STACK September 2017 Issue 155

74 / 101

At only 25 years old, Kaya Scodelario already
has impeccable credentials, having won her
first big break aged 14 featuring in popular
Brit TV series Skins, and then going on to star in the
young adult Maze Runner series.
While Keira Knightley’s own reign in the Pirates
movies is far from over – plot spoiler here, folks –
it’s Scodelario’s lively performance as Carina Smyth
alongside Brenton Thwaites’ Henry Turner in Pirates
of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales that
signals a youthful reboot of the 13-year-old franchise.
Meeting with Scodelario in LA, she talks about
spending six months filming Dead Men... in
Australia alongside Oscar winners Johnny Depp,
Javier Bardem and Geoffrey Rush. “It was amazing
when you looked around the set, thinking ‘Oh, three
Oscars…’ it’s crazy,” recalls the actress. “But there
were other actors I was even more excited to work
with, like Stephen Graham who plays one of the
pirates, who’s one of my favourite British actors of
all time. It was a real honour to get on set with him.
Every day was like a lesson in acting; like going to
the best drama school ever for six months – and it
happened to be on the beach.”
Ask Scodelario what it takes to
be a good actor in such esteemed
company, she demurs, “This is such a
dangerous question…For me personally,
and this might sound slightly cheesy, but I think the
thing I hold on to the dearest is that my friends and
family aren’t from this world, they have nothing to
do with movies, they don’t care, that I can just go to
the pub with and talk about the guys they’re dating
and the dramas on The Bachelor and things like that.
That really grounds me and puts all this stuff into
context for me.”
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
is, by far, her biggest budget movie with all the
luxuries that entails. “Before this, I’d done at
least ten indie movies in England. I’ve filmed
in some real sh-tholes in the world; I’ve been in
a muddy field for hours on end with no trailer and no
coat – and I love all of that. But I try and treat every
job with the exact same level of respect – it doesn’t
matter what the budget is or who the lead actor
is – you should have the same focus and the same
drive and have as much empathy for your character
and understanding of them as you would no matter
what.
“But on something like this the food is so much
better – the food is unbelievable on a movie like this.
The first time I ever saw craft services was on Clash
of the Titans with my friend Nicholas Hoult who
tricked me and said, ‘Do you have your wallet? You
need to pay for that food.’ And I freaked out thinking,
‘Oh my God, I don’t have any money, what am I
going to do? Do you mind lending it to me?’ And the
whole crew started laughing, like ‘it’s free!’ So there
are those crazy differences but, at the heart of it, it
should all be the same.”
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British beauty Kaya Scodelario is poised to take
over from Keira Knightley at the helm of a newly-
invigorated Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, thanks
to her feisty performance in the fifth instalment of the
blockbuster series. Words Gill Pringle
It was amazing when you
looked around the set, thinking
'Oh, three Oscar winners...
022 SEPTEMBER 2017
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Boots on the ground
Scodelario recalls the men complaining about their shoes on-set: “There was a day where all of the men were
complaining about the little heel they had to wear on their boots. All of them were going: ‘Oh these boots! My back is
killing me!’ Big deal! Are you kidding me?” Male co-star Brenton Thwaites deferentially backs down.
“Yeah, respect to the ladies,” he laughs.
• Pirates of
the Caribbean:
Dead Men Tell
No Tales
is out Sept 13
Kaya Scodelario with
Johnny Depp