Interview With "Irena's Vow" Actress Sophie Nélisse

[00:00:00] This episode is brought to you by FX's The Vale, starring Elizabeth Moss.

[00:00:05] FX's The Vale is an international spy thriller that follows two women as they play a deadly game of Truth and Lies

[00:00:12] on the road from Istanbul to Paris and London.

[00:00:15] One woman has a secret and the other has a mission to reveal it before thousands of lives are lost.

[00:00:21] FX's The Vale premieres April 30th only on Hulu.

[00:00:30] Next Best Picture Podcast, and this is my interview with the star from the film Ireena's Vale, Sophie Millies.

[00:01:00] The Vale is a film that follows two women as they play a deadly game of Truth and Lies.

[00:01:31] I want to first start off by asking, this is a project obviously that is dealing with a real life person who did a really remarkable series of acts.

[00:01:42] Can you tell me just a little bit about the weight that one feels when you're taking on a role such as that that has impacted so many lives and just for you as an actress, like what's your mindset when you're approaching a role like that?

[00:01:58] Yeah, there's definitely a lot of pressure I would say on my shoulders because I never done an autobiography on someone before and she's led such a tremendous exceptional life that I just wanted to live up to the expectations

[00:02:14] knowing that her daughter was going to watch the movie and some of her friends and I just wanted to give her story justice.

[00:02:22] But I and so I made sure to reassure myself that I'd done as most the most research is possible and I read the books that was based on her life and I found a bunch of archives which showed her in her 60s and found some photos of her in her earlier 20s and took on a

[00:02:40] dialect coach to help with the Polish accent.

[00:02:43] Yeah, yeah, no absolutely I mean you could have fooled me when I was listening to you in this I was like wait a minute I know that she's not wait hold on a minute now.

[00:02:51] But speaking of which two I remember the first time I saw you on screen 11 years ago with the oh my gosh now I'm blanking on it in the book thief.

[00:03:02] Yes, and I just want to know like for you when you put in the context from that time then up until now same historical setting and such like what parallels or similarities are there and how have you just changed would you say between those two projects.

[00:03:19] Yeah, I think I everyone tells me this it's like it's like the continuity of both if it's like what Lisa would have become 10 years later still saving people still putting others needs in front of her own.

[00:03:33] So I, yeah I just thought she shared such an inspiring stories and so did Lee's own and I, I love that people will watch the movie and hopefully feel inspired and will want to change in order to become a better version of themselves.

[00:03:51] I definitely feel that I've changed a lot in the last, what like 10 years to 14 years now. Yeah, I think I've when I was doing the book thief it felt more like day camp like this was this is all fun and this is games and I get to do this cool thing and I still think I have this very like youthful essence and I love to play around on set the way I used to on the book

[00:04:15] even I love to prank people and have fun, but I definitely think that I take my work more seriously and I'm a little more aware of like the impact that I can have by taking on roles like this specific one that have an important story to tell.

[00:04:31] And so I feel a lot more pressure and responsibility and in a sense of like having to pick my projects more wisely. But at the end of the day, I still see it as fun. It's still to me like it's going to work but it's like it's not really war.

[00:04:50] It's just so fun to get to live from from acting. Yeah, no, I completely hear you on that for sure. I used to act many, many years ago and I get I get that euphoric sense that one gets when you either just nail a scene or you could feel the chemistry between you and the other actor just seamlessly bouncing off of one another.

[00:05:11] But this is like such also heavy subject material to and you have a lot of scenes in this film where you're under such distress and I was like watching and I'm thinking to myself, what levy do you provide to yourself because I imagine you have to give yourself some sort of a mental break from staying in this zone constantly like what do you do between takes to kind of balance it out a little bit so it's not all doom and gloom.

[00:05:38] I will say I'm not a very like method actor so I kind of can tap out a character pretty easily like as soon as they call cut and like, oh what's my snack like what can I go get it crafty.

[00:05:50] And I the director on this news or Shumbo is like the most playful.

[00:05:56] She has such a young soul and we would have so much fun together like between setups we would like go in a corner and people would have to be like where is Louise, because she was like, I had to be directing but we would go and like play together in a corner and like mess around and tell each other stories.

