‘Divergent’: Shailene Woodley’s Advice From Mom

Shailene Woodley revealed her mother played a big role in her decision to choose to play Tris in “Divergent.”

“I’m very comfortable [on] indie film sets. I really love the energy of them and I love the passion that’s sort [of] brought forward, and I [had] never done a big, big studio film and so the size of the budget itself was quite daunting. But my mom said to me, ‘Shay, do you like the character?’ And I was like, ‘Yes.’ And she was like, ‘Do you like the story?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ She’s like, ‘So you’re gonna say no to a movie based on the size of its budget? If this was an indie film, would you do it?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I would,’” Shailene recounted to Access Hollywood’s Liz Hernandez at the “Divergent” junket in Los Angeles over the weekend.

“She was like, ’That seems a little bit strange to me that you would not do something, creatively, based on fear,’” Shailene continued of her talk with her mom. “And I was like, ‘You’re so right! I’m buying into society’s fear based paradigm. No way, man!”

It’s true that Shailene also received advice from “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence, who e-mailed her. But one fact fans may not know about that story – it was Shailene who reached out to Jennifer for the help.

“I sent her an e-mail and I was like, ‘How has ‘Hunger Games’ changed your life? You went from doing indie films to a big studio film. Are you happy with your decision?’ And she was like, ‘Yes. … There are some difficult things that may come from it, but the amount of beauty and the amount of greatness that will come from an opportunity like this will [completely] transcend any of the other effects,’” Shailene said. “She was like, ‘You would be stupid not to do it.’”

WATCH: Shailene Woodley: Why I Considered Not Doing ‘Divergent’

But while the two women have spoken via e-mail, Shailene is wary of comparisons between their two film franchises — “Divergent” and “The Hunger Games.”

“I always say that compare sort of leads to despair, right?” Shailene told Liz. “Like we’re constantly comparing ourselves to other people and that’s where insecurity and lack of confidence comes from, because we’re pinning ourselves up against an expectation that we simply can never fill, and I feel like with movies, I mean with this movie, people are inevitably comparing it to ‘Hunger Games’ because… I feel like there’s a lack of creativity.

“But it is a compliment, I suppose, because ’Hunger Games’ did well, so if they’re gonna compare us to anything, might as well be ‘Hunger Games,’” she added.

“Divergent” hits theaters on March 21.

— Jolie Lash