on the big screen this week | wes anderson’s the phoenician scheme
Wes Anderson’s filmography contains multitudes, whether we’re talking about all those dazzling ensembles – consisting of the best thespians from each generation – or what we can call his own aesthetics. The director’s cinema is a well-oiled machine with each cog (a sense of symmetry, mise-en-scene on either the micro or macro scale, bolstered colours and so on) in the right place.
Every Andersonian flick is a story on its own, a microcosm full of little misadventures, slapstick-like scenes and eccentric dialogues. In his cinematic novellas, chaos sooner or later ensues, while all of it has a source in the director’s calculation. It’s a paradox we always cherish.
Anderson’s latest feature, owingits name to the eponymous gambit undertaken in the film, is all above. And, even a little more than that. It’s not only another espionage escapade, but this time, a Tintin-like adventure made by a more versatile auteur. It’s also a hodgepodge of jovial remarks, quirky jokes and various genres – The Phoenician Scheme, which premiered recently in Cannes’ main competition, never treats itself seriously. This might be the source of its unexpected cosiness, coated by some memorable performances.
In what we can call Anderson’s first spy comedy, we follow a vile arms dealer, Anatol “Zsa-Zsa” Korda (Benicio del Toro). As a Machiavellian schemer, he has accrued himself many adversaries over the years. It’s now 1950, and everyone wants to kill him. But Korda, like a wild black cat, still manages to land on his four feet. However, with each danger and botched assassination, Korda senses the touch of impending death on his shoulders.
When finally trapped, our anti-hero acknowledges his position and decides to send for his future heiress, Liesl (Mia Threapleton, Kate Winslet’s daughter). Although a soon-to-be nun, she will have to choose between God and her atheist dad (it’s ironic, as Korda, surviving all those attempts on his life, reminds us of a devil-like figure). He offers her a deal, which has something to do with owning the entire Phoenicia (that’s all we can tell). To succeed and save themselves, the newly reunited family will have to bury the hatchet and forget about their conflicting views.
Casting del Toro against his usual type seems like a gamble, but an Oscar recipient for Traffic (2001) readily finds himself as a reticent trafficker and a neglectful father. Korda utters each sentence with a certain degree of distrust towards his partners and potential foes (the prominent cast also includes Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright and many more). At first, all Korda really cares about is striking a bargain. By this, Anderson deliberately exchanges his previous romantic tropes for a story about the transactional nature of the on-screen relationships.
Still, with every frivolous sequence right after another, we start seeing Korda as a tragic figure taken straight from an ancient drama. The only person in whose presence he can become truly himself is, as you can already guess, Liesl. This is why one cannot forget about Threapleton’s brutally sardonic performance.
While being Hollywood’s next nepo baby, Winslet’s acting successor proves she deserves to appear as one of the Andersonian leads. With each line delivered, Threapleton takes no prisoners – thanks to her, our wanton laughter is only a matter of time.
The father-and-daughter chemistry Threapleton achieves with one of “the usual suspects” (see: Bryan Singer’s classic from 1995) becomes a driving force of the film’s nonchalant plot. Every scene feels like a pretext to put these two together and just let them be. It’s been a while since we’ve seen such a contrasting yet complementary rapport. Throughout the screening, we spend more than a few wondrously intimate moments with these two. Oh, how much we start to miss them while leaving the cinema.
In a world where Wes Anderson can be his worst enemy, the director decided not to reinvent himself (again!) by adding disposable layers and meanings, like in his overly philosophical Asteroid City (2023), more a student essay than an enjoyable cinematic experience. Instead, we have got an exuberant tale, with Anderson finally free from the squeeze of the audience’s expectations. As his aficionados, we couldn’t wish for more – it’s his finest film since The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).
sweater. David Koma
sunglasses. Jimmy Fairly
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full look. BOSS
shoes. Converse
It’s not every day that an under-the-radar college student is plucked out of incognito mode and thrust into one of the most devoured series of recent years – but for Sean Kaufman, that’s exactly how it went down. Across two seasons of Amazon’s ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, we’ve come to know Steven Conklin – played by Kaufman – through his high energy, irritatingly accurate portrayal of the ultimate older brother to the show’s protagonist, Belly.
