There’s a dreamlike quality about Eva Green. Her stunning dark looks and impenetrable smoky eyes appear almost unreal, belonging in a whimsical fairy tale, or a Tim Burton set. Her on-screen characters only elevate the intrigue, from James Bond’s wayward lover in Casino Royale (2006) to a creepy clairvoyant on TV’s favourite horror-drama, Penny Dreadful. In Green’s make-believe world she’s always confident, alluring and not without an evil streak. “But I wouldn’t call myself self-confident in real life,” she admits. “It’s always been a fantasy for me to play powerful women — with some cracks in their personality — because I am not like that.” And though she’s found firm footing as Hollywood’s go-to femme fatale, she’s not entirely thrilled about it. “I don’t like being put in a box,” she says. “I’m many things.” Here, she gives us a glimpse of some of those things, as well as her inner demons, her beauty rituals and the big, bad Hollywood beast.
On inhabiting Tim Burton’s universe
“He’s like a child; happy and easygoing with a passion that is contagious. In Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children [out next year], my character is like a dark Mary Poppins. It’s a beautiful story set in the ‘40s and all the other roles are played by children — this was my first time working with children, and that was a bit of a challenge. The movie is slightly bonkers, but in a poetic way.”
On her red-carpet ritual
“The last thing I do before stepping onto the red carpet is put on some perfume. I’ve been very faithful to this brand called Santa Maria Novella. They have a fragrance called Melograno that’s very simple, and very me.”
On being the new spokesperson for L’Oréal Professionnel
“My hair is thin, fragile and tortured every day. My hairdresser always uses L’Oréal Professionnel hair products. I tried their deep moisturising Pro Fiber treatment, which is magical, and their new Wet Domination by Tecni.ART styling range. I also love oils, both for the body and the hair. I use L’Oréal’s Mythic Oil twice a month — leaving it on overnight and shampooing the next morning.”
On surviving Hollywood
“It’s a tough business. As an actor you have to keep your vulnerability for your roles, and at the same time, you have to build an armour around yourself because there are so many… I have to find a polite word… arseholes. You have to have faith in yourself and remain strong. And, if you find that you’ve lost your passion one day, I think you should move on to something else.”
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