The next Jennifer Lawrence?

CEBU, Philippines - Shailene Woodley (“The Descendants,” “The Spectacular Now,” “The Fault in Our Stars”) takes the cover of the recent issue of The Hollywood Reporter to promote her role as Tris Prior in “Divergent,” the film adaptation of  Veronica Roth’s trilogy which has drawn several comparisons to “The Hunger Games” — a post-modern society theme, survival of the fittest plot and status quo manipulation from a strong female character, to name a few.

Naturally, Summit Entertainment (the same studio behind “Twilight”) is trying to fashion Woodley as the next Jennifer Lawrence. The Hollywood Reporter insists that Lawrence and Shailene’s “career trajectories are similar” because they both did indie films before moving on to YA franchises. Oh, and they both got short haircuts last year.

Will the A-list ascent of  Lawrence similarly happen to 22-year-old Woodley? Here are some interview excerpts:

She hesitated to do ‘Divergent’: “Having come off a TV show, I was kind of in the place where I was like, ‘I’m never signing a contract for more than one movie,’ because once you do sign a contract, legally, you’re liable. [Even] if you don’t find something creatively stimulating anymore, you’ve still got to do it legally.”

She lost ‘I Am Sam’ to Dakota Fanning: “My dad pulled me aside, and he said: ‘Shai, what are you doing? You have so much anger, and you’re feeling so let down by the fact that you didn’t book [this]. I want you to close your eyes right now and picture this Dakota girl, and I want you to send her so much love and so much light because one day you’re going to book something that you really want, and you’re not going to want all of the girls around you that you competed against to feel anger against you. You’re going to want them to support you on your journey. And so it’s your turn right now to support Dakota on her journey.’ And so I did that.”

She only wears second-hand clothing: “Kitson? Yeah, that’ll never happen. I exclusively buy used clothes,” she says, referring to the Robertson Boulevard boutique favored by attention-starved “stars.” “I’m going to be a citizen of this planet, and I’m going to do my responsibility and live in stride with nature instead of constantly fighting against her.”

She makes an exception for red carpets: “I realized this garment is going to be used over and over and over again. If I was to show up wearing my five-toe shoes, my Melodia organic leggings and some hippie top, no one is going to take me seriously, and I probably would not be doing this interview right now for The Hollywood Reporter. When I go on a red carpet, I’m Shailene, but I’m also Shailene representing a movie. I’m there for my boss, for my employer, so part of that comes with wearing the uniform.”

Her Navajo pendant: “It’s my way of just recognizing spirit — as hippie as that may sound — in an industry where sometimes materialism is the main focus, it’s kind of my way of grounding and remembering what’s important to me. My religion is the Earth, man. I believe in trees.”

Nudity is cool: “When somebody’s doing a sex scene and they’re wearing a bra and underwear, that’s not how it happens in real life. If I’m going to say yes to a movie where this is necessary, then I’m going to bring truth to that situation.”

Is she in a relationship? “I fall in love with human beings based on who they are, not based on what they do or what sex they are.”

Oh, the pressure: “I made five movies in the past year and two months and finished a TV show during that time. The second your boss or somebody whom you really respect comes to you and says, ‘I can’t wait to see what you do next,’ there instantly becomes this new pressure of, ‘Wow, am I creating art for myself or am I suddenly creating art for other people?” (FREEMAN)