Shailene Woodley Felt Like A ‘Caretaker’ While Filming ‘The Fault In Our Stars’

Shailene Woodley took it upon herself to make The Fault in Our Stars as faithful to the book as humanly possible.

While some actors probably don’t care how accurate an adaptation is to the source material, Woodley was more than a little determined to do the book justice. Since she believes author John Green’s novel is nothing short of beautiful, she essentially felt like a “caretaker” when portraying Hazel in Josh Boone’s big-screen version of the heartwarming tale.

When the folks over at FOX 411 asked Shailene if she felt any responsibility to the book, the actress revealed it was extremely important to do the book justice.

“Absolutely. I mean, I don’t necessarily even feel a responsibility for the fans. I feel a responsibility for this book because this book represents so much and it’s so chockfull of beautiful messages that I felt like it was our duty to be the caretakers of it,” Woodley told the outlet.

Shailene also spent some time with caner patients prior to filming the project. However, the actress said she didn’t spend a lot of time actually discussing their conditions. Instead, Woodley was much more concerned about getting to know them as human beings.

She explained:

“A little bit researching the physicality of what is it like not to be able to breathe and have to carry around this oxygen tank, but for the most part it was about learning that they didn’t go home at the end of night and necessarily think about their cancer. They went home at the end of the night, and they’re like “oh my gosh I just got my period what do I do? Or oh my gosh I just had my first kiss,” you know? We’re all the same. We’re all the same.”

Shailene Woodley campaigned heavily to land the part in Josh Boone’s The Fault in Our Stars. According to CNN, this involved sending out plenty of emails to producers. Although the Divergent star never said she “needed” to tackle the lead role, Woodley made it clear that the film needed to come together one way or another.

Woodley also learned a few things during her time working on the flick:

“On this beautiful day, there’s kids at home in bed hooked up to chemo machines. There’s no way to justify it. So, really, it taught me a deeper sense of gratitude and a deeper sense of appreciation for these small palpable moments, because they’re the only thing that we’re guaranteed.”

Fans can catch Shailene Woodley in The Fault in Our Stars in theaters this weekend.

[Image via 20th Century Fox]