New Interview of Dakota with WP Film

Yola Czaderska-Hayek: I have to admit that, despite the title of the movie "Bad Times At The El Royale," a lot of good is happening on the screen. What is your merit as well. How did it happen that you took part in this production?

Dakota: I was amazed by the script. On the one hand, it's a very complicated story with lots of threads, and on the other, the narrative is so clear all the time that you can not get lost in it all. I remember reading the text constantly and thinking: how intelligent it is. I was afraid that with so many characters it would be necessary to go back several pages a few times, not to forget who is who, and meanwhile Drew [Goddard, director and author of the script] thought about everything. After reading, I was impressed not only by the text but also by its creator. I really wanted to meet this man, if only out of curiosity. I was fascinated by the fact that for him "Bad times At the El Royale" is not just another film to make, but a unique project in which he got involved. He gave literally everything of himself. Maybe I should not have said that, but I have never really seen someone who approached his work with such passion. The last day on the set he had tears in his eyes. By the way, I am grateful to him for changing my attitude to rehearsals with the script. I have not liked them so much, and it turned out that Drew loves them. For him, this is the basis for the preparation for the film. Thanks to him, I became convinced that these attempts really made sense and even I like them. It's a real pleasure to work with someone who loves to make movies.

My guess is that as a girl from an acting family, you spent a lot of time in hotels like El Royale.

Dakota: Oh yes! Actually, I spent my entire childhood in hotels. Together with my brother, we traveled with our parents from plane to plane. As soon as we appeared in a new place, we immediately set off to explore. We were discovering all the possible nooks, as if we were moving into a new home. In a sense, the hotel was our home. We liked our rooms the least because they reminded us of the school. We had private teachers, so sitting in the room was mainly about learning or doing homework. The fun began in the corridor, right on the doorstep. We loved these trips to hotels, I have millions of beautiful memories from them.

I guess you're spending a lot of your life in hotels now. Are you checking in under a false name?

Dakota: Yes. I have four invented names and I use them interchangeably. Thanks to that no one will track me. (laugh)

The "El Royale" movie takes place at the end of the 1960s. I wonder if you watched any films from that period to get a better feel for the role. I will add that I do not mean production with your grandmother...[Tippi Hedren]

Dakota: I modeled myself on a few actresses. Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth, Grace Kelly are obvious types. But before the filming started, I watched "Klute" with Jane Fonda. Really many times. And maybe it will surprise you, but I watched a lot of movies with Steve McQueen.

Did you want your heroine to be more masculine?

Dakota: No, that's not what I meant. I didn't want to make a man out of my heroine. The thing is, Steve McQueen had an extremely rare ability to build a role using a minimum of words. He relayed information about his hero with the help of gestures, looks, body language. I wanted my character to be like that. A person we know little about, but if we look closely at it, we know quite a lot. In Steve McQueen, I'm fascinated by something else: although he repeatedly played guys with a tendency to violence, the screen emanated above all with calmness. Notice how often his characters just sit still, and yet we know perfectly well that there is a huge dynamism in them. I really wanted my character in "El Royale" to be similar.

It must have been a refreshing experience for you, to play a girl with such temperament.

Dakota: Indeed, I have never played anyone like this before. It was a real pleasure to be able to create so much anger, so many fury all over the world. My heroine has experienced many unpleasant things, she has been hurt many times and has had enough. Now she decides who to hurt. I had a lot of fun in the dressing room, completing her outfit. The external sign of my hero's rebellion was incredibly tight jeans. And it was not a joke, they were so tight that I put them on lying down, and two people had to help me. We had probably eight pairs of these trousers. Each time, somewhere after two days, it stretched a bit, so whenever I could feel some slack in jeans, I had to pull them off and take the next, even tighter ones. It was really hardcore.

You smoked real cigarettes in front of the camera?