[00:06:11] So she definitely helped at keeping a very like a youthful and playful atmosphere on set.

[00:06:16] And my mom actually accompanied me on this project, which is so nice to have around because she's like my best friend and on weekends, we would just like wander around the city and hang out and talk about anything but work and so that also helps to have sort of like an emotional like relief that's that's around me at all times.

[00:06:39] Yeah, that's great. You said city you guys shot this in Poland right? Yeah. Yeah, how long were you guys out there for a month and a half. Okay. Yeah. And so were you like I mean I imagine that you probably because I'm trying to think right now you're not in every scene but you're almost in every scene of this movie essentially.

[00:06:58] Yeah. From start to finish so for you did it feel like just like this mad sprint of the shooting days over the course of a month and a half?

[00:07:07] Oh yeah, it was like a yeah I just I was always working I there's not a moment where I am on weekends but then on weekends I was so exhausted that I all I could do was go walk and then go back home and sleep.

[00:07:19] I would basically go to my like it was so weird. I felt so disconnected from life on that project because I was jet like I was on different time zones I would never be able to face my friends or my family work when they were up and then I was working such long days and coming back.

[00:07:39] I remember this one night coming back at like 2am and it was a Friday night and I was in the car and like people next to me were like partying and I would go back to the hotel and it was like a Friday you know people are like out and having and I was like wow I don't even know what day of the week is.

[00:07:56] I forgot that there's like a social life outside of this like I forgot the people party and I forgot people go out for dinner I was like I'm just like work sleep work sleep weekends and like maybe find the energy to go for a walk in a coffee and then learn my lines for the rest of the week.

[00:08:13] So it felt like a just a weird month and a half like super condensed work mode and then it took me like I got really sick when I wrapped actually like literally the day after I didn't even go to like I barely went to the after to the rap party because I was just like so so so sick from your.

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[00:09:51] You act opposite a number of dare I say terrifying men in this movie some really tension riddled scenes where I was thinking to myself.

[00:10:02] I know it's all make believe obviously but is there was there ever a moment where somebody's performance like really sunk its way into your soul and you thought oh my God like this is this is intense right now.

[00:10:15] Yeah.

[00:10:17] I mean they were all they were all they were all so good.

[00:10:21] They all brought very different elements to the movie and they all impacted me in different ways.

[00:10:28] I think I loved Andre's performance who plays like the other sort of service.

[00:10:33] Yes.

[00:10:35] Because I think he brought a very caring nurturing like palm element to the to the script and I think he has like some of the best lines in this really when he says sometimes survival survival means serving dessert and that line strikes me every time.

[00:10:55] And it feels like the scenes with him.

[00:10:58] Because there's not they're not like action driven and you're not like scared are just like little moments of stillness in the movie.

[00:11:08] And I just think he would do he didn't he had to do so little and it just there's something about his performance that I felt like when I was acting alongside him.

[00:11:18] I would just really just sit and listen and observe and would kind of like lose myself in the moment.

[00:11:25] And yeah he was really yeah fun to work with.

[00:11:28] I mean.

[00:11:30] You're great.

[00:11:32] But you're great is also like I felt so on the edge of my seat and like on my toes.

[00:11:37] I was like what is what is also he do really love to like do every scene so differently.

[00:11:42] So it kept me on my toes all the time because I was like what direction is he going to take this in.

[00:11:46] What is he going to yell.

[00:11:48] And it was it was a different experience totally.

[00:11:51] Would he give you like a heads up beforehand. Hey I might try this or just a little bit basically yeah.

[00:11:57] Wow.

[00:11:59] Which I love because it makes sense.

[00:12:01] I think arena never knows how the conversation is going to go with him.

[00:12:04] She's always terrified of him.

[00:12:06] Yeah absolutely.

[00:12:08] I'm curious to know too like you were mentioning before with Andres.

[00:12:11] He's such an accomplished actor in Poland and I have to imagine that he gave you some bit of advice or just I don't know anything at all like during your time working together.

