So much comes to mind when you ponder the name John Malkovich. Elan, style, grace. The measured, deliberate way the iconic actor speaks, perhaps? The man possesses a rare depth and presence, and let’s face it, in the frenzied 2020s, that’s downright refreshing. From his Oscar-nominated performance in Dangerous Liaisons and the wickedly trippy romp that was Being John Malkovich to his sinister turn as Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom in the blockbuster Con Air to his turn as Russian oil oligarch Grigor Andalov in Billions, movie and TV audiences love Malkovich. Place in the Heart, Ripley’s Game, In the Line of Fire, anyone? We’re also thrilled Malkovich is joining The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri to headline A24’s upcoming horror film, Opus.
It’s no surprise then that the ever-creative and deeply introspective Malkovich once launched and operated his own clothing line back in 2017. His love of fashion no doubt influenced his decision to come on board The New Look, the fabulous new Apple TV+ historical drama that unveils the personal and professional highs and lows of iconic designers Christian Dior and Coco Chanel during and after the Nazi Occupation of Paris in the early 1940s. Ben Mendelsohn and Juliette Binoche headline the ensemble series. Malkovich plays designer Lucien Lelong, who plays a vital part in Dior’s creative rise and also helps his colleague locate his beleaguered sister Catherine during tumultuous times. In this exclusive MovieWeb interview, John Malkovich graciously shares his fascination with the series and the era. Dive in.
On Reuniting With Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura for The New Look
The New Look
4.5/5
- Release Date
- February 14, 2024
- Creator
- Todd A. Kessler
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Apple Studios
- Streaming Service(s)
- Apple TV+
Created by Todd A. Kessler (The Sopranos, Damages, Bloodline), the Paris fashion drama explores Christian Dior and Coco Chanel’s experiences of surviving the Nazi occupation of Paris from 1940-1944 and their quest to rise high in the fashion industry. In Chanel’s case, it was more of a feverish rush to maintain her relevance, especially after WWII when reports of her ties to the Nazis forced her into isolation. However, the fashion styles of the era are major stars, alongside the cast, which also features Maisie Williams, Claes Bang, Emily Mortimer, and Glenn Close in a pivotal role in the series’ latter episodes.
Shot in scenic Paris, Malkovich signed onto the project before having script in hand, primarily because of executive producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura.
“I first read the script after I had committed because at the time… I was just in rehearsals for a French film that I was playing the lead part [Mr. Blake At Your Service!]. I don’t think I read a script until I was already a few weeks into the shooting and probably only a couple of months before shooting started because they were writing the scripts when they first spoke to me, they being Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who produced among many, many other things, several films that I was in—action films called
Red,
and I was in
one of his
Transformers, and I was in his film
Deepwater Horizon
. I consider Lorenzo a friend and colleague. I have a lot of respect and time for him so when he asks me to do something I’m usually interested and inclined to do it because I’ve had a great time with Lorenzo always.”
He went on to say he didn’t know Kessler at the time, adding, “But I knew he’d done a series with Glenn Close, who, of course, I know and have a lot of respect for. I liked the idea of it, the setting of it. He told me who Lucien Lelong was, who I’d never heard of, and what role more or less he would play or hope that he would play in the series. That’s how I first committed to it.” It’s interesting to note that Malkovich and Close star in another project together after Dangerous Liaisons, yet they aren’t seen together on screen much as Malkovich is mostly paired with Mendelsohn.
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Embodying the Essence of Lucien Lelong
The New Look began production in 2022, 75 years after Dior opened his regal atelier on 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris and launched his iconic collection after World War II. Kessler and Di Bonaventura knew that Malkovich, one of film’s finest actors and an Emmy winner for the television adaptation of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, would offer a distinctly original take on Lelong. Savor the scenes between Mendelsohn and Malkovich here—the latter offering a perfectly measured, if not intentionally compact, performance. The truth is, even though Dior worked at House of Lelong for some time, the man was the best designer. Malkovich explained his preparation process:
“My preparation really was studying the script and saying, I think we have to be careful here, based on my knowledge of this, that or the other. Whether it would be about [Paris] where I, of course, have been for many, many years and had a house there for 30 years and worked a lot in the theater and in movies there, or about the fashion industry, which I’ve worked in for many years and et cetera. But most of my, what we call preparation, is not about what did Lucien Lelong [do]… Was he good at playing soccer? Or was he a good designer? And are we executing that function in a way that’s compelling to the audience? In this piece, he is a boss to Dior. And he’s someone who has great sympathy, I think, for Dior’s life, for his sensitivities, which are quite extensive. Dior was, I think, an exquisitely sensitive man. Dior was someone living a secret life,
as homosexual life
had to be at that point. And someone who loved talent, as evidenced by [designers] Balenciaga, and Givenchy, and Cardin, who all got their starts with Lucien Lelong. That’s what I concentrated on.”
The first three episodes of The New Look stream on Apple TV+ beginning Feb. 14, with single episodes airing weekly thereafter.