Sure, the show’s charm starts with the innocence of a teenage love triangle at its core, but it’s the emotional depth, the gut-punch storylines, all soundtracked to ‘This is Taylor Swift’, that’s made it stick. As Kaufman chats to Schön! about the whirlwind so far, one thing’s clear: the life he’s living now looks nothing at all like the one he had pictured growing up in Manhattan.
Now, with the third and final season around the corner, we’ve been teased with what looks like a rocky road ahead for Steven. With love, real responsibility, and possibly even his life on the line, it sounds as though the finale – premiering in September – is gearing up to deliver the heartfelt goodbye fans have been bracing for. “We put so much effort into this season, and we just want people to savour it and enjoy it as much as we did making it,” he says of season three. And as for Sean? Don’t blink – he’s just getting started.
Sean, you’re a New York boy right?
Born and raised.
Have you ever lived anywhere else?
I mean, lived is probably a bit of a stretch. I was in LA for about six or seven months, and I’ve spent a couple of years in North Carolina shooting stuff.
Presume that’s where you filmed The Summer I Turned Pretty?
Yeah, in an absolutely beautiful beach town down there.
Sounds gorgeous! I’m such a fan of the series, by the way. I devoured the first two seasons. I’m curious as to how it all came about. Tell me about landing the role of Steven?
I was in college actually. It was my junior year, and I remember my manager at the time got me this audition for a book I had never read. It wasn’t on my radar, but I knew Jenny Han’s name. I had seen ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’. I did a couple of call-backs and then met Lola [Tung], and it all came together. After that, I had to drop out of junior year.
Oh wow, you actually had to drop out to do it?
Yeah, thankfully, they let me back in, though! My dad was bragging to everyone we know because he has this notion that everyone who is successful is a dropout. He was like, “My son’s a college dropout, he’s heading for big things.”
I mean, he was right.
[Laughs], the jury is still out.
When did you get back then, or have you yet?
I have. It was pretty much straight after season one. We shot in the summer of 2021 and then wrapped that fall so I was able to get back and get that degree.
full look. BOSS
shoes. Converse
opposite
suit + shirt. Canali
sunglasses. Chimi
belt. Ralph Lauren
In what ways would you say playing Steven has influenced who you are behind the scenes?
That’s a great question. I have to say the one thing that I always think about is Steven’s relationship with Belly in the show. I have an actual sister, who’s three years younger than me and more or less. Our whole childhood, we really didn’t get along. No fault of hers, we were just a son and a daughter living in a one-bedroom in Manhattan, you know, sharing a room and all that stuff. Fair to say, it caused a lot of fights. But then, playing Steven made me realise just how important that relationship really is. Seeing how much he loves Belly, I was able to use that in my own life and how I can love my sister. Looking back on is pretty fucked up to think I needed that motivation.
No, that seems fairly common. I have a younger sister too, and trust me when I say, I relate to everything you just said.
It really opened my eyes. Thankfully, the past few years, my sister’s relationship and mine has been amazing. Both this show and playing Steven have helped me get there.
That’s so interesting because throughout the first two seasons, we see Steven and Belly’s relationship endure its fair share of turbulence, but it’s so clear that there is an undeniable amount of love underneath all of that, which comes across.
That’s the thing, at the end of the day, they’re still brother and sister. He’s going to be snarky and give her shit, but he always leads with love when it comes to her.
We’ve seen a real evolution of Steven’s character. He’s now juggling real-life responsibilities like jobs and relationships. How has that been to play?
I think that’s a really cool part of TV, and especially being able to do multiple seasons. In season one, he’s a kid. He’s carefree and adventurous. Now, he’s stepping out of his comfort zone. In season three, he’s graduated from college and is off in the real world. I think that was fun to be able to delve into, especially when I can compare it to who I am as Sean. I’m 25 now, so I know how things work in my reality, but how does he deal with these scenarios? How does he sustain relationships and handle work and love, and everything in between? You know?
Which version of Steven did you find the most fun to play? Season one’s goofy side or how we’ll see him in season three?
