Nissan Ambassador: Brie Larson

If you don’t watch movies much, perhaps the woman featured in numerous Nissan commercials of late simply struck you as an attractive blond with a notable sense of self-assurance. But the face brightening up Nissan’s advertisements belongs to Academy-Award-winning actress Brie Larson. Most know her as the title character in Captain Marvel and as the same character in Avengers: Endgame. Rairdon’s Nissan of Auburn wants to tell you a little more about Nissan’s brand Ambassador.

A Born Filmmaker

Born Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers on October 1, 1989, in Sacramento, CA, “Brie” spent her early summers writing and directing movies in her garage using her cousins as actors. At six, she became the youngest student admitted to a training program at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Her parents divorced the following year bringing Brie, her mother, and her sister to Los Angeles, or more specifically, Burbank in a small apartment near the studio lots. Within a year, at the age of eight, she was in front of a national audience performing a commercial parody named “Malibu Mudslide Barbie” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. 

Soon, she had guest TV roles, including Touched by an Angel and Popular. But her teens brought career stops and starts. She was cast as a regular in a show that was canceled before airing when its star was diagnosed with cancer. She then played Bob Saget’s youngest daughter in the WB’s Raising Dad, which only aired one season. 

Teenage Music Career

Having picked up the guitar at 11, she was signed by Casablanca Records at 16 and debuted the album Finally out of P.E., in which she co-wrote several songs. A single “She Said” was played by MTV, which led to a tour with Jesse McCartney for Teen People’s “Rock in Shop” mall concerts and even performing for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The album was not a success, however, and Larson (a stage name taken from her grandfather) disliked how the record execs were packaging her. Returning to acting, she had some roles in small movies but it was not enough to pay the bills so she also worked as a club DJ.

Critical and Commercial Success

At 21, Larson was cast as Kate Gregson, the sardonic teenage daughter of Toni Collette, in The United States of Tara, which aired for three seasons. As is often the case in Hollywood, Larson, in her 20s, continued to play teen roles, including as a high school student in the 21 Jump Street movie, which grossed over $200 million and was  Larson’s most widely-seen film to that point. Her first lead role was in Short Term 12 as an emotionally distressed supervisor in a group home for troubled teens. It was a low-budget movie, but her performance was lauded by critics. 

By 2015 at 27, Larson was an established film actress with both comedy and dramatic roles, including Room, in which she played a young woman held in captivity, who bears a child of rape. She won several awards for her performance, including the Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as a Golden Globe and BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television).

Larson is now best known for her starring role in Captain Marvel, which marked the first Marvel Universe film with a female title character. To prepare for the role of fighter pilot turned superhero, she underwent nine months of judo, boxing, and wrestling training, and interacted with service personnel at the Nellis Air Force Base. Larson’s character was also in Avengers: Endgame, which grossed $2.79 billion worldwide and briefly became the highest-grossing film of all time. Larson is working on a Captain Marvel sequel called The Marvels, which is expected to open on Nov. 10, 2023.

Captain Nissan

Larson became Nissan’s brand Ambassador in 2020 in part for her impression as a strong independent woman who, in her Marvel role, is at home with sophisticated machinery. Her first ad presented the Sentra as a no-compromise vehicle which was tied to her advising a woman not to compromise at work. There were complaints about the commercial’s feminism which aligned with Larson’s own public statements. Nissan was not swayed and continued to have Larson as their spokesperson. The most current spot is for the Ariya EV crossover in which actor Jay Ellis co-stars. Nissan plays up Larson’s feminism by having her as the bold speed-loving driver, while Ellis, plays a calm driver who appreciates Ariya’s elegance.

With her varied comedy and dramatic background, Nissan sees Larson as someone who can look at home in every model Nissan sells. If you want to see yourself in the impressive new Ariya or any of the other “marvelous” models in the Nissan lineup, pay a visit to Rairdon’s Nissan of Auburn.