‘Valerian’s’ Delevingne lives out her fantasy
LOS ANGELES — From fashion runways in Paris, London and Milan and the cover of Vogue, Cara Delevingne has made the move from modeling into movies such as “Suicide Squad” and tomorrow’s fantasy epic “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.”
Luc Besson’s nearly $200 million version of a beloved series of French graphic novels stars Delevingne, 24, as the resourceful Laureline, whose daring exploits are often in tandem with Dane DeHaan’s Valerian.
While this couple seemed destined for each other, it’s not always obvious as they argue, compete and repeatedly mock each other.
For Delevingne, roles like Enchantress in “Suicide Squad” and Laureline are conscious choices.
“I’ve been given a tremendous opportunity. I’m very blessed to have a strong, I don’t know, influence, as they say, with young girls and teenagers,” she said, speaking animatedly in her native Brit accent at a Four Seasons press conference.
“That’s been my goal from when I was younger: To be a role model for young girls to be able to look up to me, because again, I’m following every single one of my dreams that I’ve ever had in my life through hard work and determination.
“My message is that you can do anything that you put your mind to, as long as you work hard and never give up.
“So for me, acting is basically what I spend most of my time doing now,” with six months on “Suicide” and another six on “Valerian.”
“The occasional time that I do get off, I like to do modeling or charity. But acting has always been a dream and my passion, so I’m going to carry on.”
Her passion on “Valerian,” she revealed, was doing her own stunts.
“Anything that I get to learn during a movie, whether it’s sword work or in any way where it’s learning a new skill or trying it, I’m kind of the first one to be like, ‘Sure,’ and I’ll kind of dive in head first.
“It was so important to really feel like we were two people who could potentially save the universe. In the physical sense, we were just doing everything we possibly could to do the best job as we worked with the stunt coordinators. I really would have done it forever. It was so much fun.”