That’s almost impossible to answer. I loved shooting season three. I think what you guys will see is a tremendous amount of work. I know my scene partners, specifically Rain Spencer, put so much work in. Doing scenes with her was so much fun. It’s a tricky one, though, because there’s no season three Steven without season one Steven, you know? During the filming of this season, there were so many times when I could relate to a point in his arc and understand why he does things. It’s really beautiful, actually.
suit. Kenzo
shirt. Gant
boxers. Calvin Klein
tie + belt. Ralph Lauren
opposite
suit. David Koma
tank top. Calvin Klein
boots. Dsquared2
As a viewer, it’s so cool to see it all connect. What is a feeling you hope people are left with after finishing the finale?
I want people to leave that final viewing feeling everything. I want them to feel good. This was probably our favourite season to shoot, and when we wrapped on that final day, we all took a deep breath and let everything out. It was emotional. I hope viewers can experience that same feeling and take that journey with us throughout the season.
How long did it take to film season three?
About four or five months. It was a long enough time that by the end of it, we were like, “Do we live in North Carolina? “We’re going back home?!”
I can imagine – “What is home?” What were the first few days afterwards like?
Very weird. I think wrapping any season is extremely weird, and this season even more so. Many of the cast are based here in New York, so I’m able to see them and hang out all the time. But it’s so sad to know I won’t see Gavin [Casalegno] or Rain for about six months. You spend 24 hours, seven days a week with these people, and now to suddenly not know when I’ll see them is strange. The first couple of days, I was literally texting people like “You wanna grab lunch?” and they were like “We’re not even in the same state.”
full look. BOSS
opposite
suit. Kenzo
shirt. Gant
boxers. Calvin Klein
shoes. Stuart Weitzman
tie + belt. Ralph Lauren
Besides acting, I know playwriting is also a huge passion of yours – had you always been interested in it?
Actually I don’t think I always had an interest in it. I love plays and I’m a big theatre geek, but I never really got into writing until COVID, when there was no acting to be done. I’m drawn to the idea of building characters and that arc that I was talking about. I love actin,g but playwriting is a way for me to channel that when I’m not working.
When you’re writing, is it a case of knuckling down and knocking out a few pages, or is it more of a spur-of-the-moment situation?
In all honesty, there’s no system. Most of my writing gets done between 2 am and about 6 am. I tend to get stuck with a line or a scene and base the rest around that. Steve Hadley, a fantastic playwright, told me once, “You’re never gonna be able to write. The only way to get it done is to tell your friends that you’re having a reading 30 days from now. Set the date, and then you have to get it done.”
Have you done that yet?
I have actually. I was finishing up a play and was getting a little stuck, so I told a couple of friends I was having a reading and forced myself to just sit and write for two weeks out of fear of disappointing them.
suit. David Koma
tank top. Calvin Klein
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suit. Kenzo
shirt. Gant
tie. Ralph Lauren
Now that ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ is coming to an end, is the idea of being recognised for future roles daunting, or is it just incredibly exciting?
Incredibly exciting. Getting recognised for [playing] Steven is a blessing. I still can’t fathom a world in which I get stopped on the street and people know who I am, but there are so many stories and characters out there that I want to try to help tell. I want to try to do everything in my career at least once. Who doesn’t want to be like an action star once? And who doesn’t want to do the sad Indie?
The show deals with some pretty heavy stuff – grief, heartbreak, all the messy parts of growing up but it still feels really light and easy to watch. Was that all down to the writers and producers, or did you guys have to figure out how to strike that balance on set, too?
I think it’s always a little bit of both. That’s what makes this show really beautiful. There are really raw topics for a show like this that I think you don’t often see. Grief is a big one in this show, and it comes around and takes you off guard. But then, still understanding that it is a show aimed at teens and young adults and it’s focused on this love triangle, you know. I have to say anything to do with the actual writing is a credit to Jenny Han. She is incredible.
It can be the most devastating scene, and then you’ll just hear Taylor Swift in the background, and you’re reminded of the show you’re watching.
Right? I think about that so much. I remember one of my favourite moments was in season two – that scene of Conrad and Belly on the beach. It’s such a distraught, heartbreaking scene, you want to tear your own heart out and then immediately it cuts to Steven and Taylor making out or something. It’s this beautiful line that I think she plays so well, where it’s not cheesy or corny or even out of place. It just works in this world.
suit. Kenzo
shirt. Gant
boxers. Calvin Klein
shoes. Stuart Weitzman
tie + belt. Ralph Lauren
opposite
suit + shirt. Canali
sunglasses. Chimi
belt. Ralph Lauren
Honestly, I think that balance is a huge part of why the show’s so successful.
