“I didn’t necessarily have the privilege of being cast as a hero,” Zawe Ashton said. “And that’s okay.”
This was a recent hot and humid afternoon, when the regency romantic comedy “Mr. Malcolm’s List” put himself in the role of a woman rushing to lunch at the movie company’s New York office before heading to the airport. .. With barefoot, glamorous and unobtrusive black slip dresses and sweatshirts with the words “There is an artist in us,” she radiated a particular combination of seriousness, playfulness, and intellect to explore.
The more rumored corner of the internet knows London-born Ashton as the fiancee of actor Tom Hiddleston, who met during the reading of Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal,” who later became a professional actor on Broadway. I am serving. She is an elementary school and a playwright in her twenties. She has devoted most of her career to playing and writing about outsiders. Julia of the Regency Bell doesn’t seem to be one of them. Ashton disagrees.
“I think she is,” she said. “She can be restless.”
This probably explains why Ashton infuses Julia with a hint of a kind of wilderness, the whims of under and around. “Mr. Malcolm’s List” is mixed and Ashton is acclaimed.Critics she rules For The Hollywood Reporter “Her sharp comedy timing ensures a thrilling delivery of her tart line,” he wrote.
Next summer, she will appear in Nia DaCosta’s “The Marvels.” This is the sequel to “Captain Marvel”. She reportedly plays a villain.And — after Ashton Revealed her pregnancy Recent “Mr. Malcolm List” — At least another debut is expected. To her wise, she doesn’t talk much about her personal life.
Over the salad, she talked about historical drama, played a woman on the edge, and found the truth under a corset. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
You look like you’re having a lot of fun with this movie. you?
I’m really ~ We are all really so. I shot it in a wave of very fierce blockades in Dublin. Our only glue time was on-site and working. We weren’t even allowed to go to the pub. Therefore, there was a really rewarding element of gathering in the group scene, working with each other, and understanding the unique rhythm of each person. From there, part of the comedy is born, and certainly a lot of frivolous energy.
You haven’t worked in many eras. Why this?
The big conversations that are happening now about the expression of historical drama are very realistic. In reality, you can act for a long time and never be called to that table. There is a kind of indifference around it that turns into a mystery that turns into sadness. This was the first Jidaimono I have ever offered. I decided for 24 hours, and then it was sweatpants to the corset.
Please tell us about Julia.
What I immediately loved was finding her. She will be in her fifth season in society without a match. There is a little feminine shade on the edge. She rages at the machine because she doesn’t want to be a victim of that society. She does some suspicious things. But until the end, I have this humble redemption moment where she finds a match of her love with someone who loves her because of her flaws, not despite her flaws. I hope that.
What unlocked her character?
One of the first things I had to do was to take advantage of something very true and real.Frida [Pinto, her co-star] And I talked about picking up something that felt more culturally unique to us. It was a real breakthrough. Being able to find something that resonates with your experience, leaving austeniticization. Then we had a great historian. She really helped me with things like how you drink tea, how you walk the streets of London with men you are involved with or not involved with. That led to a physical life, then stepping into costumes, hair, makeup and corsets and stuffing them into the hood.
You haven’t done a lot of comedy in the last 10 years. Why are you doing comedy now?
I joined a very fierce movie club during the blockade. We watched a movie every night and took a break from Sunday at the end of every Saturday to give feedback to each other. We were really expensive and deliberately quite uncomfortable — Bergman, Tarkovsky, Rohmer, Bresson. There was catharsis there, but I wanted to escape more and more through the work I did, the people I wanted to live in.
The next project is “The Marvels”. Was the superhero project another escape?
I have been away from many acting in the last five years or so.I did a “betrayal” here in New York without a representative [an agent]And, at the end, I signed with some people, and I said, I don’t necessarily want to start feeding the machine. I would like to meet a first-time female director or an up-and-coming female director, especially one with an undervalued background in the industry. Emma Holly Jones who directed “Mr. Holly Jones”. Malcolm’s list is one of them. I was set up on the phone with the Nia DaCosta I actually connected to. It was just a soul. And on the other side was a phone call asking me to be part of her new job.
There are rumors that he is playing a villain in the movie. Or did you complicate the idea of the villain?
To be honest, I don’t know how to do it. I have to start with something realistic, emotional and real and build from there. I need to understand the deeper meaning in my head.
I read about my engagement with Tom Hiddleston. Is it true that you met after “betrayal”? Because the marriage in the play is not a good marriage!
Often, the most miserable and deepest work is the happiest company. The play was called “Betrayal”. However, playing behind the scenes was an absolute trust.
Well, I still hope your marriage will be successful. Funny, you’ve been in this business for nearly 30 years, but when I googled you, the best results were all related to your personal life. How would you like to experience this kind of scrutiny?
As a woman in this industry, you are very accustomed to your identity as an artist and move closer to different people. It’s not unique to dating someone. If there is a conversation I discuss behind this question, it really is to let women in this industry know that they will reinforce your identity and reason for existence, no matter what career point you are at. The most intense method. In that case, you need an internal anchor. You must feel joy and joy in your work. I’m not here to be a victim of projection. I am here to continue to grow as an artist.