Brie Larson says she doesn’t really even remember the details when it came to meeting Jennifer Lopez on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, because she was just so overwhelmed.
Larson was speaking with ET last month ahead of the star-studded awards ceremony, and talking about how it felt like she was dreaming to be surrounded by so many icons. Moments later, she got the chance to meet Lopez for the first time, and Larson adorably freaked out to the point of tears.
Sitting down with Jimmy Kimmel on Monday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Lessons in Chemistry star addressed the sweet moment of genuine adoration, and explained why meeting Lopez felt “very profound” for her.
“My mom took me to the theater to see Selena [as a kid], and it traumatized me, but also it was like, ‘That’s what I want to do with my life,'” Larson explained.
Addressing how she nearly started hyperventilating when she met Lopez, the Oscar winner explained, “She just kind of doesn’t exist for me as a human being — she’s like my god.”
“Someone was like, ‘Didn’t you think this day would come?’ And I was like, ‘No, she doesn’t exist, for me. That’s not how this works,'” Larson explained. “In my world, JLo is over there, and I’m on the other side of the TV, always.”
Larson said she doesn’t “have any memory” of what she said after meeting Lopez, and when Kimmel asked how she felt the meeting went, she joked, “Oh I think [I] was kinda creepy.”
Ultimately, however, the moment seemingly meant the world to Larson, who gushed, “It was very special. I didn’t need anything else after that.”
The chance encounter also left an impression on Lopez, who got emotional reflecting on their meeting at the Golden Globes while speaking with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe back in January.
“It brings tears to my eyes now because it’s very moving,” Lopez said. “You give your heart and soul to this, and when you’re an artist, I think you know that and understand that.”
Lopez reflected on their meeting, and how Larson’s reaction reminded her of the women in Hollywood she has been inspired by.
“I remember being a little girl and watching West Side Story and seeing Rita Moreno and knowing what that meant for me,” she added. “When I was looking at Brie and I saw her, and I was just staring in her eyes, because she was so locked in with me and just like, ‘I have wanted to tell you this for so long,’ I saw myself. I saw a little girl.”
She added through tears, “And to think that I did that for somebody was really, really overwhelming. It was very lovely to have an experience like that. I don’t think I ever imagined I would have an experience like that with somebody who is so talented and who I watched their movies. Who is kinda in a way, my contemporary.”
Lopez shared that the moment may be more special to her than Larson.
“Even to feel that way, and to express that and to be so kind,” she said. “That was a very kind thing that she did. And it meant a lot to me. Probably even more than it did to her.”
