Mia Goth has been quietly putting together one of the most exciting filmographies over the last 10 years. So far, that is. She has played an outstanding supporting role in films such as survivalist, health cure, Suspiriaand more, but Ti West the first to fully realize the power of her power and set her star soaring by releasing not one but two feature films in a single calendar year with Goth as the headliner, X back in March, and now a prequel movie, Pearl.
Even after working with some of the most iconic directors in the industry such as Lars von Trier, Gore Verbinskias well as Luca Guadagninonot yet X that Goth finally got her first lead role in a feature film. One movie quickly turned into two when the inspiration hit, and West got the go-ahead from A24 to make not one, but two films in the same series. First it would be X in which Goth played Maxine, a young woman with big dreams, as well as Pearl, an older woman struggling to cope with the fact that the opportunity to fulfill her dreams is long gone. After filming this 1970s film, he returned to 1918 to create Pearl’s origin story.
Young Pearl is desperate to become a star, but her current circumstances prevent her from achieving what she wants most. While her husbandAlistair Sewell) went to war, Pearl was stuck at home caring for her catatonic father (Matthew Sunderland) and take care of farm chores to appease his extremely strict and harsh mother (Tandy Wright), who has absolutely no time for Pearl’s ambitions. Soon, Pearl’s growing disillusionment with her position and her desire to become a star spark violent outbursts that tease the women she has become. X.
While in Toronto for the film’s North American premiere celebration Pearl at TIFF 2022 Goth took the time to join us for an episode Collider Women’s Night redefine your path from modeling as a teenager to a career as an actress who constantly chooses exciting, daring and truly unforgettable projects to work on.
Goth’s feature film journey began with von Trier’s particularly daring feature-length film that called for fearless acting. Nymphomaniac. When asked if there was anything about the production that made her particularly grateful that a particular project marked her first feature film experience, Goth quickly and enthusiastically responded, “Totally. Everything about this movie. She continued:
“It seems almost divine, if I may say so. It created a blueprint for me in terms of the material I wanted to work on, with the types of directors and that level of cast. I was incredibly lucky that this was my first project. It really kind of set the field for me in terms of what I’m aiming for.”
As for the specifics of what Goth has been and still is striving for, it’s pretty simple; it’s all about the characters. Here is how she put it:
“Stories that explore people. That’s all. The plot is not very good. The plot doesn’t really interest me. Studying characters, directors who are interested in actors and bring out the best in them, and directors who are concerned with truth and are at the forefront of what they do.”
However, there is one particular thing that Goth has cited as being even more of a priority than character when working on projects.
“I am very director-oriented. That’s number one for me, then it comes down to the character, then the script, then the story, and everything else around that. But for me, if you do not trust the director who is leading the ship, then I think nothing of value will be done.”
What separates a director from Goth? Willingness to believe in the team they have assembled.
“In fact, I think all the best directors are very similar in their approach. I think the best directors are not afraid to give up control. The best directors don’t try to micromanage or control their actors or anyone on set. In a sense, the director’s job is all that leads to the sets. The director brings everyone together and selects costume designers, make-up artists, production designers, and so on, and then trusts them to do their job. And if the director believes in these people, I think that’s where the real magic can happen.”
While an actor may actively seek out directors who he suspects have a particular set of skills that they value most in being leaders on set, conflict can sometimes erupt, especially in the midst of intense filming. But for Goth, this is not necessarily a minus. In fact, she believes that friction can improve art. Here is how she put it:
“Sometimes sets aren’t necessarily ‘just positive’. You know, sometimes there’s a little bit of friction on set, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I think sometimes good ideas can come out of that when you bump into someone, maybe an idea or a director’s approach. I mean yes you can try and sometimes the director can be right but other times it’s good to give your opinion and what you think the character would do in that case rather than just do what they want director, you know? By the time you start filming, you should be in complete control of your character.”
Not only did Goth get full ownership of the character in Xbut she got the opportunity to fully own lead character in this film, and then in Pearl also. Considering the Goth performances I had seen in earlier films, it really came as a shock when I found out that X became her first major role in a feature film. There must have been some project that I missed along the way, right? But no. XMaxine from Maxine actually marked Goth’s first experience as number one on the call list. My own reaction to this? It’s time! During our conversation, Goth confirmed that she felt the same way, and added:
“It was just nice to finally be able to really dig into the character to that depth. And the fact that T had so much faith in me and wanted me to take on those dual roles and then Pearl being the extension of that was very exciting.”
With all the talk about the enduring qualities she likes to see in directors, I decided to ask Goth about something that makes West stand out from the crowd. Here’s what she went with:
“I just think the scale on which he envisions all these worlds is really unprecedented. The fact that he can go from 1970s Americana to independent cinema and then jump back about 50 years to 1918 and create a completely different world, but equally - it just sucks you in, you know? He’s just so good at it.”
Want to hear more from Goth about her journey? You can watch her Collider Ladies Night episode at the top of this article, or listen to our uncut conversation in podcast form below.
Pearl currently playing in theaters X available on demand, and the third film in the series, MaXXXinesoon.”
Source: Collider
