In Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time, from director Ava DuVernay, Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon plays the role of Mrs. Whatsit, the youngest of the three celestial beings that help the film’s hero complete her mission. As one of the Mrs., who guide Meg Murry (Storm Reid), her brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and their friend Calvin (Levi Miller) on an unexpected journey into alternate dimensions to bring home their father (Chris Pine), Mrs. Whatsit is curious and playful, initially thinking Meg is a downer before eventually coming to respect her.

On February 2, 2017, Collider (along with a handful of other online outlets) was invited to the Santa Clarita, California, set where we talked with Reese Witherspoon. During the interview, she spoke about how much fun she’s had with this amazing cast, why this story was important to her, being a warrior of the light, the inspiration for Mrs. Whatsit, what this book meant to her, as a kid growing up in Nashville, Tennessee, her favorite moment on set, and why she’s made it her life’s work to get more women’s voices in film.

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Image via Disney

Question:  What’s it like working with such an amazing cast?

REESE WITHERSPOON:  It’s really fun! I was just thinking about how amazing it is that Mindy [Kaling] has been writing her fourth book, Oprah is now a correspondent for 60 Minutes, and Ava [DuVernay] did a documentary [that was] at the Academy Awards. Every one of us is so insanely busy, and it’s really interesting that every one of us knew the importance of this message and what Ava wanted to accomplish with this film and put all their other busy stuff aside to make this possible. We really made it a huge priority to be available to do this together. It flows nicely into all of our intentions, as creators, as women, and as warriors of the light.

How did you approach Mrs. Whatsit? What did you want to bring to the role?

WITHERSPOON:  The vision for Mrs. Whatsit, in this version of the story, is that she is the youngest of the three Mrs., and she is new to this mission of finding warriors in the world and delivering them to different universes. She’s part Cheshire Cat and part the mermaid in Splash. She’s curious and plays with things. She’s very playful and young, too. She fights with Meg Murry a lot. She thinks Meg is a downer. She doesn’t want her on the mission. We have this nice journey, where Meg and I end up making amends and finding peace with each other. It’s fun to be one of the kids. I’m basically a 12-year-old child, or younger.

What do you think of your costumes?

WITHERSPOON:  This is my first costume. I went through a wormhole and there were sheets all over, so these are Mrs. Buncombe’s sheets – the next-door neighbor – and I’ve wrapped them artfully around myself, Balenciaga-style.

Why do you think this story about kids who are different turning out to be heroes is so important, particularly right now with what’s happening in the world?

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Image via Disney

WITHERSPOON:  I read the book as a little girl, and I really was excited when Ava explained her vision for the film. She was like, “I’m gonna deviate a lot. I want to have the house in Downtown L.A. I want the kids to be of all different ethnicities. I want kids to watch this movie and know that anything’s possible.” I get emotional, thinking how little kids going to the theater will actually see a character and an actor that looks like them. That will make them think it’s possible. And also, they’ll see women who are heroes, who are all different sizes and all different races. Women are the heroes of a lot of kids’ lives, and to see that properly represented is way overdue and exciting. I think it’s exciting to have a director with that kind of vision, and to have Disney’s belief in her, to give her an incredible amount of creative control and free reign to create this magic.

What’s it like for you to play the visual effect version of your character?

WITHERSPOON:  I’m not sure yet. I haven’t done a lot of the green screen yet, but I think it will be really interesting. It’s fascinating to go through the 3D imaging process and the digital process. I think it’s going to be really interesting because my character is the character in the book who morphs into a different creature, so there’s a creature coming. I can’t say what it is, but I’m excited about that. It’s all the magical stuff that you don’t get to do. As an actor who makes movies, the magical realism piece is very exciting. I’m super into sci-fi and I love fantasy. This is a mix of The Neverending Story and The Wizard of Oz. It feels magical, like that.

What’s been your favorite moment on set, so far?

WITHERSPOON:  It’s hard to say. Day one, I was sitting for three hours next to Mindy Kaling, who is a friend, but who’s also one of my favorite writers and actresses, and Oprah Winfrey. She’s just as lovely, magnanimous, generous and bubbly, but kind, and equal parts thoughtful and helping us all become better people. For the first week, every time she would open her mouth, everybody would just get really quiet and start writing things down. I really consider it a huge gift. The children are magical, wonderful, and so special. I always have a place in my heart for kid actors, since I was a child actor. I’m always like, “Hey, what’s going on? Are you going to school today? Do you have to kiss the boy? Is it weird?” I had my first kiss on film. But, they’re wonderful. They’re really nice. It’s nice to work with Chris Pine again. I’ve worked with him before, so we’re good friends. It’s been a really easy process.

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Image via Disney

Was there a childhood book that really spoke to you?

WITHERSPOON:  This book was very important, and I read the entire series. Growing up in Nashville, Tennessee, we didn’t have the internet and I didn’t know what was beyond, where I was from. We traveled a little bit because my dad was in the Army, but we didn’t travel a lot. Just the idea that there were bigger things out there, bigger ideas that people would discuss with you, and that anything was possible, if you really sought the good in life and were a warrior for what was good in life, made this a really important book to me. I was a big reader when I was little. I read and read and read and read.

This movie is not just important for kids going to see it, but also for people who want to create, especially young women. As someone who tries to get access for more work for women, do you have any advice for young women who are trying to get into creative arts?

WITHERSPOON:  It’s my life’s work to try to get more women in film, and more female directors and writers. The thing I always say is that everybody has a story, just know your story and tell your story. Write what you know. Women are the largest captured consumer audience in the world. We are sitting there, on Amazon.com and Walmart.com and Snapchat. If you talk to any of these companies, the metrics always skew higher for women. They need great writers, they need great makers, they need women directing. You can only shift those things when you make great content. It’s so much about confidence, and Ava just comes in and is like, “Gimme the ball, I’ve got this!” It’s incredible to see her skill set. It just emanates off her. Her leadership qualities and her confidence is really important.

A Wrinkle in Time opens in theaters on March 9th. For more of our recent coverage, check out these links below:

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