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vineyardto spend their summer grape picking. “It’s a
thriller-horror by Coz Greenop, it’s his third feature-
length film. It’s just a really fun indie movie and we
filmed in a really beautiful place in Tuscany.”
She also starred in TV series Black Sails, a pirate
adventure that ran from 2014 to 2017, for which
the preparation was intense. “I was not a sporty girl
growing up and hardly ever went to the gym,” she tells
us. “Then we arrive at this ‘pirate camp’ in South Africa
before we started filming,” she turns up her nose.
“We were filming for four years, so I realise now
why they needed to train us so much. I also needed
skills to fit in with the boys, because girls weren’t
allowed to be pirates for a start – my character
was very masculine so I needed to get stronger.
I was skinny and muscular at the same time.”
We ask her how that level of fitness felt. “I looked
like Iggy Pop,” she laughs. “I love Iggy Pop, he’s one
of my favourites, but... Anyway, now I have the bug
for exercise and stunts. I had double daggers in the
show, and in one scene I killed eight guys,” she says,
pulling imaginary blades from her belt with a swish.
And the development didn’t stop in the gym.
“We were all put on some pretty strict diets, whichdidn’t work for my body – it was just
protein and veg. I’d never dieted before
and I got so bored so quickly. And I
was a bit like, ‘Guys, I think we need
to re-analyse this. Can I have some
bread?’. I think the rest of them were
quite jealous because we had some
50-year-old men on the set who were
like, ‘I want to eat bread, too’. We
weren’t eating fruit either and I had a
couple of blueberries and I literally felt
like I had been subjected to something.
“I did notice my skin improved and
also my energy levels. That was part of it
as well, keeping our energy up because
we had 15-hour days, sometimes up to
18 hours – and night shoots.”
The team would film Black Sails for
six months at a time, meaning she had
“an eternal summer”. Back in London
Clara would pick up modelling jobs,
and also try to shoot short films.
“I love to mix modelling with acting,
that is my favourite thing to do and
nowadays it’s good because you tend
to do a film along with your shoots.
I’ve always been a different character
in my head during my shoots – it
helps you put on a performance.”
Clara, who studied History of Art
at Manchester University, also loves
fashion design. “I make some of my
own clothes and I’ve been designing
bits of jewellery (she’s made a charm
for a charity collection for Laura Bailey’s
brand Loquet London for Project 0).
I also made some spinning charms for
all my friends to wear to Burning Man
[festival]. They said ‘Rave’ or ‘Behave’.
So the bracelet could decide for you –
best out of three.” What did they usually
get, we ask? “Rave! Obviously,” she jokes.
“I’ve also designed some pieces for Ghost London,
they now have the Clara, a ruched georgette dress.
I’ve loved Ghost forever; my mum had a lot of pieces
that I used to nick as a teenager. There were also
lots of vintage amazing bits that I’d see on the stalls
on Portobello Road. Then I was introduced to the
designer and she gave me some dresses, which I wore
to weddings and events. Then I ended up making my
own, which was a combination of my two favourites.”
She is also crazy about trainers. “I’m an absolute
sucker for Nike and Reebok. I’ve got a huge collection
dating back to when I was little and some of them
are quite destroyed. My shoe collection is out of
control. We are trying to sort out all the clutter from
our house, but I just can’t part with the trainers.
I have old-school Nike basketball boots from when
I was a teenager,” she says. “I also like a trainer
brand called Allbirds – Leonardo DiCaprio has
just invested in it, and they are ethically made and
so comfortable. I bought a pair the other day.”
Tonight she is off to an event for another charity she
works for called Help Refugees: “It is non-profit making
and the people there have the biggest hearts,” she says.
The careers adviser was right, she is very nice.‘MY TRAINER COLLECTION IS OUT OF
CONTROL, BUT I JUST CAN’T PART
WITH MY NIKE BASKETBALL BOOTS’QhfmCOVERSTORY
Jacket, £290, Ba&sh
Earring, Clara’s own
Necklace,
£220, Alighieri