2008–2012: Ingénue parts and expansion to dramatic roles Amy Adams

adams @ 81st academy awards in 2009, nominated second best supporting actress award doubt (2008).

the 2008 sundance film festival saw release of sunshine cleaning, comedy-drama 2 sisters (played adams , emily blunt) start crime scene clean-up business. adams attracted idea of playing tries better herself. mick lasalle of san francisco chronicle considered adams magical , adding gives portrait of raging want beneath veneer of surface diffidence . in 1939-set screwball comedy miss pettigrew lives day, adams starred aspiring american actress in london encounters middle-aged governess named miss pettigrew (played frances mcdormand). stephen holden of new york times drew similarities role in enchanted , wrote screen magic displays in such endearing roles hasn t been intense since heyday of jean arthur .

adams next starred in doubt, adaptation of john patrick shanley s play of same name. production tells story of catholic school principal (played meryl streep) accuses priest (played philip seymour hoffman) of pedophilia; adams features innocent nun embroiled in conflict. shanley approached natalie portman part offered adams role after finding innocent, yet intelligent persona similar of ingrid bergman. adams identified character s ability find best in people; described collaboration streep , hoffman master class in acting. writing houston chronicle, amy biancolli commented adams sparks distressed compassion , , ann hornaday opined exudes right wide-eyed innocence . adams nominated academy award, golden globe award, , bafta award best supporting actress.

as junebug , enchanted, adams roles in 3 2008 releases of ingénue—innocent women cheerful personality. when asked being typecast in such roles, adams said responds characters joyful , identified sense of hope. believed despite similarities in disposition, these characters vastly different 1 another; said, naïveté not stupidity, , innocent people complex.

the 2009 fantasy adventure film night @ museum: battle of smithsonian, starring ben stiller, featured adams aviator amelia earhart. first motion picture film inside national air , space museum in washington. director shawn levy said role allowed adams showcase acting range; adams believed first time allowed play confident character on screen. despite mixed reviews, adams work praised. terming sparkling screen presence , michael phillips of chicago tribune thought film radically improves whenever amy adams pops . same year, adams starred in comedy-drama julie & julia disgruntled government secretary julie powell decides blog recipes in julia child s cookbook mastering art of french cooking; in parallel storyline, meryl streep portrays child. adams enrolled @ institute of culinary education prepare part. carrie rickey of philadelphia inquirer thought film delicious french cuisine , found adams @ winsome . both night @ museum , julie & julia commercial successes, former earning on $400 million.

adams began new decade leading role opposite matthew goode in romantic comedy leap year (2010), critic richard roeper believed saved awful status adams presence. next release of year—the boxing drama fighter—was better received. directed david o. russell, film tells story of boxer half-brothers micky ward , dicky eklund (played mark wahlberg , christian bale, respectively); melissa leo played mother , adams portrayed ward s aggressive girlfriend, barmaid named charlene fleming. describing adams part tough, sexy bitch , russell cast against type rid of girl-next-door image. role marked significant departure her, , challenged russell s insistence on finding character s strength in silence. enrolled in exotic dance class trainer sheila kelley find character s eroticism. joe morgenstern of wall street journal wrote tough, tender, smart, , funny ethereal , delightful in enchanted. actress, , range! received academy, golden globe, , bafta nominations best supporting actress; lost former 2 leo. expressed desire play more dramatic roles in future.

adams @ 2012 toronto international film festival

the disney musical muppets (2011) starring eponymous puppets featured adams , jason segel in live-action roles. entertainment weekly s lisa schwarzbaum remarked role marked return comedian-sweetheart persona. recorded 7 songs film s soundtrack. following year, adams played baker s wife in public theater s revival of stephen sondheim s musical woods, part of shakespeare in park festival @ open-air delacorte theater. marked stage debut in new york , first theater appearance in 13 years. agreed month-long production take on challenge seemed insurmountable , though overwhelmed , intimidated it. prepared private singing coach, film schedule enabled spend 4 weeks in rehearsal. ben brantley, new york times theater critic, praised adams lucidly spoken , sung performance criticized lacking nervy, dissatisfied restlessness of part.

adams took fierce woman part in paul thomas anderson s psychological drama master (2012). played peggy dodd, ruthless , manipulative wife of leader of cult (played philip seymour hoffman). marked third , final collaboration hoffman, whom admired, before death 2 years later. organization depicted in film deemed journalists based on scientology; adams considered comparison misleading glad attention film brought it. although not method actor, adams believed intense role had left on edge in personal life. drawing comparisons lady macbeth s character, critic justin chang wrote adams pertness has seemed malevolent , , donald clarke of irish times commended playing part discrete menace . john patterson of guardian noted scene in chastises hoffman s character while furiously masturbating him 1 of significant sequences in film. adams nominated fourth academy award, , received golden globe , bafta nominations supporting part.

clint eastwood s sports drama trouble curve, in played estranged daughter of baseball scout (eastwood), adams second film release of 2012. admired eastwood s warm , generous personality , pleased collaboration. prepared part learning catch, pitch, , swing baseball coach. film received mixed reviews, , roger ebert took note of how adams had made standard role seem valuable. played brief part of drug addict in on road, ensemble drama based on jack kerouac s novel of same name.