I also think that’s a big part of why our fans are so diverse. I’m often surprised by how we have so many fans of all kinds of races, genders and everything. It’s lovely because there’s a part for everyone. As many people are watching to see Steven make out with Taylor, there are also people watching for the likes of Susannah and Laurel’s storyline, you know?
Tell me about ‘For All Mankind’ season five. How did it feel to come into a project with such a history behind it, compared to a project like ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, where you were able to start the story with your character?
That was definitely daunting at first. It’s filled with such a stacked cast of veteran actors, and it’s been going on forever, so there’s so much to learn to get in that world. I think in the moment I was terrified, and it scared me so much, but looking back on it, it was a godsend. I had booked the show while we were shooting season three of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, and as soon as we wrapped,d I flew straight to LA and started shooting the next day.
Oh wow, did that not completely mess with your head?
It was weird, I was literally playing Steven 24 hours beforehand. I was like, “How do I distinguish these two people?” The fact that it was such a fast turnaround helped, actually, I think. There was no waiting around or time to get in my head about it. That was a blessing when I look back on it. I just had to jump in. That whole experience was amazing and so starkly different from ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’. That was exactly what I was looking for. What a lucky position to be in as well, to be able to go straight into another project. Such a blessing. I’m the luckiest guy on earth.
full look. BOSS
opposite
suit. Kenzo
shirt. Gant
boxers. Calvin Klein
tie + belt. Ralph Lauren
So, what do you have in store for us for the rest of the year?
Both ‘For All Mankind’ and ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ are coming out, which is exciting.
Yes, and the episode rollout has just been shared with the final episode of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ out in the fall.
Yeah, I’ve seen a big debate online as to what people want now. I’m a big fan of that old school TV vibe, an episode a week. I don’t know about you, but I remember watching an episode, and then you’d go to school and talk about it all week long. Everyone just binges series now, and you end up missing bits and having to rewind. We put so much effort into this season, and we want to help make everyone savour it and enjoy it as much as we did making it.
Exactly, who wouldn’t want a taste of summer in the midst of fall? Well, I for one can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to. Thanks for chatting Sean!
Appreciate it. Chat again soon.
coat, sweater + shirt. BOSS
jeans. Levi’s
shoes. Stuart Weitzman
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coat, sweater + shirt. BOSS
jeans. Levi’s
The third and final season of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ is streaming now on Amazon Prime.
full look. Vivienne Westwood
stockings. Calzedonia
What if you had the chance to reunite with someone you loved, someone you lost, through lucid dreams? This story lies at the heart of the movie ‘Daniela Forever’, where Nicolás navigates the depths of his grief after the loss of his girlfriend. Directed by Nacho Vigalondo, the film delves into the memories, the consciousness, and ultimately the painful process of letting go.
In a conversation with actress Beatrice Grannò, who brings the character of Daniela to life, we uncover the different layers of this emotional story. Granno, whom you may recognise from her recent appearance in the second season of ‘The White Lotus’, steps into the spotlight with Daniela Forever, marking her lead debut in a fully English-speaking role. At 32 years old, the talented Italian actress is set to make waves in the international cinema landscape.
Granno sits with Schön! and reflects on her experience filming in Madrid and Taormina, her recent fame, and opens up about her aspirations in the world of music. As she embarks on this exciting new chapter of her career, Granno’s journey is a testament to the power of dreams, both on and off the screen.
full look. Valentino
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full look. Dolce & Gabbana
You’ll be appearing soon in the movie ‘Daniela Forever’, directed by Nacho Vigalondo. Tell us more about this project?
I’m personally a big fan of Nacho’s work, and I could tell from the moment I read the script that it came from an honest place. In the past, every time I did a project that came from a true place, it brought me something. That’s what I’m trying to do now with my career: make projects that are important for the people making them.
It’s very interesting the way Nacho talks about grief. He explores the theme as the person goes through a loss because he’s the victim, but also the “aggressor”. As there’s a level of selfishness in not letting go of someone. You hold on to that person, but she stops being a person, and Daniela becomes almost an object. She becomes something that belongs to the person who is going through the grief.
