Scream Queen Maika Monroe Talks ‘Longlegs’ and Personal Style
'Longlegs' star Maika Monroe talked to L’OFFICIEL about her role in the highly-anticipated horror film, taking risks in fashion, and her evolving personal style.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MYLES HENDRIK
STYLING BY CHLOE AND CHENELLE DELGADILLO
Maika Monroe knows how to keep an audince on the edge of their seats, fearing for what's next. The 31 year old actor is already an icon of horror, starting with her leading role in the instant classic It Follows (2014). A sequel, They Follow, begins production later this year. For the past decade, Monroe has continued to build a niche in the beloved genre and takes on bigger and bigger challenges with evey role. Set in the 1990s, Longlegs, which hits theaters Friday, July 12, follows Monroe's character Lee Harker, a hard-working, awkward, and immensely private FBI agent who slowly realizes she has a personal connection to Longlegs (Nicolas Cage), the serial killer she's investigating. The film is reminiscent of The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011). Monroe says her performance was insired by Jodie Foster and Rooney Mara, respectively. Longlegs was written and directed by Oswald "Oz" Perkins, son of Anthony Perkins, who played Norman Bates in Psycho (1960).
Monroe's hunt for a challenge extends to her personal style. Throughout Longlegs, Lee has her hair tied back in a loose ponytail and wears a relaxed oat-colored long-sleeve blouse and high-waisted tailored pleated pants. Her only accessories are a thin pair of hoop earrings and a watch. However, for the Los Angeles premiere of the film, Monroe went in an entirely different direction. While you might have expected a look more muted, aligning with her character’s conservative aesthetic, she opted for a big sartorial risk: her Courrèges jet black leather strapless bra and wrap skirt made headlines for its unrepentant sensuality. In her everyday life and on major carpets, Monroe is unafraid to explore provocative or edgy looks, often mixing sultry glamour with soft grunge.
Monroe sat down with L’OFFICIEL to discuss Longlegs, working with Nicolas Cage, her adventurous style, and unwinding with Love Island US.
L’OFFICIEL: What you were thinking and feeling when you first read the screenplay?
MAIKA MONROE: I loved it. I loved it because I grew up watching Silence of the Lambs, of course, and Seven. Those were some of my favorite movies, especially Silence of the Lambs and Jodie's performance in that movie always stuck with me. So, at least on a surface level with the script, there was a lot of similarities, and yet it also felt completely new and a new take, nostalgic and yet a modern take, I guess, on this genre.
Carrie Wittmer:
L’O: When did you start getting into horror?
MM: Very young. I was 11 or 12 when I started watching horror movies. My parents wouldn't allow it, but I would go over to my friend's house for sleepovers and I would watch a lot of very scary movies… a lot that I immediately regretted watching, but it was so fun.
L’O: Was there something then that drew you to the genre as a kid?
MM: It was just this unknown, visceral feeling that you had watching a horror movie. It's not a normal feeling that you have on a daily basis. At that young age, it was very exciting and I was doing something, rebelling against my parents and all the things.
L’O: I was in a similar family where I was not allowed to watch PG-13 movies until I was actually 13 years old, but I watched them at sleepovers.
MM: Exactly, exactly.
L’O: Do you remember one of the first ones that you watched?
MM: Nightmare on Elm Street was one of the first movies that is really ingrained in my head. I remember exactly my friend's house that I was at. I remember calling my mom after and being... Not telling her, but just being like, "I'm a little bit nervous about..." I was just so scared. That movie rocked me.
L”O: When you started acting, was horror something that you wanted to do? Or is it something that just happened?
MM: Just happened.. When you start out in this industry, you have no control. You don't get to choose. Even now, there's no planning. I was just trying to make a living off of this. The first movie, one of the first movies that I did that was successful was, It Follows.
L’O: And that film was such a cultural moment, and really influential to horror. It kicked off a bit of a renaissance that we’re seeing now. Is the sequel going into production soon?
MM: Yeah. I'm super excited. I was definitely nervous, obviously. The first one is so iconic, everyone loves it, there's a lot of pressure behind this film.
L’O: Especially a decade later. I've heard that [Longlegs director] Oz Perkins writes his character's thoughts into his screenplays. Is that true?
MM: Yeah. Yeah, he does do that.
L’O: How does that benefit your performance?
MM: It’s immensely helpful. As an actor, at least for me and how I work, it's super important to be aware of the inner monologue, what's going on in your [character's] head. Oz's writing is really... It's very good. Very, very good.
