The experience of making Megalopolis was unlike anything Emmanuel had done before—and it undoubtedly marked a jumping-off point for the kinds of prestige projects that could change the course of her career. Here, before Megalopolis’s world-premiere screening on May 16, she shares how she became involved in the film, the details of her character, and what going to the Cannes Film Festival means to her.
Vogue: Is this your first time going to the festival?
Nathalie Emmanuel: It’s not—I actually went to Cannes in 2018 when they screened a short film that I produced, and I went to a couple of screenings too, but this is my first time going as someone who is in the official selection. It’s slightly surreal. Watching [movies] on that epic screen was kind of amazing.
Everyone’s extremely excited to see this film after so long. How have you tried to describe it?
[Coppola] is not a conformist by any means, and I’ve never seen anything quite like this before. It’s really trying to break barriers and ask big, bold questions. It’s a very artistic and experimental movie.
Let’s go back to the beginning. How did you get involved with it?
[Coppola and I] had an initial meeting that was very informal, and then the pandemic happened. When it did kind of come around again, towards the end of 2021, I ended up having a Zoom with Francis. We played, like, a theater game, and he asked me to choose a line from a song or a movie, then he just said, “Okay, say it in all these different ways…” Like the punchline of a joke, or like you’re breaking bad news to somebody. We talked about the script, and he told me a bit about the character, and then I got the call to say that they’d like me to do it.
Did the script come to you under lock and key?
It didn’t, I just got it in an email. But it was quite hefty.
So what can you tell us about your character, Julia?
She’s the daughter of the mayor, played by Giancarlo Esposito, [who’s] very traditional in his approach to his job and life. He dotes on her and they’re very close. She’s actually incredibly smart but kind of bored, and so she’s out partying rather than applying herself to anything. She finds Caesar, played by Adam Driver, and suddenly she’s being pulled between these two intelligent and powerful men. She’s trying to have agency, but at the cost of the relationship she has with her father. She’s definitely somebody whose experiences I can understand.