Worth seeking out!)
Read excerpts from our conversation below.
Harris Dickinson:Yeah, it was at the Met Gala.
Photo: Getty Images
Malle:Set the scene.
Thats a very chic meet-cute.
Dickinson:It was two years ago.
Photo: Courtesy of A24
Malle:Youd never met, but you knew you were doing it together?
Dickinson:Wed never met, but Id been cast.
I said, Nicoles over there.
Director Halina Reijn and Nicole Kidman on the set ofBabygirl.
And she said, Come on, Ill take you over because I know her.
So she walked me over and introduced me and it was fine.
She was so lovely.
Marley Marius:She also seemed to be quite endeared by your cat.
Do you know what Im talking about?
Marius:Whats the cats name?
I tried to call him Terry.
Terrence, Terry for short.
And my partner didnt want to go with that, so Misty ended up being his name.
But hes very sweet.
Hes a good lad.
Hes into the arts.
Marius:Your Dafoes not bad, I have to say.
Dickinson:But [Nicoles] an animal person, as well.
So I think that was maybe what she meant.
Are you a dog healer?
Dickinson:Yeah, that dog was tricky.
There were times where I was just feeding it sausage after sausage to try and calm it down.
But it was a lovely dog.
Malle:I want to know what Halina told you about her vision for Samuel.
Theres different narratives and confusing ideals that we come up against.
So I think that was something that was very important for him.
And also, his directness was always in the script: his honesty with Romy, Nicoles character.
And Samuel comes in, and he just pokes through it and sees what happens.
He watches her, studies her, and then he dares to challenge her.
And so, that was a big part of it.
Marius:And yet theres a politeness to him.
But we were able to lean into it and laugh.
Marius:And the Father Figure dance scenewas that on the page?
Marius:And was that choreographed?
You thought it looked choreographed?
Marius:I mean, notno.
And I may have had a few drinks for that.
Marius:Its very vibey.
Dickinson:It was more embarrassing because of the crew.
What are you having for dinner?
You know, like, very normal, banal chat.
And then all of a sudden youve got your top off, and youre, like, jiving around.
You catch eye contact with them, and youre like, Sorry about that.
Is your family seeing this over Christmas?
Dickinson:My family saw it.
My moms very open-minded.
My mom saw it in London; she loved it.
She said she wore a turtleneck in case she needed to cover her eyes.
She loved it, though.
Same with my sister.
But peoples responses have been interesting.
I think its been a real range of thought-provoking to filthy, to be honest with you.
Like, people are unafraid to say exactly what they think, particularly when theyve just seen it.
Malle:Give us an example.
Marius:Youre liberating women!
Dickinson:I said, Alright, well, go ahead and do that, thats good.
And I thought, Well, theres a room full of people, go and mingle.
The night is young.
So, its interesting.
Its definitely igniting liberation in people, which is good, at the end of the day.
Malle:You have worked with so many fantastic directors.
Is the process of getting to trust them always different?
Dickinson:I always have a process of figuring that out.
But it always takes me a minuteI dont just give it straight away.
Or some sort of way that you got to know each other?
Marius:And Halina being an actor, did that change the dynamic?
Director Halina Reijn and Nicole Kidman on the set ofBabygirl.
Dickinson:Yeah, Ill answer the exercise thing first.
We didnt do a lot of that.
We were lucky in the sense that me and Nicole bonded really quickly.
We felt very comfortable with each other very, very soon.
So that was a tick off the list.
And then we just got into it and we just did it.
But, Halina, yeah, as an actor, I think it changes what you expect from yourself.
Nicole has got this mad playfulness as a performer.
Shes so bold with stuff.
Shes not scared to try stuff.
And then you think, oh, I can try stuff as well.
Dickinson:The rave, for example.
A lot of that was scripted, but she just threw herself into it.
She was, like, grabbing people and kissing them and stuff.
Marius:Your breakout was seven years ago now, with Eliza HittmansBeach Rats.
I know you self-taped for that role; what was your life like at that moment?
Dickinson:I just wanted to work.
I just wanted to do anything.
But yeah, I just really wanted to work.
I just wanted to do stuff and learn.
Malle:Have you ever been an intern?
Dickinson:Ive been a runner.
That was crazy, running around with this rapper and a really small crew.
Malle:When was that?
Dickinson:That was maybe 10 years ago.
I was 16, 17.
Marius:To, like, find out what it was like to push papers?
Malle:Thatd be a great TikTok.
Dickinson:Its such an actor thing to do.
But yeah, Id only done retail, hospitality, other stuff.
I was not an office boy.
I wonder, do you have rules with each other?
Dickinson:I think its nice because were in different industries.
I always get very starstruck by musicians.
Im always so fascinated by what they do, and Im so impressed by what my partner does.
Its a hard world.
But I think theres certain things you have to keep sacred.
You have to keep stuff between us, just to keep it special, you know.
Marius:What kind of music do you listen to?
Dickinson:Its cliche: everything.
Malle:What was on your Spotify Wrapped?
Dickinson:Embarrassingly, Father Figure was on there, because I listened to it a lot.
Marius:Its a great song.
Dickinson:But also Missing (Todd Terry Remix) by Everything but the Girl.
Crush by Jennifer Paige.
Sega Bodega, James Blake, Gunna, Ludovico Einaudi.
Weve been talking a lot atVogueabout how everyone is method-dressing these days.
Dickinson:Are you guys into the theme-dressing?
Malle:Really depends.
It can go very wrong very fast.
Malle:We lovehis chain.
Dickinson:His chains nice.
And did you notice his little clipper thing?
His little carabiner with his keys?
But dressing for press tours is not a chore.
When youve got help, its really fun.
I cant imagine having to do it on my own.
Id be a mess.
Malle:What are you wearing today?
Dickinson:Today…this wasnt actually a look.
I changed because I was a bit uncomfortable.
And were flying after this.
Marius:Where are you off to?
Dickinson:Going back to London.
Dickinson:Im gonna get back in touch with cooking.
Malle:Whats the holiday recipe?
I say recently; last year is the last time I did it.
And it was just, like, chefs kiss.
And then luckily, I dont have to do the cooking at my familys.
Malle:Thank you so much.
I hope that your ragu is everything and more.
