Lena Dunham has always enjoyed "being entrusted with freedom and confidence".
Lena Dunham loves working with freedom
The 36-year-old star has directed the new comedy film 'Catherine Called Birdy', and Lena has been determined to give the cast "a lot of freedom".
Lena - whose movie features the likes of Bella Ramsey, Andrew Scott, Billie Piper, Russell Brand and Joe Alwyn - explained: "My goal with directing is always to have a really clear sense of what I want to do visually and then be able to also, within that, give the actors a lot of freedom.
"I sort of think about what I appreciate as an actor and while I like to learn from, whenever I'm on a set, I really like to learn from the way that director does their thing - something that I have always enjoyed is sort of being entrusted with freedom and confidence, and so I try to do that for the cast while also being pretty in control, hopefully, of what the aesthetic is and having a really clear sense of what I want the movie to look and feel like."
Lena has already enjoyed huge success as the writer and star of the hit TV series 'Girls'.
But she's always relished the challenge of directing and she's thankful that it's become a "more central" part of her working life.
The actress - who also directed several episodes of 'Girls' - told the 'Backstage' podcast: "I really, I love directing and ... writing is sort of the well it all springs from, and then directing is this really thrilling extension of being able to tell stories in that way, and I'm really glad it's become more central to my professional life."
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