To most of us, 28-year-old French actress Mathilde Ollivier is known as either the epic stunt-performing Chloe in 2018’s WW2 action horror movie Overlord, or, for less zombie-like tastes, as a model in the pages of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar US. But over the past few years, Ollivier has become a future icon of cinema, both in front of and behind the camera, starring in the sci-fi film Boss Level, and playing Clemence in the comedy movie Sister of the Groom, while also finding time to produce the documentary The Upright Woman, about the women of Burkina Faso. The Paris-based beauty is now playing another Clémence, this time in the Netflix multilingual mystery thriller, 1899, and enjoying her acting reign over France and soon, the world. Vive la reine!

Were you raised on theatre, film and literature? Where did your passion for acting start?

I was raised with films and music. My mom used to show my sister and I lots of films, and for me it was amazing to dive into a story and live in this world for 2 hours.

I think my passion really started when I realised I could make the audience dream and escape their reality during a film, and I could become a different person every time.

You spent your childhood and teenage years studying theatre at the conservatoire and the famous Cours Simon and professionally dancing classical and contemporary ballet at Paris’s International Academy of Dance. Do you still dance every day, and what really gets you moving?

Yes, I still dance every day, not like I used to though, now it’s in my living room and in the bathroom when I get ready! My job, music, my family, my husband, and my friends are what gets me moving. And of course, good funky music!

You seem very drawn to character-driven narratives in terms of the roles you choose. The female characters you’ve played from Chloe in Overlord to Clémence in 1899, seem powerful, at least on the surface. Do you feel that way personally?

I think it’s important to tell a story, and to tell a good story you need to have great characters. A character that defends something. I come from a family of only women, from my grandmother to my mom, to my sister, every one of them is really strong, and that’s inspired me since I was a child. I have my moments of ups and downs, but I try to stay strong and positive.

I would imagine that strong female empowered mindset and women’s rights was what led to you producing the Upright Woman documentary, about the enslavement and forced marriage of women in Burkina Faso. When was the first time you saw the completed film, and what was that experience like?

It was in New York when we saw the completed film, with music, colours grading, subtitles and it felt so amazing. We worked really hard on this project; I was very proud to have had the chance to be part of such a story. It was fantastic to start producing on such a project too, I learned so much. We were a small crew, and when we went to Burkina Faso everything was fascinating, seeing behind the scenes and experiencing the job of a producer, it really taught me so much as an actress too.

What kind of challenges did you face as a producer?

I understand now why producers can be so stressed out! Having a permit to shoot on a street, the locations, the times on each location, all the rental cameras, and everything really, from finding a studio for the colour, to finding a distributor to make sure that the story is as honest as possible.

What kind of stories really drive you and might inspire you to explore them for future production projects?

As I said earlier, the drive to tell a story is actually telling a story, with a narrative and for it to be character driven. I would like to produce all the scripts that are gathering dust on top of a shelf that nobody picks up, but it is very hard to make people read scripts and to trust you with it - which is a shame because most of the time those are the very good ones!

Who are your cinematic idols, both actors and producers / directors?

Oh, I love some many! I love Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Audiard, Yorgos Lanthimos, Christopher Nolan, Lynne Ramsay, Ruben Ostlund, Mia Hansen/Love, Thomas Vinterberg, Julia Ducournau. Actors include Mads Mikkelsen, Florence Pugh, Anna Karina, Olivia Colman, Lea Seydoux, Emmanuelle Bercot and Catherine Deneuve.

Speaking of Catherine Deneuve, she, like many great French actresses before you, including Brigitte Bardot, have spent their lives making up their own rules. Do you admire them for doing things their own way, will you follow in their footsteps?

Yes of course! I think this is so important, it shows that you know what you want! I will definitely try!

Is there a role that you haven’t played yet that you’d like to?

Yes, there is! And I hope we will be doing more interviews together to talk about them!

Ha! Ok, let’s talk about where you grew up in the beautiful Montparnasse in France. What are your favourite memories of growing up there, is that where your references, musical tastes, style etc comes from?

I think everything about the left bank is gorgeous, it feels like a movie set. My school was nearby, so were my friends. It felt like a little village. Not all my references come from there, but some do, that’s for sure!

You lived in the US for a while too – what was it like being a French girl in New York?

Living in New York was just incredible. I had an amazing time, every day was so special, I felt like everything was possible!

So, what’s next for you?

I just finished shooting a series called Mrs Davis directed by Owen Harris for Warner Bros, which was fun, we filmed in Spain and now I am obsessed with Spain. I am also starting a film by a Spanish director; it’s his first film and I am very excited to be part of the project. It’s going to be a challenge because I will need to speak Argentinian Spanish which as of today, I’ve started learning. But I am confident and very happy!

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Interview by Kate Lawson

Photography by Yves Borgwardt

Fashion by Yael Quint

Make-Up by Victoria Reuter

Hair by Bronwyn De Kock

Stylist’s assistant Afra Ugurlu

Mathilde is wearing dress & coat Chloe, shoes & orange bag Hermes, jewelery Ina Beissner and black bag with gold handle Bulgari