Tell me more about her, your character, Daniela. How did you prepare for the role?
My character is not fully there; she’s a memory, almost like an emotional ghost. And when you play someone that’s not real, it’s very challenging. But that was something very exciting for me.
I think I’m really drawn to characters that are dreamy, and films that have that tone of materialism … it suits my energy. Who is she? She’s not really a person. I really enjoyed playing with the idea of creating some sort of energy; I think that Nacho didn’t want the audience to know who she really was. She is Nicolás’s imagination. It’s very brave to talk about this story like this. There’s a big sense of guilt the whole time, and that really broke my heart; you can tell he feels guilty all the time. But I guess when you lose someone, that’s how it feels.
Do you think it’s a good or bad thing that Nicholas was able to see Daniela again?
I feel like if you lose someone and you’re really heartbroken, and you’re given the power to see them again, even just in a dream… I think that’s what everybody would do. I would do it! I think that’s what Nacho wanted to portray. The fact that if you don’t let someone go, you’re also not free yourself. I think the only moment you can be happy is when you accept that the person is not yours anymore. Nacho didn’t want the audience to fully understand who she was; you never really see much of her, or her past, cause that wasn’t the point. He wanted to show who she became because of her death.
full look. Emporio Armani
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jumpsuit. Balestra
Let’s talk about your own memories and dreams. How did you get into acting?
It’s strange because I kind of grew up as a musician; acting came after. It’s not something that I was thinking about since I was a kid. But the thing that I always enjoyed was making shows, it could be theatre or just creating something. And I thought that acting was the right path to put everything into it. But the strongest memory I have of acting was my first leading role in Italy. It was a small film, I loved it, and I had the best experience. It’s called “Mi chiedo quando ti mancherò”, it’s from an American novel. It felt like the right time, the right choice, and I remember that I really loved that world.
Your international breakthrough came with the second season of ‘the White Lotus’ series. How was that experience?
Actually, I recently came back to Taormina, to the ‘White Lotus’ hotel as a guest. That was a very strange feeling, because whilst we were shooting, it was just us. The hotel was not open to the public, and we were staying there; it felt like our home. And I remember when I arrived at the hotel, they were like, “Let me show you your room,” and I was like, “Come on, this is my home”. It was a very strange feeling. We were in a bubble for about three months. But for me, that was such a joy to get the role. And Mia, my character, is a musician also who is dreaming of becoming someone in the film. But I never expected it to be this life-changing experience, or at least in my career…
Mia’s dream was to play the piano at the Hotel. Did you get to do that when you went back to Taormina?
I saw the piano, and I was like I’m not doing that. (She laughs) It felt really strange; the piano was there, and I just kept looking at it. When I was playing the piano in the movie, I never would have thought that it would have such a big impact. Not just for the movie, but for myself.
full look. Vivienne Westwood
How did you deal with this sudden fame? Did you get recognised at the hotel?
I think in Italy I get recognised a little less, but when I was in L.A or N.Y people would always come up to me. I also changed my hair, so people are a bit confused. But when I was in Taormina, all of the guests, I mean many, went there because of the White Lotus series, so it was really funny to see people double-checking, and looking…
You were chosen with your ‘White Lotus’ co-star, Simona Tabasco, for the SKIMS campaign. How was that experience? Did you get to meet Kim Kardashian?
That was the moment that made me think that something was happening. I was in Rome, and I knew the series was out in the US, and I knew people were enjoying it, but I couldn’t get a full sense of what was going on. So when Kim K reached out, I was like: What is happening? It was fun!
We were supposed to do the campaign in L.A, but there was such a short time, so they all flew to Milan instead, and we did it there. Then, when we went to L.A for the SAG awards, and Kim reached out, and she said to meet up. So we had a coffee, it was very nice!
full look. Etro
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full look. Attico
I know music is a big part of your life and something you’ve always enjoyed. Are you working on any music at the moment?
Yes! One of my biggest dreams right now is to be able to release my album. I just need to finish it. That’s definitely one of my goals right now. But you know, I don’t think I have the same ambition with music that I have with acting. For acting, I have a hunger, while with music, I love it so much, it’s something I do for myself. I’m not like “ I need to be on stage and sing.” Maybe that will happen and I’ll be very happy about it, but I don’t have the same urgency.
