The stars have aligned, and season two of Big Little Lies is finally here. After Sunday night’s premiere, Shailene Woodley, a student of astrology, explained that she actually considers the stars in how she approaches her characters. In a conversation at 92nd Street Y on Monday night, Woodley told the audience that ever since she started studying astrology a few years ago, she builds an entire star chart for her characters, including Monterey’s favorite newcomer and secret keeper, Jane Chapman. “It really helps me understand their psychology. I’m like, Oh, that’s why she’s so shy,†she said.
So what’s on Jane’s chart? Taurus with a touch of Sagittarius and Aquarius. “I really see her sun sign as a Taurus,†said Woodley, “but then having some Sag in there somewhere. I think she can be really funny. I think she’s got some Aquarius in there as well because I think the way she sees the world and its possibilities is a little different. The biggest thing for her that is interesting in building a chart is that she — because of the trauma that she had and the trauma that she still has, it changes the way that those things are fired off.â€
Woodley laughed off any haters to her process. “I love it so much. It’s such a woo-woo thing,†she says. “Sometimes people think it is, but I think it’s actually really cool.†Woodley says that she had her own chart read when she was in a major moment of depression. “I was like, ‘You, witch lady, are not teaching me anything,’†she says, “and she knew me better than anyone, and it really freaked me out. But to me, astrology just gives you permission to be yourself without judgment. That’s what I’ve been able to help build my characters from.â€
But did the stars reveal anything about Jane’s new hairdo? Woodley says she actually suggested Jane get bangs in season two. “After what happens in season one, I sort of felt like Jane had this cataclysmic release,†says Woodley. “I feel like for myself when something extreme happens, I’ll get a piercing or I’ll cut my hair or I’ll do some weird body-morphing thing. It’s a way to mark my new territory of self within my own psyche. I felt like for her, it was a way to redefine her identity as her own identity separate from the event that occurred in season one.â€
Woodley says she couldn’t dye her hair because of a project she was doing after BLL, “so I was like, ‘What if we give her bangs?’ because it’s dramatic.
It’s a big change, and also something that when you have these breakup haircuts sometimes you look in the mirror two weeks later and you’re like, What the fuck did I do with my hair? I wanted to do something where in a couple of weeks she could have had the opportunity to be like, That was dumb, but glad I have these bangs now. Cool.â€