[00:12:24] Do you do you recall anything like that between you and him where he shared a bit of that wisdom and experience with you.

[00:12:30] I think it was mostly just like the energy that he brought to set.

[00:12:34] He just feels so at peace with who he is and where he's at.

[00:12:41] And it doesn't feel like he's chasing anything and there's a sense of serenity that he carries with him and this politeness with everyone.

[00:12:52] And you can tell that he's not trying to prove anything but at the same time that he doesn't have any ego or there's no sense of hierarchy.

[00:13:00] He's just there.

[00:13:02] He's grateful to be there.

[00:13:04] And I think that that's just an attitude that I even if I reach a certain level of I mean if I come even more accomplished than I am I just want to stay as grounded as he is.

[00:13:20] And I think it speaks to a lot about who he is as a person.

[00:13:24] Yeah.

[00:13:25] You've had a lot of like successes I think along the way here.

[00:13:30] I mentioned a book thief earlier but then also there's your role in Yellow Jackets which became a popular hit show.

[00:13:36] The Kid Detective is something that I knew flew under the radar but God damn it.

[00:13:40] I love that movie very very much and I urge everyone to watch it.

[00:13:44] That's listening to this right now.

[00:13:46] But like where would you say like Irene is Val like stands for you right now at this stage in your career.

[00:13:50] Do you see it as a turning point.

[00:13:53] Is it just like you know another film.

[00:13:55] Like how do you view it contextually.

[00:13:57] I wouldn't say that I see it as like a turning point.

[00:14:01] I don't know to me I just see every I don't try to like put any project on like a pedestal or see like this is like a this is going to improve or like my career.

[00:14:13] I just see it as like I read the script.

[00:14:16] I love the project and I want to be a part of it.

[00:14:19] And if it does well great if it helps me book something else great.

[00:14:24] And otherwise I know that the reasons why I chose the project were because I believed in the story or or I stay true to myself in the decision making and so regardless of what happens I will be proud.

[00:14:36] And so with this I just think that she it's such an inspiring tale and I know that it's definitely changed me as a person in so many ways.

[00:14:48] So no matter how the movie does or like if it's a big or smaller but like whatever I just see it as like the story to me was important and I'm happy I did it.

[00:14:58] Yeah you mentioned earlier too like going back to what we were talking about earlier about you know really wanting to do right by.

[00:15:04] I rena and her family and those that knew her.

[00:15:09] Do you recall since the film premiered at Toronto anyone like giving you feedback on Job Well Done you know that sort of thing.

[00:15:18] Well her daughter Jeannie was there the premiere as well as Roman Holler who is the boy that the Jewish couple conceived in high.

[00:15:26] And he came up to me and he was like and they both came up to me and they're like you are exactly like are you have this sort of essence and you're right and full of light and that's the biggest compliment I ever could have received.

[00:15:44] So not to like be conceited into like to my own horn but yeah it was just a very touching moment to receive that information from the people that were closest to her.

[00:15:57] Yeah I can imagine and as we like to end all of our interviews here I would love to know what do you have coming up next in the future or is there something that you particularly want to do next certain genre or anything along those lines.

[00:16:10] I will we're about to shoot the third season of Yellow Jackets and I have this horror movie directed by corn hardy that's coming out called whistle.

[00:16:20] And I just wish that I get to do as diverse work as possible I would love to do comedy which is very different from Irene's bow.

[00:16:30] I did gymnastics so I have a very physical background and I would love to do like a Marvel movie but I mean everyone wants to do a Marvel movie but I just hope to have like a very diversified career so yeah.

[00:16:46] Yeah maybe we'll get you into a never mission impossible or something as a consolation prize or something.

[00:16:51] Well Sophie thank you so much for your time today I really really appreciate it and best of luck to you.

[00:16:57] Thank you so much for having me.

[00:17:00] Take care.

[00:17:01] Hey everyone thank you so much for listening to my interview with the star from the new film Irene's bow Sophie Hallease here on the next best picture podcast.

[00:17:09] Irene's Val is now playing in select theaters from Quiver Distribution.

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