The actors, tired of always receiving the same scripts – or worse, of not receiving any – now decide to take matters into their own hands. Sydney Sweeney thus launched his own production company, and we already owe him Everything except youin which she herself chose her partner, Glen Powell. Lisathe K-pop sensation from the group Blackpink, created her own talent agency, while simultaneously pursuing her solo music career and her acting debut (she will be in the next season of The White Lotus). As for Dev Patelpraised for his performances in Lion et The Green Knighthe realized he wanted a little action in his career. He therefore co-wrote and directed Monkey Man : “It surprised a lot of people, not only that I was directing a film, but even more so an action film, in which I had the leading role. » An experience which, he says, opened his eyes. “I now know that I am no longer a slave to what presents itself. In a slightly strange way, it's liberating. I can generate my own reality, in which I can exist for the next ten years. Don't tell my agents, it terrifies them. »
Zoe Saldaña straight in her boots
Glen Powell took the reins of his career by becoming co-author of the screenplay for Hit Manwith its director Richard Linklater. Thanks to this chameleonic tour de force – to which it should be added Twisters et Everything except you –, he has become this actor who is as bankable as he is unconventional. In Hollywood, we often hear that “old-fashioned” movie stars are on the verge of extinction. But Powell undermines this theory. “This business is in the process of re-evaluating what entertainment is and the place that actors should occupy in it. We are only just getting started, he says. I try to think about the audience first before thinking about myself: what do people want to see? »
In terms of franchises and blockbusters, Zoe Saldaña has already largely given the public what they wanted. This year, she put aside science fiction to play in the ambitious musical comedy Jacques Audiard, Emilia Perez. The film allowed the actress to return to her roots: on the one hand by performing in Spanish, her native language, and on the other hand by dancing as she had not done since her teenage years as a ballerina. “It’s the first time in a long, long time that I feel like I’m on my feet,” she confides. After years of giving people what they wanted, she was able to deliver a performance that few in the audience could imagine.
If Zoe Saldaña hung up her spacesuit to finally show her true colors, Bill Skarsgård on the contrary seems to have found his way by playing creatures of the night. After the murderous clown Thathe is reborn as a new (but very old) vampire in Nosferatu. For the role, Skarsgård donned massive prosthetics, studied Japanese body art, butō – Google will tell you better than we can – and worked with an opera singer to find a sufficiently deep voice. He is one of those actors who seeks to completely hide behind his character. “Some of them kind of play themselves, and they’re great. But I don't think I'm that charismatic or interesting. I need to transform myself to get as far away from myself as possible. »
Do you hear this noise? It is Jonathan Bailey who nods. “Like everyone else, it annoys me to see people play exactly the same role seven times. So, with that in mind, you just want to maintain some freshness. » Himself gay, he had to answer countless questions about his love life while promoting the series that made him known, The Bridgerton Chronicles. “I was hyper-aware of the complexity and nuance of the feelings that were going through me as a gay man, and even a gay actor, having such success with a straight role, of having to talk about all that. » Since then, he has expanded his CV with the political-romantic mini-series Fellow Travelersthe dazzling musical comedy Wickedand the juggernaut Jurassic World : Renaissanceexpected for next summer.
Josh O’Connor has reinvented himself with great consistency since his Emmy Awards for the role of young Prince Charles failing to love Lady Diana in The Crown. His humility is sometimes an obstacle to the importance of the star he is called to become. But on screen, the infinite nuances of his acting are unmistakable. His palette is such that he shot the first half of The Chimeraalmost entirely in Italian, in the rumpled clothes of a British grave robber, before transforming into a tennis court bad boy for Challengersthen go back to finish filming The Chimera. “I have always been curious about the skills and know-how of others,” he explains. I can't say that I play tennis very well, and even less that I speak Italian perfectly, but for a whole year, I only thought about these two things and I worked hard. To be completely honest, the other advantage is that you get to watch tennis lessons, paid for by the production. It's one of the privileges of this job. »
