Jordana Brewster Says It ‘Makes Sense’ She’s Not in ‘Fate of the Furious’ Because ‘Paul’s Not’ in It
Jordana Brewster is putting the Fast and Furious franchise in her rearview mirror.
The Fate of the Furious opens Friday with the splashy new addition of Charlize Theron, but without Brewster, who played Mia from the early days. In an interview promoting Zyrtec allergy medicine, the actress, 36, told Yahoo Celebrity that in light of Paul Walker’s passing, her character’s departure “makes sense.” (For those neither fast nor furious, their two characters were romantically involved and went off to raise their family together — a plot line added after Walker’s sudden death.)
We jokingly asked if she was texting her co-stars and friends like Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez during filming to ask how things were going without her. “Gosh, I think I would have been really annoying if I had done that. They’d be like: ‘Get a life,‘” she laughs. “But I was busy working anyway on Lethal Weapon,” her TV show which just got renewed for a second season, and “spending time with Julian and Rowan,” her sons.
For the record, Brewster is going to see it. “I’m excited to,” she tells us, especially “because it looks like there’s a cool twist.” And she doesn’t miss Vin, Michelle, and the gang. Not because of any drama, but because they are in touch. “I don’t miss them because I see them all the time,” she notes. “I see Vin all the time. I adore him. I love Michelle.”
And the truth is, since Walker is no longer a part of the franchise, it’s not the same. “Also, when I think of…” she trails off before saying, “It’s strange because Paul’s not in it. And Mia is with Brian. It makes sense to me that I’m not there.”
When we mention that we noticed that Paul’s daughter, Meadow Walker, often “likes” her Instagram photos, Brewster is very protective of the teen, saying, “I don’t think it’s fair to talk about her because she’s not in the public eye.” However, when we note that Meadow, 17, recently signed a majoring modeling deal and Brewster navigated the waters of stardom at a young age as a soap star, she added, “Well, she’s a stunning creature, so it makes sense that she’s doing that now. And I also love the work that she’s doing with the Paul Walker Foundation. It’s amazing.”
While Fox’s Lethal Weapon and other projects (she was also part of the acclaimed The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, playing Denise Brown) have kept her busy professionally, the arrival of her second son last June makes her home life pretty lively.
“It’s been really, really, really fun,” Brewster says. “Julian, [3], is at such a delicious age where he’s talking so much and expressive. Rowan is 10 months now and he’s smiling and he’s crawling already. I feel like he’s going to walk soon because he’s pushing himself up. A lot of people were like: Oh my gosh, going from one [child] to two is huge transition. But I felt like no kids to kids was a massive transition. The minute Rowan was born, I was like: ‘I want more kids!’ Andrew [Form, her husband] was like: ‘Slow down.’ But it’s been amazing.”
Launching from our recent conversation with Drew Barrymore about attending red carpet events with children (the Santa Clarita Diet star hated the recent attention she got for bringing daughter Frankie to a charity event), Brewster says she’s OK with sharing Julian and Rowan with the world — for now.
“I think that will stop eventually,” says the actress. “At this point, Julian likes being on the red carpet. He likes going to the premiere of like [the LEGO Batman Movie] and enjoys it. I do talk about him a lot on talk shows, [but it’s not an option not to] because he’s really funny and says crazy stuff.”
She continues, “Basically right now I feel comfortable doing it. Maybe I’ll reach a point where they’ll object to it: ‘Mom, stop being such a dork,’ and I’ll stop. But they’re a huge part of my life. How can I not?”
While Brewster usually looks picture perfect with or without her son on the red carpet, she’s actually an allergy sufferer. So she’s been working with Zyrtec to share how it helps with her not-so-sexy symptoms of a red nose, raspy voice, and puffy eyes.
“I always have it in my bag on set because I have indoor and outdoor allergies,” she says of the medicine. “Sometimes I’ll be on set and start sneezing uncontrollably. Or my voice will sound like it sounds today and people will ask: Do you have a cold? … Well, Zyrtec helps me feel better.”
When we joke that how she looks when she’s suffering from allergies may not be the way typical people look, she insists that she’s not always red carpet ready. “Most of the time when I step out, I’m in full hair and makeup,” she says. “When you have a couple of days of being in hair and makeup and then you go home and you’re not in [it], you’re like: ‘Oh, really? This is what I look like?’” she chuckles.
Brewster with her family in Hawaii:
A post shared by jordanabrewster (@jordanabrewster) on Apr 8, 2017 at 5:42pm PDT
Last week, Brewster wasn’t worrying about her red carpet looks or her makeup — she was on spring break with her family in Hawaii — and she may have another small trip coming up. She will be celebrating her 10th wedding anniversary next month with Form, a filmmaker who owns a production company with Michael Bay.
“Andrew has been on set — he’s been traveling and away — so it’s like: Do I want to be selfish and go to Big Sur with him for the weekend? … But he wants to be with the kids because he’s been away so much. So right now I’m just having fun thinking: What are you going to get me for our 10th anniversary? That’s what we’ve been brainstorming about.”
We’re sure they’ll come up with something great — and it probably won’t be flowers. (Achoo!)
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