L’O: How do you approach filming scenes that are mentally and maybe physically really... That just require a lot of you, your mental and emotional state, how do you approach performing a scene like that?
MM: Oh, it's just at this point, I know what I need to tap into. Always entails me having headphones in just because the set is so crazy. There's so many people, and it's just a nice way to zone everything out and focus on what I need to do. But at the time when you're going into a scene like that, it's challenging. You're entering into a mindset that's very dark. But afterwards, there's something therapeutic about it.
L’O: That's cool. What kind of music were you listening to get in the zone for playing Lee?
MM: For my character, Nina Simone. There's maybe a loneliness to some of her songs, like a sadness that was nice.
L’O: Had you met Nicolas Cage before working on Longlegs?
MM: No. First time. First time ever.
L’O: Did you observe anything from working with him?
MM: We have one scene together and the director didn't want us to meet prior to filming. I didn't see any of the looks of Longlegs until literally the day of filming the scene. The director called action. I walked into the interrogation room. That's when I saw... I mean, I don't really see Nick Cage because he's pretty much completely hidden in Longlegs. But, yeah. That was the first time we met. We filmed for probably six hours, and he was very much in character. It wasn't until the very end when we finished filming, when he was like, "I'm a really big fan of yours. I've just loved your work since It Follows." I was like, this is too much for me. This is crazy.
L’O: I'm really interested in the looks that you've been wearing throughout this press tour, because your character in the film is conservative and wears a more traditional workwear, but your looks have been quite the opposite. I love that you're laughing right now. What was your approach to this whole aesthetic here?
MM: I love fashion, I love having fun with it. A reason why I went with [stylists] Chloe [Delgadillo] and Chenelle [Delgadillo], is the way that they style is not typical. They're very comfortable in pushing the boundaries, which I like to do, and doing stuff that's different and a little avant-garde, but still sexy and fun. I really wanted to go for it on this one. They've brought me so many interesting looks and I've just been having so much fun with it.
L’O: Do you have a similar approach to hair and makeup? When you're putting a look together, do you have a pretty good vision in your mind? How does that work for you?
MM: I also talk with Chloe and Chenelle, and we will make little mood boards and figure out the looks, because hair and makeup is as important [as the clothes] ]to bring the whole look together. So, there's definitely lots of planning involved.
L’O: Has your style evolved over the years? How so?
MM: Oh, my God, yes. I look back probably because it's been 10 years since It Follows, but I've seen photos of me at the Cannes Film Festival, because that's where it premiered. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I think I was wearing my mom's old Anthropologie skirt that goes below my knee, and a Free People bralette. I'm just like, Oh, my God, girl. Girl.
L’O: I mean, it was the early 2010s, so we were all doing it.
MM: You've got to appreciate it. My style has changed, but it feels like everything has changed. I don't know how to explain it.
L’O: What is your casual day-to-day style?
MM: It's a pretty even mix of pretty masculine and feminine. I wear a lot of really baggy jeans and bigger T-shirts, and then I'll wear my white patent leather Chanel flats. That, and do a bow in my hair type of thing.
L’O: So, casual, but with a little touch of elegance
MM: Yeah. Exactly.
L’O: Do you have any particular style icons that you use as inspiration a lot?
MM: I don't know. I don't know. I should have one. I can't think of one.
L’O: I feel like these days we all just have a Pinterest board, or a bunch of bookmarks on Instagram.
MM: For sure. It's been a lot of 90s supermodels.
L’O: Our Pinterest boards are probably identical. Mine's all just Christy Turlington and Shalom Harlow.
MM: Yes!
L’O: What do you do to unwind after a long press tour, like the one you're doing now?
MM: Oh, I've been watching a lot of Love Island. It's insane. This season gets insane. I'm not up-to-date yet, but that's what I've been doing.
L’O: That's amazing. But I mean, that's how I unwind too. Reality is just how I turn my brain off.
MM: It's the best gift. I love it so much. I really love it and I need it.
L’O: How do you take care of your skin after having a lot of makeup on at events like this?
MM: Oh, my gosh. My skin right now is so mad at me because all the makeup removers and stuff. But I use all pretty much natural stuff. I keep it very simple. I have a natural foam face cleanser, and then I use a vitamin C serum. Even if I get home and I'm super tired, I still take my makeup off. I've got to do it. You've got to commit. You've just got to do it.
MAKEUP: Shelby Smith
HAIR: Jake Gallagher
