“YOU HAVE TO CONSTANTLY IMAGINE EVERYTHING”

Cara Delevingne is Laureline

How would you describe the Valerian-Laureline relationship?

They are basically alone together most of the time in their spaceship, travelling around, trying to rescue or save people and trying to keep the universe at peace. They have a rapport that’s very teasing: they know each other very well.

Are you a big sci-fi geek?

No. The Fifth Element was probably my first – and favourite – sci-fi movie. To me, the characters and stories were the most exciting things about films, generally. Not just sci-fi. But with this movie, I feel like you get so much of everything. It’s not just about the sci-fi element. There are so many different eclectic parts of other kinds of films.

You did Suicide Squad, which had a lot of visual effects. Did that help here?

The thing is… the [sets] with the most visual effects were still built on a sound stage. The visual effects were added on. It wasn’t really blue-screen. But here we were literally in a sea of blue every day.

So was it harder on Valerian? It’s definitely not annoying. It just tests you. It tests your imagination. Dane always says it makes you feel like a child – you have to constantly be imagining everything, which is actually really fun.

How was it working on a film with your friend Rihanna?

She is an incredible performer and can take on so many different roles… I always said to her, “You should act. You are so good at that.” So to be able to see her do it on screen was amazing. James Mottram