Shailene Woodley, along with Divergent co-star Theo James, spoke with MTV about the YA movie adaptation, but she also got to speak a little about how it felt to cut her hair for the movie she’s currently filming, The Fault in Our Stars.

The cropped ‘do debuted on Woodley’s Instagram last week, but the VMAs marked the look’s first big public outing, and Woodley told MTV News that she couldn’t be happier with it. “It’s awesome. The actual cut of it is very Midwestern, 17-year-old girl, which is the character I’m portraying,” she said. “It’s fun to embody this sort of energy for a while.”

The new look is all part of getting into the character of Hazel Grace Lancaster, the protagonist of John Green’s best-selling book, but Shailene has found her own freedom in losing her locks. “I feel lighter. I also feel strong, especially when I’m able to cut it the way I want to cut it,” she said. “I’m not nervous at all, so excited. I love it.”

Click here to watch the video of the interview with MTV.