Five Minutes With: Eva Green

Five Minutes With: Eva Green
The elusive Eva takes time to talk to MiNDFOOD about her love of music, what she lives for and where she goes to escape.

Currently starring in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, the fabulously glamorous and offbeat Eva Green, 38, talks to MiNDFOOD about myriad subjects – from whether she’s ‘hot’ enough for Hollywood to her childhood fear of clowns. A former Bond Girl (Casino Royale) and regular on the TV show, Penny Dreadful, was born in Paris. She exudes an old-fashioned mysterious quality rarely seen in modern actresses, that same quality has guaranteed her a career in film.

Miss Peregrine is described as mysterious, smart and tough. Some might would say this was a perfect fit.

(laughs) Well, I like to think so. I try.

What do you like about this beloved literary character?

She’s so cool. She looks after all these gorgeous children and smokes the pipe (laughs). And also, it’s the first time I am not playing the love interest.

Do you smoke?

Not anymore. I used to be a smoker but I stopped 3 years ago.

Thinking about the word peculiar – when have you felt peculiar in your life?

I always felt a bit peculiar. I think lots of people have felt at some point quite different. People say I’m weird but I don’t feel weird – so maybe I am weird! (laughs). I have black hair, I felt strange as a child, I was very shy, scared of going to birthday parties and clowns.

What scares you now?

Oh, God, lots of things in this world. I don’t know where to start. Greed, pollution. Greed mostly.

Do you have any pets?

I have a dog but my sister looks after him. He’s a Border Terrier. His name is Mr. Griffin.

How do you get along with your sister?

My sister lives in Italy so I don’t see her very often but we Skype. She has two beautiful children that I adore. She has a vineyard so she makes her own wine. Yeah, it’s very cool.

How does she look after your dog in Italy?

Well, she’s more her dog now, which is the truth. It’s kind of very sad. It’s hard to travel with a dog. On the Eurostar you can’t have your dog with you which I hope one day they will make it happen.

How do you like being in LA? It doesn’t seem like your kind of town?

Im kind of I’m okay with L.A. now. At the beginning I was very intimidated but now I actually like it, but it took me a while. I think a lot of actors feel strange in L.A. You always feel like you are being judged. Are you hot, are you not hot? It’s a strange business.

Are you a vegetarian?

Yeah, almost a vegan. I cheat sometimes but I’m a vegan, yeah. Very Hollywood (laughs).

Do you have a favourite way of treating yourself?

Yeah, I love walking and I like long hikes, walking in the mountains, climbing.

What does time mean to you? Do you wear a watch?

Oh, I hate watches in real life. I can’t wear a watch because I would look at it every second. It’s kind of an addiction (laughs). I think maybe it reminds me of school or something. I need to be on time. I’m kind of a freak about it. I’m like my father, who’s Swedish so it’s all about being on time. But I don’t have an agenda and I don’t like rules too much.

How do you feel about the passage of time?

I feel it’s accelerating as I get older.

You’re often associated with dark roles – do you worry about being typecast?

I feel like people feel reassured when they put people in a box, put a label on it and of course I have this label saying ‘femme fatale, Gothic.’ I feel like I’m so not like this and I’ve done other things as well. When I hear the word ‘dark’ I don’t know what it means. For me, I like dense, complex stuff, I want something intense so maybe that is dark but I don’t want to be typecast. That’s quite scary and actually the movie that I just did with Alicia Vikander (Euphoria), I don’t look very sexy in it and there’s no kind playing the femme fatale. I don’t want to be just a facade.

Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘Why did I get into this business?’

I don’t know. Yeah, it’s such a tough industry and I feel sometimes that I will reach a point when I’m like, ‘Enough! I can’t do this anymore!’ Being judged all the time and your agent or whoever will say to you no, ‘You’re not hot enough.’ It is tough, yeah.

Where do you live?

London.

How would you describe your apartment? Is it modern? Is it antique?

No, it looks oh, God, it’s a mixture of Asian-Indian. It looks like a temple, like a bubble. A bit baroque, yeah.

What do you like about pipes?

There’s something so wonderful and something so weird and the smell of it, it’s very sweet. I feel like I’m a man, like a detective. It’s very cool.

You’re wearing some interesting rings..

Oh, the rings. Yeah, I’ve got several like this. Its a kind of a good luck ring. I’m a bit nervous when I do interviews so it’s kind of like my armour. Its a Russian designer I can’t pronounce her name correctly. It’s Elena Okutova. I go on her website. She has a Facebook page and she is, again quite baroque and very colourful and kind of magical. There’s a world in each stone almost like crystal ball or something, yeah.

What music do you listen to?

All kinds. I like jazz, classic, alternative. Music is important in my life.

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