Anthony D’Alessandro is Managing Editor of AwardsLine.Actors go to exhaustive lengths to lose themselves in a character, whether it’s by extensive research or thespian Method.

Then there’s Jennifer Lawrence, who unabashedly admits her lack of formal drama training — an approach that’s paid off for her in spades given her portrayal of strong female protagonists.

As the young unstable widow Tiffany who falls for Bradley Cooper’s bipolar ex-high school teacher Pat in David O.

Russell’s romantic dramedy Silver Linings Playbook, Lawrence is a firecracker, going toe-to-toe with the Method master himself, Robert De Niro (as Pat’s father) in a hysterical scene where she debunks all his Philadelphia sports superstitions.

Since the film’s premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, Oscar pundits are predicting Lawrence will get her second best actress nomination following her breakout in 2010’s Winter’s Bone.

And there was her turn as the brave teen warrior Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, a part for which she was plucked from hundreds of hopefuls.

But Lawrence admits to brazenly pursuing roles, whether it’s tracking down her Winter’s Bone director in New York or Skyping Russell from her hometown Louisville, KY.

“There’s my desperation for certain scripts,” Lawrence says, “and desperation reads, and passion comes through.”AWARDSLINE: You have this affinity for tough characters.

Did you find any similarity between Katniss Everdeen from Hunger Games and Tiffany in ...... See Complete Article @ Deadline Hollywood