It’s more of an emotional thing for me. So as long as I’m able to release my album, I’ll be happy. It’s enough, even if only two people hear it, it’s okay, it’s more personal. I love this idea of expressing myself with music. It’s something very important to me. The beauty of music is being able to say something incomprehensible, but when you do it through a song, you can say things you normally couldn’t say. That’s what music means to me: to be able to say all the things that are hard to say. You can do that through a song.
What are you most looking forward to for what’s left of 2025?
You know, sometimes this job feels like going fishing; you have to be very patient. Sometimes nothing happens, but you have to learn to stay put and ready. This idea stuck with me, I really see it like this, because there’s always something going but you have to be very patient.
As an actress, you’re always learning something, there’s always this big question: who am I? I am who I am, or am I what other people see? There was a moment when I thought that all that mattered was what other people thought, and there was another moment when I decided that all that mattered was what I think of myself. I think ‘Daniela Forever’ and ‘White Lotus’ taught me that there’s a very nice balance of both. You cannot block that; you have to protect yourself. It’s okay to accept what other people see in you. It’s a journey!
full look. Alberta Ferretti
shoes. Giuseppe Zanotti
stockings. Calzedonia
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full look. Valentino
What do you wish for the future?
Now filming ‘Daniela Forever’ in Madrid, and with ‘White Lotus’, confronting myself with other cultures was a reminder for me that there’s so much more that I want to do. There’s so much more that I want to offer. I think it was a really life-changing thing. There’s no going back now, I need to keep going, I think this job is really about building a career in the right way. It’s not just about doing what’s happening to you, like you have to do every job… I think you have to think very carefully. ‘Daniela Forever’ was a symbol of that. That film really meant something to the director and to me. So what I want to do now is do meaningful things. And my hope is that there’ll be more!
full look. Vivienne Westwood
stockings. Calzedonia
Abigail Cowen was supposed to be having a quiet summer. One of those off-duty stretches filled with sunlight, rest, maybe a road trip, maybe just a good book and a playlist full of Mumford & Sons and country twang. “I started the summer thinking I was going to rest,” she says, “and I did for a little while…” The pause hangs in the air like the break before a twist in a movie. Because of course, she didn’t stay still for long.
Now, instead of beach days, Cowen is back on set, immersed in another story, another character, another world. And that’s just how she likes it. “I booked something very exciting,” she says. “The more I understand myself, the better I can understand the people I play.”
For a while, the 26-year-old actress was best known for playing fiery heroines in Young Adult fantasy: first as Dorcas in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, then as Bloom in Netflix’s Fate: The Winx Saga, a cult-hit that still has fans campaigning for a third season. But in The Ritual, Cowen shifts gears. Based on the real-life case of Emma Schmidt, a woman subjected to a 23-day exorcism in the 1920s, the psychological horror film is a different kind of possession story — quieter, heavier, and far more unnerving.
Cowen plays Emma with a kind of internal intensity that’s hard to look away from. The film avoids exaggerated theatrics and cheap scares, instead focusing on building a steady, embodied fear that intensifies throughout its unfolding. “It wasn’t about playing ‘possessed’,” she says, “it was about stepping into the emotional reality of someone trapped in her own body and mind.” That emotional commitment is quickly becoming her signature.
Directed by David Midell and co-starring Al Pacino and Dan Stevens, the film places Cowen at the centre of an unnerving descent — one where faith, trauma, and fear all blur into one. It also gives her room to explore the blurred lines between trauma, faith, and the body — themes she doesn’t shy away from, on or off screen.
Off set, she’s been reading self-help books, listening to country music, and booking a new (still under-wraps) project. But Cowen’s clarity about what she wants — and doesn’t — from her roles feels refreshing. She’s following her instincts. “If a story hits me in the gut, I know I’m supposed to be part of it,” she says. “If it scares me a little, that’s usually a good sign.”
Below, Cowen talks to Schön! about The Ritual, what it’s like to act opposite legends, and why fear isn’t always the enemy.
You’ve played everything from a fire fairy in Fate: The Winx Saga to a possessed young woman in The Ritual. Do you actively seek out roles that push you into new genres, or is it more about instinct when a script lands?
