Jennifer Connelly's Parents Opposed Her Strangest Early Film Role
Before becoming a Hollywood icon, Jennifer Connelly starred in a bizarre supernatural horror film that made her parents question her career choices, despite her enthusiasm for the unconventional project.
Jennifer Connelly never planned on becoming an actress. Yet somehow, this future Hollywood legend managed to score her debut role as a teenager in Sergio Leone's masterpiece Once Upon a Time in America. Not many actors can claim they worked alongside Robert De Niro with virtually no experience under their belt.
Following her breakthrough with Leone, Connelly teamed up with another Italian director for a project that was completely off the wall. She landed the starring role in Dario Argento's supernatural horror flick Phenomena, a visually stunning yet weird story about a boarding school student who possesses psychic abilities to talk with bugs.
A Controversial Choice That Worried Her Family
The film featured gorgeous cinematography and an original soundtrack by Goblin, Argento's go-to musical collaborators. While giallo enthusiasts now consider it a standout work, critics were split when it first hit theaters. Some felt the pacing dragged, while others praised the building suspense surrounding the murder mystery plot involving a killer hunting students.
Despite mixed reviews, Connelly thoroughly enjoyed making the movie, though her parents had serious reservations initially. The storyline was undeniably bizarre, and Argento had built his reputation on gore-filled productions. During an interview with BlackTree TV, she shared her memories: "I loved working with him, you know, I think on paper it was an unusual choice. I remember my parents were like, 'Oh yeah, you're offered this movie, and it's kind of crazy, and you sleepwalk, and you witness a murder, and you can communicate with insects, and your best friend is a chimpanzee,' and I was like, 'I'm in.'"
Embracing the Madness Despite Real Danger
Connelly was eager to headline such an outlandish production, and the experience proved incredibly valuable for her career development. However, filming wasn't without its hazards – the chimpanzee actually bit off half her finger during shooting. She was immediately taken to the hospital where surgeons reattached her finger, but the incident didn't sour her feelings about the project.
Instead, she fondly recalls the thrill of collaborating with Argento in her first leading role. "'I'm back in Italy? I'm in.' I was like 'I'm ready to go,' and I had a great time. I had so much fun. People have asked me like, 'Was it frightening? Was it disturbing?' And I was like, 'No, it was that we had a whale of a time, and Dario was so sweet, and I got to be back in Italy.'"
A Stepping Stone to Bigger Things
She described Argento as having a "mad vision" and explained that she "completely surrendered to it and had a great time." After wrapping Phenomena, Connelly secured one of her most memorable early roles in Labyrinth, the David Bowie fantasy film that came out the next year. Her work in Argento's giallo likely helped her land that fantastical role, proving that sometimes the strangest career moves pay off in unexpected ways.