THROUGHOUT HISTORY, THE FIGURE OF THE MUSE HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH A FEMALE AND A LOVER BEHIND THE CREATIVE ENLIGHTENMENT OF AN ARTIST. BUT MORE THAN A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION, THESE WOMEN HAVE PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN SHAPING AN ARTIST'S PRACTICE, INFLUENCING THE CREATION OF SOME OF HISTORY'S MOST CHERISHED WORKS. PLAYED BY ANTONIA DESPLAT IN THE FILM MODI: THREE DAYS ON THE WING OF MADNESS, BEATRICE HASTINGS WAS A WRITER, A LITERARY CRITIC, AND THE MUSE AND LOVER OF AMEDEO MODIGLIANI. ANTONIA’S DEPICTION OF BEATRICE IS DEEP, LAYERED, AND COMPLICATED. WE TALKED TO THE FRENCH ACTRESS ABOUT HOW SHE SHAPED THIS ROLE, THE CHALLENGES OF BRINGING TO LIFE AN UNRECOGNISED FACE OF EARLY FEMINISM, AND CAPTURING THE VERY ESSENCE OF WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE A MUSE, AN ARTIST, A LOVER, AND SIMPLY A WOMAN.

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Hi Antonia! Where in the world are you?

Right now, I'm in Mallorca. I'm going back to London in two days.

Let’s start a little bit with your background. What specifically sparked your interest in performing and the creative industry? And especially, what was that moment when you said, “I want this to be my career”?

Well, I wanted to become a dancer at first, a ballerina. But then my ballet teacher said, “She's not going to be a ballerina.” So my parents were like, “What are we going to do?” Because I was performing all the time. So they put me in an agency when I was nine. I did my first audition, and I got the job. The first day I walked on set, I thought, “This is exactly what I want.”

Were there any particular actors, actresses, or artists who influenced you throughout your work or inspired your path when you decided to become an actress?

Charlie Chaplin was a big introduction to that world for me. Nicole Kidman, because she was in Moulin Rouge, which I watched on repeat when I was a kid. And Isabelle Huppert was someone I really admired, too. There were a lot of Cassavetes movies. Gena Rowlands, for me, was a very big inspiration. And Catherine Deneuve.

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In Modi, you play Beatrice Hastings, who is a really clever, talented, and forward-thinking woman. How was the process of becoming her?

First, I did a lot of research to try and find books about her. One of them was this 1,700-page book filled with either pieces of her own diary, articles she wrote for The New Age, things other writers said about her, or fictionalised content inspired by her. Then, once I had all these facts and stories about her, I worked with a coach named Leanna Norton. Together, we tried to find her physicality: what she puts in her bag, how she walks, what triggers her, where she “bleeds” from emotionally. And so, for three days, we walked around Paris in costume, looking like absolute crazy people, pretending to be in that world. I wanted to find a way for her to stand out within the dynamic of the other three, which I think she really does. I wanted her to be impulsive, a bit crazy.

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And how free were you to explore and create the character, and to bring your own touch into the scenes?

I’ve never been so free. Johnny Depp gave us so much freedom. He created a really safe environment where we could try things, laugh, fail, and discuss. A week before shooting, we went to the locations with him. The actors would talk through the scenes, and then Johnny would rewrite things at night on his own before the next day’s shoot. He’d come in with certain ideas, and we’d discuss them. We could bring our own ideas too if we wanted. He just let us play.

What was the most important characteristic of her that you felt you needed to channel in order to portray her essence authentically?

Defiance. And her revolutionary attitude. The fact that she smoked in public as a woman was already super avant-garde and provocative. She would swear a lot, which was also shocking for that time. In some of the writings about her, they mention she would sit on the floor, wear pants—all things that weren’t accepted then. So I really wanted that to come through. Yeah, I wanted her to be feisty and defiant—which I’m really not in real life. I’m more of a yes person, a bit of a people pleaser. So it was nice for me to really lean into her strength and push her character fully.

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Her essence feels so modern for someone who lived so long ago. She has a mind that really speaks to the women of today.

She travelled all over the world and absorbed lots of culture along the way. She was really eccentric and fed her intellect from all these different cultures she encountered. Sadly, she ended up killing herself—she gassed herself in her kitchen. That part I found so heartbreaking. But I think that’s what makes her so fascinating. I wanted people to root for her, but also to feel her sadness and the melancholy underneath.

Which is really understandable because, being a woman with this kind of thinking at that moment in time, she probably felt very alone, very misunderstood…

Yeah, she didn’t know how to exist in that society, which is why she became a sort of chameleon. She had over 50 aliases when she was writing, and some of them were men’s names. That way, she could get articles published under a male byline.

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Like many women in history, she did not receive the same recognition as her male counterparts. What was the biggest challenge for you when portraying her?

For me, it was finding her caring side towards Modi. Because I think she’s still hurt, for example, when he tells her, “You can’t make art; you just write about it.” And yet, she still cares for him. I think that’s what makes their relationship so interesting—there’s fire, there’s love, but they keep missing each other. That was hard to play. Because they did love each other, and I think it’s important to show both dynamics.

The film explores the struggles of the artistic world — external validation, the pursuit of success in creative practice. As someone who works in the creative industry, how do you relate to this story?

Whether you’re a painter, singer, or actor, you get rejected 90% of the time. With acting in particular, there are so many roles, and the roles are made for the right person. Over the years, I’ve learned to be at peace with the decisions filmmakers make because I strongly believe you either match a role or you don’t.

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The media has often misrepresented women. As a woman, do you feel pressure when choosing the kind of female roles you want to play and how you want to portray women?

Yeah, I do. Which is why I try to give so many layers to the characters I play, especially if that’s not already on the page. I try to add some depth myself. I mean, often we’re cast as the mistress, the wife, or the love interest. At the end of the day, I try to find the fun in any role I’m given because these roles reflect reality, too. We are mistresses, lovers, mothers, wives, cooks—we’re all of those things. Of course, there’s been progress in how women are portrayed, but there’s still a way to go.

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Right Full Look **Zadig & Voltaire,** jewellery Cartier

What has the industry taught you over the years about acting, professionally, and about yourself?

Be patient, I think, and learn to play with what you have and what the universe gave you. I tried for so long to go against the fact that I was French. I worked on my British and American accents so much. Now, I'm finally getting British roles like Beatrice Hastings, but my strength is to be French and Italian. Instead of thinking, “I don’t want to be the foreign girl,” I learned to use my strengths as positives, rather than trying to fight them. I get to play a witch, a mafia head—it’s really fun. And also, be nice, everyone works hard in every department of filmmaking; there shouldn’t be hierarchies. Everyone should treat each other like collaborators. This should be fun. This industry is fun.

Interview by Carolina Benjumea

Photography by Ho Hai Tran

Fashion by Steven Huang

EIC Michael Marson

Hair by Davide Barbieri at A-Frame using Hair by Sam McKnight

Make-Up by Lica Fensome at Stella Creative Artists using Hourglass

Lighting Assistant by Robin Bernstein

Stylist's assistant Francesca Ward