"I think as an actress you feel like you don't have ownership of your physical being because everyone has something to say. After awards season, you feel really judged.
"I know it sounds really juvenile, but in a way you start to feel like a child, and you rebel. I rebelled by cutting off my hair."
But the drastic image makeover wasn't as irresponsible as it sounds – Adams made sure her haircut was OK with the director of her new movie Leap Year: "I just had to tell Anand Tucker that I did it."