It’s definitely more about instinct. If a character or story hits me in the gut, I know I’m supposed to be part of it. I’m not someone who tries to “collect genres”, instead I chase characters that challenge me or make me feel something unexpected. If it scares me a little, that’s usually a good sign.
Speaking of Fate, fans are still campaigning for a third season. What did playing Bloom teach you that you carried into The Ritual, if anything?
Bloom taught me a lot about emotional intensity and what it feels like to play someone who leads with her heart, even when it gets messy. With Emma in The Ritual, that emotional core is still there, but it’s internalised in a way that’s quieter and heavier. Both characters are trying to survive something they don’t fully understand, which gave me a really personal through-line to work with.
Emma Schmidt isn’t just a character; she’s based on a real woman who underwent a 23-day exorcism. Did the weight of that history change the way you approached the role?
Definitely. Knowing she was real made everything feel more personal. You don’t want to sensationalise someone’s suffering; you want to honour it. It wasn’t about playing “possessed,” it was about stepping into the emotional reality of someone trapped in her own body and mind, fighting to be heard.
What kind of research did you do to understand Emma’s psychological and spiritual state — did you focus more on historical accuracy, or emotional truth?
I did a bit of both. I read about the real case, the time period, and how the Church handled these situations but what mattered most to me was the emotional truth. I wanted to understand what it would feel like to be isolated in that way, to not be trusted, and to lose control of your own body. That emotional core is what guided me more than anything.
A role like this can be incredibly taxing. How did you protect your mental space during such an emotionally intense shoot?
Boundaries were huge. I gave everything during the scenes, but after we wrapped each day, I had to find little ways to come back to myself. Journaling, going outside, checking in with friends and just reminding myself that I’m okay, and that the story is separate from me, all really helped. Having that separation was very important to me.
You’re acting opposite Al Pacino and Dan Stevens — two actors with very different energies. What was it like sharing scenes with them?
I feel really lucky. They’re both incredibly kind, talented, and generous. Al brings such care and depth to every moment, and Dan is sharp, grounded, and so present. They both made me feel incredibly supported and gave me the space to fully show up. It wasn’t intimidating, it was inspiring.
There’s a physicality to Emma’s transformation that feels almost dance-like. Did you work with a movement coach, or was it instinctive?
I didn’t have a coach, but I did work really closely with our director, David Midell. We spent time blocking everything in detail and finding those physical nuances together. Once we had the structure, the movement started to feel more instinctual. It was physically demanding, but also really freeing once it clicked.
The film leaves a lot open to interpretation: spiritual possession versus psychological breakdown. Where do you personally land on that spectrum?
I don’t think it’s either/or. There’s a part of me that sees Emma’s experience through the lens of trauma, in how it lives in the body and fragments a person. But I also believe in things we can’t always explain. I think her story lives somewhere in that grey area, and that’s part of what makes it so haunting.
You’ve spoken in the past about the importance of mental health and not forcing things. Did any of that come into play while preparing for or recovering from this role?
Yeah, absolutely. I’ve learned that pushing through something emotional doesn’t mean you’re stronger. It usually means you’re ignoring what you actually need. I let myself pause when I needed to, and I tried not to bring Emma home with me at the end of each day. It’s still something I’m learning how to do, honestly, but I think it made the performance more grounded in the long run.
Did The Ritual change the way you think about faith or fear?
It made me sit with both a little more honestly. Faith isn’t always peaceful, sometimes it’s full of doubt and desperation. And fear doesn’t always mean you’re weak. Sometimes, it just means you’re stepping into something unknown. I definitely left the project with more questions than answers, but good ones.
What do you hope audiences are left thinking about after watching Emma’s story unfold?
I hope it leaves people thinking about how we treat others who are suffering, especially those who can’t articulate or advocate for themselves clearly. I also hope it opens up conversations about faith, trauma, and how often those two things intersect. And if nothing else, I hope it encourages a little more empathy.
Anything exciting coming up soon? What would be your ideal new role and why?
There’s something I’m working on now that I’m really excited about, but I can’t share too much for the time being. As for a dream role, I’d love to do something unexpected like maybe a dark comedy or a grounded crime drama. Overall, I just want it to be something character-driven where I can disappear into a totally different world.
sweater. Balmain
The Ritual is now screening in cinemas and available on digital/VOD.