Dakota: No. I mean, it's possible if you want to. I quit smoking some time ago, so I use artificial cigarettes at work. It's a mixture of herbs, there are different types, with a touch of lavender, vanilla ... It's even pleasant and relaxing, but in the long run you can have enough of them.

One of the characters in "El Royale" is the charismatic and dangerous leader of the sect. Have you ever met similar people?

Dakota: I have met in my life various people referring to others, including me, from the position of power. But somehow it never caused me to follow them blindly. I saw people among my friends who made various bad decisions that ended badly for them. I mean a really tragic finale. Sometimes drugs were involved, sometimes different stories. Maybe it taught me to think before something is done. The sect, at least in our film, is that people who join such communities, want to find their place, want to feel that they are special and that someone cares about them. If a charismatic leader stands in their way, they will without hesitation drop everything and follow him. I never experienced such a thing, although I managed to get to know a few charismatic people. I could say that some kind of my master is Luca [Guadagnino, director of the movie "Those Days, Those Nights"; the actress appeared in his productions "A Bigger Spash" and "Suspiria"]. But even with him, I don't lose consciousness of my mind. I always remember to have my own opinion.

Do you ask  myourother for advice on professional matters?

Dakota: No, I decide how to manage my career. I'm not trying to mimic my mother, neither about the choice of roles nor the way I play. As for this, I want to rely solely on myself. For me, my mother is an irreplaceable support and treasury of knowledge when it comes to the emotional costs of this profession. Both pros and cons. When something great happens or vice versa, when I'm not going as planned, I can always call her and ask for advice. By the way, it once seemed to me that there is a great chasm between us. My mum always seemed to me a model of self-control, someone who always approached everything in this business calmly and calmly - not what I did. And recently, I watched her in an old interview in the 1992 Johnny Carson show. And I saw how terribly tense she was, how her nerves eat her during this conversation. It's just like I'm looking at myself. Then it dawned upon me how similar we are to each other.

Are you nervous when you appear on TV?

Dakota: I'm even nervous now! (laugh)

I noticed that your current films are more and more often dark, violent stories - how not a sensation is a horror. Do you want to escape from the image of "Fifty Shades" in this way?

Dakota: I don't know how it happened myself. Indeed, there has been a lot of violence in my films lately. Maybe because I'm attracted by the roles of mysterious women who are not exactly who they say they are. Or, after some traumatic experience, they leave me unrecognizable. I have the impression that this theme scrolls through a few of my recent films. I don't know what's coming next. I would like to play a comedy for a change, but I really have no idea what fate will bring.

Just out of curiosity: you're in touch with Jamie Dornan?

Dakota: Yes, we have seen quite recently. We became very good friends on the "Fifty Shades" set. During the filming of this trilogy, we both experienced something special that connected us. I love Jamie, he's a great man. And I can not wait for his next films! Recently, he even invited me to the premiere, but in the end I didn't go because my birthday was just [October 4]. And on my birthday I don't go to premieres. (laughs) So, unfortunately, nothing came of it. But anyway, we have close contact with each other, and although we may not speak to each other every day, we have a great relationship.

Do you still remember "Grey", would you rather forget about him?

Dakota: Why should I forget about the film that brought me such a great fame? It was not only a breakthrough in my career, but also a unique experience, one of a kind. We put a lot of heart into this trilogy, a lot of our own, often very intimate emotions. I'm glad that I could play in this series, I'm proud of it. That's why I don't see the need to run away from "Fifty Shades" because I have no reason to be ashamed of him. The fact that I now perform in films of a different type is only due to the fact that I'm fascinated by this kind of cinema. When choosing roles, I'm not driven by calculation but by emotions. I decide to participate in such films as I'm interested in. I don't want to play characters that I don't feel anything for, because it will be immediately visible on the screen. It's easy to recognize if an actor plays because he wants to, or plays because he has to. In the latter case, no one would feel good about it: neither me nor the viewers. For me, this work must be a pleasure at the same time. If there is no fun, I don't take part in it.

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