Brie Larson says filming 'Room' was 'exhausting'

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Brie Larson says filming Room was an intense and challenging experience.

The 26-year-old actress discussed the movie in an interview with The Telegraph published Saturday. Larson won a Golden Globe award the next day for her portrayal of Ma, a woman held captive for years with her son Jack (Jacob Tremblay).

"It was exhausting for the crew to shoot in so confined a space," the star said of the 10 ft. by 10 ft. room where they filmed the captivity scenes. "You could really feel the momentum in the room, of us all desperately wanting to get out. That sense of confinement was real."

Room is based on the Emma Donoghue novel of the same name, and opened in theaters in October. The movie explores the elaborate fantasies Ma invents to shield Jack from the realities of their imprisonment before following the pair into the real world.

"The point that when Ma comes home and is reunited with her mother, I realized I myself felt incapable of talking to another adult," the actress said. "I didn't know how to not talk about Star Wars, or which animal would beat which other animal in a battle. I felt fragile and afraid."

Room was nominated for Best Motion Picture - Drama at the ceremony, but lost to The Revenant starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Larson previously told NPR the film adaptation allowed for a more complete portrayal of Ma.

"[The novel is] all told from the boy's perspective ... so everything about Room has this sort of dreamy innocence to it," she explained. "So the movie became a great opportunity ... to really make Ma three-dimensional and to show all of the complexity and all of the ways that this room is wearing down on her."

Room is directed by Lenny Abrahamson, and co-stars Sean Bridgers, Joan Allen and William H. Macy. Larson is known for playing Emily Stewart on Raising Dad and Kate Gregson on United States of Tara, and will star in Kong: Skull Island with Tom Hiddleston.