ThoughFosseandVerdonhavesincepassed,Qualleystruckup
a friendshipwithReinkingherself,talkingwithherweeklyon
thephoneabouthowQualleywouldapproachtherole.“Shegave
mea lotofinsight andadvice,” Qualleysays.“Itoldher how
nervousI wasandshewaslike,‘Whathaveyougottobenervous
about?Allyouhavetodois callme.’”Oneof theshow’schoreog-
raphers,SusanMisner,saidofQualley’sdedicationtothedanc-
ingscenes,“Margaretworkedherassoff...shewasnonstop.”
Theprivilegethatactinggrantsis notlostonher.“Itis sucha
strangething.I’vehadtheopportunitytoworkwithchoreogra-
phersI likelyneverwouldhavebeenableto...hadI [just]beena
dancer,”Qualleysays.“It’saninterestingroutetomakingsome
of my childhood dreamscome true.”She cites working with
Black Swan mastermind Benjamin Millepied, on a shoot for
Town& Country, as anotherhighlight.“It’sbeenreallysurrealfor
me. I’ve just been so lucky.” Qualley is self-deprecatingeven
whentalkingaboutherroleinOnceUpona Time, arguablythis
year’smostanticipatedfilm,brushingit offas “a smallpart”.This,
despitehercharacter,thecharmingPussycat,beingtheonewho
leads Brad Pitt’s Cliff — and, by extension, MargotRobbie’s
SharonTate—intothepathoftheinfamousManson‘family’.
Thecasthasbeentightlybriefedtosayvirtuallynothingabout
theircharactersandthestoryline,somethingnooneis willingto
break ranks on despite there being snippets floating around
onlineafterthefilmpremieredat CannesinMay.
What she cantalkaboutis whathappenedonsetinthepres-
enceofactorswhobelongtothatselectcontin-
gent recognisable by their first names alone:
Brad, Leo,Margot, Al. Therewas anofficial
no-phonepolicyonset,likelyinparttomain-
tain secrecy around the project. “We’re held
accountable all the time to respondto texts,
emailsandallthesethings,sowhenI wasonset
[thepolicywas]myoneexcuseto belike,‘Nope,
sorry! I’m working.’” The mobile ban forced
everyoneto talkto oneanother,turningQualley
intosomethingof a sponge.“I’msittingthereby
QuentinandBrad,andthey’rejusttellingsto-
riesabouttheirlives,andI havea notebookjust
jotting down everything, being a fly on the
wall,” she says, before adding, deadpan, “I
wouldhavedonecateringonthatmovie.”
She’slaissezfaireaboutthewaysheapproaches
her work. “I think it’s about doing different
things.”Intheforeseeablefuture,thosethings
includethe dramaTheChain, reunitingwith
herDonnybrookco-starJamieBell,andStrange
B u tTr u e(outOctober17),inwhichsheplaysa
womanconfrontingherlong-deceasedpartner’s
family withnews of a very unexpectedpreg-
nancy. She’llalso soon staropposite Kristen
Stewart in independent drama Against All
Enemies, StewartasactorJeanSeberg,whoin
the’60swassingledoutbytheFBIforaninves-
tigation intoher involvement with the Black
Pantheractivistgroup.Undertheintensegazeoftheauthorities
andamidrumoursconcoctedabouther,Sebergdeliveredherbaby
prematurely, whodiedattwodays old,and soughtpsychiatric
helpbeforeeventuallydyingofa probablesuicide.
“Idon’thaveanexactmethod,”Qualleysays,“butif I finda
storyI findcompellingorpeopleI reallywanttoworkwith,then
I domybesttotrytogetinthere.”
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is in cinemas August15.SYDNEYSWEENEY
TheSharpObjectsand
Handmaid’sTalenewcomer
takesonherbiggest
projecttodate.LENADUNHAM
TheGirlsauteurappears
alongsideQualleyunderthe
swayofCharlesManson
(playedbyAustralian
DamonHerriman).
DAKOTAFANNING
SheplaysLynette‘Squeaky’
Fromme,a Mansonfamily
memberwhoattemptedto
assassinateUSPresident
Gerald Ford.tookanimprovisationalactingclass,andherdestinyrevealeditself.
