In “The New Look,” a period drama on Apple TV+, Maisie Williams plays Catherine Dior, a woman who has received less attention than her older brother, legendary fashion designer Christian Dior, but who is just as fascinating.
Catherine Dior, a member of the French Resistance who was arrested and tortured by the Gestapo, survived imprisonment in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. As shown in “The New Look,” she returned to Paris in such deteriorated physical condition that her beloved brother (played by Ben Mendelsohn) barely recognized her.
Created by Todd Kessler, the series explores the powerful bond between Christian and Catherine (the supposed namesake of Miss Dior perfume) and the surprising way the trauma and deprivation of World War II inspired a new era of luxury fashion. New episodes air on Wednesdays and the finale is scheduled for April 3.
Williams, who was cast as Arya Stark in “Game of Thrones” when she was just 12, knew little about Catherine before signing up for the series. In fact, she initially auditioned to play a different character in a previous incarnation of the show. When that version was discarded, Kessler called Williams and suggested that she read Justine Picardie's “Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Haute Couture,” which became a valuable source for the actor.
WIlliams, 26, recently spoke to The Times from his home in Sussex, England, where he has lived for several years since moving from London. “I just like the peace,” she said.
What do you think of the bond between Catherine and Christian? It seems like they were unusually close.
I think from Christian's perspective, he didn't have the closest relationships with a lot of people in his family. I think Catherine really saw him for who he was; I don't think he's ever had to hide any part of himself from her. They had a connection that felt different than that of her other siblings and his parents.
When you are part of a large family, things can be like that. You have different degrees of closeness with different siblings at different times in your life. I especially found that. Ben too. It was nice for both of us to talk very candidly about our personal lives. I have three brothers, which is the best, actually. I love being part of a big family. If I have kids, I say, “I can't imagine raising more than two,” but then I say, “I loved having so many siblings.”
This role has a lot to address. — You do an accent, you shave your head, you lost a lot of weight. Was it discouraging?
That's the craziest part [of] audition for a role. Every time I encouraged myself and said, “I have to show these people that I can do this and that perfect for this role.” Then there's this slight fear: “Oh, God, now I have to do it.”
No one asked me to shave my head or lose weight. Even the accent was something I suggested. None of those things were presented to me as tasks that I had to do. I just wanted to do justice to his story. This woman went through a lot. I felt like doing all these processes was a way to feel like I was really committing to her.
It came in waves. She was working with this amazing accent coach. In a way, he was almost like an acting coach: we would talk very deeply about the character and the story. Every time I left a session I felt overcome with emotion. I'm finding something interesting here. Then there was [Catherine] returning from camps and weight loss. I thought, “What would that feel like, in terms of changes in the physical appearance of your entire body?” Then the hair. It felt like a pretty organic process.
Ben Mendelsohn plays fashion designer Christian Dior in “The New Look,” and Maisie Williams plays his younger sister Catherine, who was a member of the French Resistance.
(Apple TV+)
How did you do all that while staying safe, physically and emotionally, during all of this?
I meditate a lot. In this job, I told all my friends and family that I was really going to dedicate myself to it. I didn't really have anything I was committed to other than doing the show. I just spent a lot of time doing yoga, meditating, and preparing my little meals. I limited many other stressful things in my life. I'm in a very privileged position to be able to do that. When I did those scenes or thought about things that were really painful, it felt like something I could separate from myself. I never felt like he was hurting me; he was just unlocking a new mind, temporarily. When I was a kid, I used to come across and feel hurt when I did an emotional scene. I don't feel like that anymore. I have managed to find a process that works better.
Any specific examples of this happening when you were younger?
I think about this scene I did in the first movie I shot. [My character’s] Dad was supposedly shot in the head in front of her. They sprayed blood in her face and my imagination went too crazy. I felt really overwhelmed with the idea of having brains on my face. Now I feel like I have a clear line in my mind between fiction and reality. I don't get them blurry.
You started acting professionally when you were very young and didn't really have any formal training. How did you develop a process that worked for you?
Every time I had tremendously emotional things to do [when I was a child], I found myself very isolated and in my imagination: having the dialogue in my head very intense for the day of filming a scene, talking to myself as if I were that character. That was something that I naturally felt like I needed to do in order to cry, like something to overwhelm my system.
Now when I get to set, I walk into a room with other people and all the worlds they've created. [In the past,] My process began and ended with myself and I wasn't necessarily cooperating as well as I could have with the people I was working with. It was really Ben Mendelsohn who pushed me to that place. He really connects with everyone he shares a scene with, and that drove me crazy.
How did he do that?
Just before they called for action, I would improvise some line of dialogue between Christian and Catherine. I would hand him something and he would give it back to me in a completely different way than he had done before. [He makes it] It feels like you're actually having a conversation with someone. I was drawn to something we were building together, compared to a lot of people on solo missions.
Catherine Dior (Maisie Williams) is said to be the inspiration behind the name of Christian Dior's Miss Dior fragrance.
(Apple TV+)
How did you find a way to tap into Catherine's mindset and understand the courage she demonstrated?
I don't know if I will ever fully understand what she went through or what it takes to live the way she lived. I listened to the audiobook version of “Miss Dior” every night before going to bed. Catherine never really talked much about what happened to her. So what Justine does is take other first-hand encounters with women who were in the same places as her. You can fill in the blanks and imagine what Catherine was going through.
depending on what [scenes] We were filming, I would cut to [the relevant part] in the book and listen to it before going to bed. She was sleeping very lightly. Has your alarm ever become part of your sleep? There were nights when I was in a daze listening to the book and then I would also dream at the same time and they would intertwine. It was a really useful tool for me.
On a lighter note, you are someone who clearly likes fashion. Did this give you any insight into the creative process?
I really loved the key thread we pushed with the show: that creation can be survival. I think I've connected with that in many ways in my work. Looking at that through the lens of fashion and through this particular moment in history, gave me great respect for the foundation that the industry is built on.
Did you enjoy being in Paris?
Before doing the show, my favorite thing to do in Paris was go to dinner until very late and then sit outside, smoke and drink. In this sense, I was not giving myself in the same way to Paris. It's an amazing city to walk around in and sometimes I would walk for hours, wander around the city and listen to books or music.
We are approaching five years from the end of “Game of Thrones.” Now that you have some distance, how do you remember that experience?
With each passing year, I remember him with more and more fondness. I think with the space I can now start to see it for what it was. When you're inside, you can't even understand what's happening. I feel very lucky to have been part of “Game of Thrones.” I feel very proud of the show that everyone came together for. People wait their whole lives to do something like that. I feel very lucky to have been able to have that experience as my first.
