Kaya Scodelario: Spin and Settle

After conquering the silverscreen, actor Kaya Scodelario found new jewels to crown her career.

At just 27, the Anglo-Brazilian already has 16 feature films, a marriage and a child on the clock, and she does not plan to slow down. Since the English series Skins, where she played Effy, the nervous teenager who fascinated all girls of her age, Kaya Scodelario has a career which was not expected. From Catherine in an underground adaptation of Stormwind Tops (2011) to being the Disney heroine Rebel in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean (2017), she has portrayed each character with utmost conviction. This year, she moves the cursor again with Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile which is Joe Berlinger’s biopic on serial killer Ted Bundy, coming exclusively on Netflix.

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She plays Carol Ann Boone, the murderer’s last wife. To prepare for the role, Kaya saw rare interviews of Carol Ann. “Carol voluntarily disappeared after her husband’s execution, I was never able to talk to her. It’s complicated because I had a responsibility to her, I had to represent her honestly. With the archives, I could learn her gestures and understand her voice. I also met several women who were infatuated with criminals while they were behind bars, they have always fascinated me, there is something so human in there,” says the actor.

Kaya has the ideas in place and the principles as well. Until now, she had never officially lent her image to a brand. But this year, she finally chose to engage with Cartier. “I wanted to be sure to adhere to the ethics of the company. I find it very important.” After the launch of Clash in Paris, the new line of Cartier jewellery that she embodies, she goes back to train for ice skates for Spinning Out, in which she plays a young figure skater.

The actress always wanted to do something different. It reflects with her casting in the horror film Crawl of Alexandre Aja, where she confronts alligators in Florida. “I wanted my son to see a movie where I do not kiss anyone, where I am neither the woman nor the girlfriend of someone. And where I fight.”

The actress has things to say about the place of women in Hollywood, and she could be one of those who will change the game in the future. “I want to produce. It has always been my dream. I meet so many women who have the ideas, the talent and the abilities, but to whom we close the doors. I would like to work with them.”

Speaking of her experience while shooting for Skins, the series she has been a part of for four seasons, she says, “Things have changed a lot. I was quite worried about the pace of filming but finally, I really enjoyed being thrown right in. I’m lucky enough to have a fairly intuitive game.” From being a 14-year-old girl in her debut series in 2007 to being an adult in its seventh season, it has been a double-edged exercise for her. She says “I have lived through it for a long time. It was the case of all the actors. We played teens of our ages who fell in love and were heartbroken and then the grownups. It was probably a little therapeutic. In any case, it helped me to develop a very frontal game.”

Since then, the team of the series has taken the lead. They make us believe that mastering the role of the average teenager can lead very far. Nicholas Hoult, the antagonist of the first series, became the Fawn of the X-Men, Dev Patel turned into the Slumdog Millionaire fame and not to forget Daniel Kaluuya is seen everywhere. 10 years later, they talk to each other every day and get together as soon as possible. Keeping our feet on the ground in Hollywood has never been easy, but Kaya Scodelario has certainly managed that.

From the May 2019 issue of L’Officiel India.