Hershasbeena quietascensionsinceherbreakoutroleinthe
GiaCoppola-directedPaloAlto, alongsideEmmaRoberts,which
is basedonananthologybyJamesFrancoabouta groupofteens
comingofageintheCaliforniacity.A leadrolecamebeforetoo
long, in monastery-set Novitiate as a young nun-in-training
strugglingwithhersexuality,beforeQualley’stelevisiondebutin
survivaldramaseriesTheLeftovers.
MacDowellclearlydidn’thaveanyof theapprehensionthatcan
plaguesomeindustryveteranswhenit comestotheirchildrenfol-
lowingintheirfootsteps.“Beinga dancer,youdon’tknowwhen
your careeris goingtobeover —[likely]your mid-thirtiesor
wheneveryougetinjured—sodancingwasmoresomething[for
mymum]to discouragemefromdoing,”Qualleyreflects.“Acting,
incomparison,waslike,‘Sure.Whynot?’”DespiteMacDowell’s
Hollywoodstandinginthe’90s(Qualleywasbornthesameyear
FourWeddings& a Funeralwasreleased),thefamilyliveda peace-
fulexistenceontheirMontanaranch,beforerelocatingtoNorth
Carolina. (MacDowell divorced from Qualley’s father, model
turnedbuilderPaulQualley,in1999.)WhenI putit toherthat
shehada relativelynormalupbringing,Qualleyreplies,“I mean,I
think so,”beforeadding thateveryoncein a while,something
would happenthatwould suggest otherwise.“Iremember my
mumhaddoneaSesameStreetepisode—probablyformybenefit
— butthewholepunchlinewasthatshe wasa Southern belle
stuckina tower.ButI wasfouryearsoldandshewasout of town
whenI watchedit.I didn’tunderstand;I thought
shewasstuckina towersomewhere. It wasreally
traumatic,honestly.I wassobbing.”
Whenwetalkoverthephone,Qualleyis run-
ning errandsin Montreal,Canada, whereshe’s
filminghernextproject,MySalingerYear, based
onthememoirbyJoannaRakoff.Thebookcov-
ersRakoff ’stimeassistinglegendaryliteraryagent
Phyllis Westberg (Westberg wasJ.D. Salinger’s
agentforsixyearsandis creditedwithdiscovering
romantic-lit doyenne Danielle Steel). Qualley
playstheyoungassistant,withSigourneyWeaver
as hersenior.Unsurprisingly,Qualleysays,“They
discussa lotofliteratureinthefilm.I’vetaken
timetoreadeverythingtheytalkabout.”
Theactortendstospeakinsuperlativesabout
people and projects she’s passionate about.
QuentinTarantinois “thecoolestdudefreaking
ever”,oldersisterRainey,a model,actor(she’shad
smallrolesin MadMenandOcean’s Eight) and
musician (under the projectRainsford), is “my
best friend in the whole world”, and Michelle
Williams and Sam Rockwell, her co-stars in
Foxtel series Fosse/Verdon, are “twoof mymost
favouriteactorsonthewholeplanet”.Inthelatter,
QualleyplaysfamedBroadwaystarAnnReinking,
gettingtoflexherdancingmuscleswhileplaying
a personalhero(another“freakingcool”thing).“I
grewupidolisingAnnReinking.It wassosurreal
tohavetheopportunitytoplayher,”shesays.Reinking,anactor,
dancerand choreographer,wasatone pointthemistressof the
greatChicagodirector,BobFosse,playedbySamRockwell,who
wasthenmarriedtoTonyAward-winningGwenVerdon,played
byMichelleWilliams.Theseriesis basedonthecouple’sunconven-
tionaland,at times,fraughtromanticandcreativepartnership—
theyneverdivorceddespiteseparating,inpartduetohisaffairs,
and in real life, Verdon and Reinking even became unlikely friends.
FEMMES
FATALES
Threemoreactors
towatchoutforwhen
Tarantino’sninth
filmhitsscreens
this monthHARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU September 2019CULTURE