatment for triple-negative breast cancer, a fight she survived. Stone recalled to Vogue, “She actually did something brave. I’m just shaving my head.”