Sophie Wilde for Loewe9 Images
Within just a few moments of Sophie Wilde arriving, her infectious joie de vivre has filled the room. We’re in Paris to celebrate the launch of her new campaign for Loewe fragrances, specifically the Rainbow Botanical scents Agua Drop and Esencia EDP. Set against the backdrop of the modernist masterpiece Villa Savoye, the campaign, shot by David Sims, co-stars Jamie Dornan and features the two actors languid and lounging around a cool-tiled, steam-filled bathroom on a sunny afternoon.
Warm, sweet and excited by and about everything – from working with director Halina Reijn to remembering the smell of her grandmother’s perfume – you quickly get the sense that Wilde is just very happy to be here. It’s this expressive, emotive energy that has made her such a compelling presence on screen. The Australian actor rose to success with her starring performance in the critically acclaimed horror Talk to Me (2022), as well as roles in thriller You Don’t Know Me (2021) and teen drama Everything Now (2023).
Next up, she will appear in the much-anticipated erotic thriller Babygirl, playing the all-seeing assistant of Nicole Kidman’s high-ranking CEO. The mentor dynamics of the relationship between the two characters is one that exists beyond the screen as well, with Kidman taking Wilde under her wing. “She has been such a beautiful champion of me, which I feel very, very lucky to have that kind of relationship with her,” says Wilde. “She said to me, ‘you’re the new generation, take it with all of your heart.”
We caught up with Wilde to find out more about the Loewe partnership, her relationship with fragrance and her part in Babygirl.
You’ve been working with Loewe since January. What was it about the brand that you were excited to partner with?
Sophie Wilde: Jonathan [Anderson]’s just such an incredible designer, such an incredible head of the house. I have always been such a big fan of his. I think Loewe is doing things in the fashion space that a lot of people aren’t, and there’s a uniqueness and creativity that I haven’t found myself akin to before seeing this brand. So it’s exciting to work with an amazing brand that’s doing amazing things, and they have an amazing curation of people they work with. I think that’s really inspiring to see; all these other artists who I’m so enamoured by be a part of this brand.
It’s very fun, the eclectic mix of people that [Jonathan Anderson] brings together.
Sophie Wilde: It’s amazing going to the shows, you look around like, ‘I would never expect you to necessarily be here, but how incredible that you are.’
Do you feel creatively aligned with the brand?
Sophie Wilde: Absolutely. It’s so funny, my friends who I’ve known my whole life, they’re always saying, ‘Wow, you and Loewe are a match made in heaven.’ I’ve always had quite an eclectic sense of style and always love to be experimental and outside the box. Loewe is very representative of that.
You’re in the campaign for the Aqua Drop fragrance. How would you describe the smell?
Sophie Wilde: It’s very fresh. There’s something of a freshness to it and in some ways it reminds me of home, being near the seaside, there’s something quite cleansing about it. Whenever I want to feel very fresh that’s the one I put on.
I think you get that sense of freshness and modernity in the campaign, especially since you filmed it in Villa Savoye. How was the experience of filming the campaign there?
Sophie Wilde: It was so incredible to be able to be there, the house is so beautiful. It was really sunny. It was amazing to be able to stay in Versailles as well. One of the things I love the most about Loewe is their team. They’re the most incredible group of people genuinely and so it’s always just a joy to spend time with everyone.
Your next project, Babygirl, is coming out soon.
Sophie Wilde: So exciting.
What can you tell us about your character?
Sophie Wilde: What can I tell you? I don’t even know! [Laughs] What can I tell you… she’s in there. She’s doing some things! She’s talking to Nicole [Kidman], she’s talking to Harris [Dickinson]. She’s typing away in that office [laughs]. I play Nicole’s assistant. So there’s a lot of interesting dynamics there with the mentor relationship and I think being women of different generations is a really important part of our relationship dynamic. I don’t want to give too much away!
Did you and Nicole have that mentor relationship off camera as well?
Sophie Wilde: Yeah, in some ways. Nicole’s obviously an Australian icon and so there’s something there in terms of the Australianism. She’s just such an amazing, warm person and she really took me under her wing and has been such a beautiful champion of me, which I feel very, very lucky to have with her. When I won an award in Australia, she was there, so it’s been really nice to have someone who I’ve always looked up to.
She must have felt like she was passing the torch.
Sophie Wilde: Yeah, she said that to me. She said, ‘you’re the new generation, take it with all of your heart.’
And how was it working with Halina Reijn?
Sophie Wilde: Oh, my God, she’s amazing. I just think she’s the most intelligent, kind and generous director. I think there’s definitely something to be said about working with a director who’s also an actor; she has a great understanding of the process. She’s just a fucking genius. I’m genuinely so excited to see her career just take off from here. I was already such a big fan from watching Bodies, Bodies, Bodies and I think it’s really amazing to see Babygirl, which is such a drastic shift away from that and shows her range. And she’s just such a sweetheart. She’s just like big mummy energy, which is awesome.
You’ve talked before about how you used music, Death Grips in particular, to get into your character for Talk To Me. Do you also use fragrance as a way to get into a character’s mindset?
Sophie Wilde: That is so interesting because recently I just shot a film, Watch Dogs, and right before I shot it, I had done the perfume campaign and so I’d gotten a bunch of different fragrances. I really wanted to experiment on that film with different fragrances and how that can evoke different identities and different facets of yourself. It’ll make more sense when you watch the film!
When I interviewed Austin Butler he said that he got a fragrance especially made to help him get into character for Dune.
Sophie Wilde: Oh my gosh, that’s so interesting. I think [fragrance] is such an indicator of you and your personal identity. So there is something really interesting in even picking something that’s counter to yourself, which can really help you get out of you. It’s like, ‘Oh, I would never wear that,’ but maybe there’s something kind of amazing about the fact that you would never wear that.
Yeah, it puts you in a different mindset. And then do you have a routine to get yourself back to being you after filming?
Sophie Wilde: I always love a shower. I learned that at drama school, there’s just something so cathartic about washing off the day, washing off the character, like returning to yourself.
And then maybe a fragrance?
Sophie Wilde: And then maybe I’ll put on one of my personal fragrances before I go to bed! [Laughs]
Many of the films that you’ve done have been in the horror or thriller genre. Do you find yourself more drawn to those darker stories?
Sophie Wilde: I have always loved to operate in a darker space. I don’t know, maybe because it does feel cathartic to get out your emotions. I’m a Cancer. I’m a double Cancer. I need to get the emotions out of there! [Laughs] But I think generally, I actually like to do one thing and then do something that’s very different. I love to do a Talk to Me and then go do something that’s wild and crazy and a rom-com. I think there’s something that’s so joyous about being able to exist in different spaces.
What are you most excited about right now?
Sophie Wilde: I’m shooting a film right now. I’m doing Alejandro Iñárritu’s new film. Crazy! It’s so crazy. We’re still in rehearsals, but I’m sitting in the rehearsal room and looking around at the cast, and I’m like, this is so entirely surreal. That’s so, so exciting. I actually feel like I haven’t felt so overjoyed doing a project like I have doing this. The whole process has been incredible.
