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Julia Stiles
Jamie McCarthy/Getty ImagesJulia Stiles have learned a thing or two since then become a mother – and her Hollywood career has benefited from parenthood.
“Being a mother is such good training for being a director,” Stiles, 43, says exclusively Us Weekly in the Wish To Be Here premiere in New York City on Wednesday, January 15. “You have to be good at time management, you have to be a multitasker.”
She compared managing her three children to efficiently directing a set, especially when unforeseen issues arise. (Stiles shares sons Strummer, 6, and Arlo, 2, and third baby born in 2023 with husband Preston Cook.)
“You have to be present but also think 10 steps ahead. You have to be able to function very well with sleep deprivation,” joked Stiles while celebrating the release of his latest film at the Crosby Street Hotel.
The the actress explained that with directing and parenting you have to “manage people’s emotions and needs but also lead them.” He concluded, “One hundred percent (this is) the best training.”
Stiles most recently directed and cowrote Wish To Be Herewhich follows a woman called Charlotte (Isabelle Fuhrman) on his search for love. When she finds someone special, she teaches the man (Mena Massoud) is terminally ill, so she undertakes to help him celebrate the last days of his life.
“I wanted to make a romantic film that was really about the human characters,” he says of the project, which premieres on Friday, January 17.
While Stiles said Us that her children were “still a bit young” to see most of her films, her eldest child came to settle with her for Wish To Be Here.
“(He) loved that, so he’s excited about this one,” he gushed.
Amanda Bowers, Gabby Kono-Abdy, Julia Stiles, Mena Massoud, Isabelle Fuhrman, Molly Conners and Antonique Smith
Jamie McCarthy/Getty ImagesStiles, for her part, is even more proud of this project since then this is his directorial debut. (This is his first feature film as a director after working on a short film in 2007 and a few episodes of Paloma.)
“I would do (many) things differently. There are so many movies that I was in that I would want to do over just because I was so young and it was a lot of trial and error,” said Stiles. Usreflecting on her evolution in front of and behind the camera.
He explained, “You learn so much as you get older. And now being behind the camera, I really see what it’s like to be in an editing room and how a whole film comes together. And then if you really trust your director, they will protect you in the editing room. “
Stiles noted that she would “generally”. “Love without fear” as an actress when she started and instead learned more about the behind-the-scenes part earlier. “That’s where it all goes down.”
Wish To Be Here hits theaters Friday, January 17.
With reporting by Travis Cronin