SUKI: ‘I LIVE IN A CONSTANT STATE OF ANXIETY’
When Suki Waterhouse was pictured walking arm-in-arm with director Darren Aronofsky two months after his split from Jennifer Lawrence, speculation immediately surfaced that the pair had become Hollywood’s newest power couple (not helped by the fact they had a lunch date just after the pictures were taken).
But in an exclusive interview with Grazia, Suki finally addressed the rumours, saying, ‘Absolutely nothing was going on. It’s absolutely nothing.’
Romance aside, there was another theory: that Darren and Suki met up to discuss her burgeoning film career. May sees the release of Assassination Nation, a horror comedy in which she plays one of four teenage girls whose secrets are exposed by a hacker.
‘I was never comfortable just doing one thing,’ she says of her desire to transition from model to actor. ‘I’d love it if I just woke up and wanted to do one thing, but I’m always yearning for change and to evolve what I’m doing with my life. It makes you live in a constant state of anxiety, but I love it.’
Life now, she says, is ‘quite different’ to when she was a model, with regular trips to LA to focus on film and music, which is another passion (she also has her own accessories line, Pop and Suki, with her best friend Poppy Jamie). But she has no intention of leaving modelling behind altogether, and was last month unveiled as the face of Ferragamo’s new perfume, Amo.
‘Modelling is taking a back seat, except when there’s something special like this,’ the 26-year-old explains. ‘I’m excited to be the face of their first fragrance: that’s a big deal.’
Making the jump into Hollywood is a path well-trodden by models, but few ever shake off their former careers (Suki’s childhood friends, Cara and Poppy Delevigne, have both moved into acting, to mixed reviews). Does she ever feel like people take her less seriously because of her modelling work? ‘Of course,’ she admits. ‘I’m totally aware of that. We all do it, humans love to classify things. But my goodness I’ve earned my stripes. Most of the time, it just makes me work harder.’
Assassination Nation has already been lauded as a ‘fempowerment film’ that is waging ‘war on toxic masculinity’. Its tone, says Suki, forced her to ‘question the unconscious vibes you have against other women, or how you only trust a man in a suit to tell you about business or money. It’s about using our critical minds so that we change that consciously.’
Last year, Cara opened up about her experience with Harvey Weinstein, revealing that he had once tried to kiss her in his hotel room. Suki has often been pictured with the producer, either at private screenings or his notorious BAFTA Awards after-party. Has she ever seen that darker side of film or fashion?
‘I haven’t chosen to talk about any of my experiences,’ she says. ‘I haven’t felt ready to, or strong enough yet. And I know that means that I haven’t contributed to the movement with my story. But I’m hoping that other women will be OK with that.’
The #Metoo movement has made her rethink how women are treated in both industries. ‘I never really thought of myself as marginalised,’ she adds. ‘I’ve always thought you’ve just got to be tough. But the recent goings-on have made me question that and think, “No, this is really tough, and I do have a hard time.”
‘I always think, “I’m so lucky, I’m so lucky,” but that doesn’t mean I’m not marginalised. It’s fucking hard, and there’s a lot of dismantling to be done.’
I haven’t felt strong enough yet to talk about my experiences
Amo Ferragamo is available exclusively at The Fragrance Shop now, and nationwide from 9 April