Game On

Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone holds (centre) court once again in Battle Of The Sexes, the big-screen retelling of the legendary 1973 showdown between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. Here, she talks to co-star Sarah Silverman about what’s changed since then, and what hasn’t…

- Sarah Silverman

Do I want to do a Q&A with Emma Stone for Marie Claire? Fuck yeah, I do. I have enjoyed the Emma Stone of it all for a while now. Since Superbad, maybe? But she really grabbed me at the 2012 Academy Awards. After that, I was totally smitten. She was in a red dress with a big bow, presenting an award with Ben Stiller for visual effects, and her comedy skills were tight. Stiller and Jonah Hill [her co-star in Superbad] were perfect straight men – parts usually reserved for women while the male comic sparkles. With no crazy costume or visual joke, and far beyond the comic skill set of the average actor, she killed it. The writing was adorable, but the performance [where she milked her first appearance as a presenter] was everything. As a comedy snob, I was officially wowed. That’s when the name Emma Stone was forever embedded in my bean. Then, last spring, I got to work with her [Silverman plays women’s tennis promoter Gladys Heldman] on Battle Of The Sexes. All of my scenes were with Stone, and I found out more good news: this lil’ mama isn’t just uber-talented, she is also the loveliest, most thoughtful, real-deal person on either side of the Mississippi. The crew felt like a travelling carnival. From the hair and make-up department to the director of photography, all had come to this movie from La La Land. But it wasn’t like a clique; it was like a family, travelling with Stone from movie set to movie set. One that says, ‘Hey, come join us! We’re a band of misfits, and you belong!’

I’ve heard the story of how, in 2004, a 14-year-old Stone did a PowerPoint presentation for her parents to explain why they should all move from Arizona to Los Angeles, so she could be an actress. It makes perfect sense. They did the right thing. If you know Stone at all (and, truthfully, that’s exactly how much I know her), you know that there is no oth