<text class="_textbox_x434h_15" direction="ltr" height="11.88299560546875" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" textlength="139.78759765625" x="755.5181884765625" y="-378.2275085449219" data-test="textbox">With her portrayal of </text><text class="_textbox_x434h_15" direction="ltr" height="11.88299560546875" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" textlength="74.61474609375" x="898.7564697265625" y="-378.2275085449219" data-test="textbox">Jean Seberg </text><text class="_textbox_x434h_15" direction="ltr" height="11.3389892578125" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" textlength="13.115478515625" x="976.7581176757812" y="-378.2275085449219" data-test="textbox">in 'Nouvelle Vague</text><text class="_textbox_x434h_15" direction="ltr" height="2.60101318359375" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" textlength="2.77099609375" x="1087.84716796875" y="-378.2275085449219" data-test="textbox">,' </text><text class="_textbox_x434h_15" direction="ltr" height="11.88299560546875" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" textlength="75.25732421875" x="775.2625122070312" y="-362.2275085449219" data-test="textbox">the actor </text><text class="_textbox_x434h_15" direction="ltr" height="11.88299560546875" lengthadjust="spacingAndGlyphs" textlength="218.85797119140625" x="850.8427124023438" y="-362.2275085449219" data-test="textbox">proves she&rsquo;s true movie-star material.</text>

PHOTOGRAPHY David Roemer
STYLED BY Emma Jade Morrison&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s Zoey Deutch&rsquo;s 31st birthday, and things aren&rsquo;t going as planned. The actress woke up sick, and she&rsquo;s chugging Vitamin C&ndash;packed drinks in the backyard of her Los Angeles home while also battling a mosquito that simply won&rsquo;t stop biting her. Despite her physical setbacks and having to cancel her plans for the &ldquo;perfect day&rdquo;&mdash;a visit with her sister and baby niece, lunch with her best friend, a massage, and a cozy movie at home&mdash;Deutch is feeling good. She&rsquo;s coming off a busy fall that saw her not only star in three movies&mdash;as a commitment-phobic waitress in the romantic comedy The Threesome, a sleeping-pill&ndash;addicted environmental lawyer in the political thriller Anniversary, and as acting legend Jean Seberg in the French New Wave&ndash;set dramedy Nouvelle Vague&mdash;but also get engaged to her longtime partner, actor and comedian Jimmy Tatro, in September. All in all, she can&rsquo;t complain.
&ldquo;I'm having a lot more fun now than I did in my twenties,&rdquo; she says over Zoom. &ldquo;I vividly remember people in their thirties expressing how grateful they were to no longer be in their twenties. Everything that they said is true: It&rsquo;s so much better.&rdquo; Although she&rsquo;s been acting professionally since she was 15, Deutch&mdash;the daughter of actor and director Lea Thompson and director Howard Deutch&mdash;has stayed grounded. &ldquo;I'm always surprised when people aren't humble,&rdquo; she says of life in the Hollywood bubble. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like, Are you in a different business? Because I find it to be so humbling, just the sheer shame of it all.&rdquo;&nbsp;
As she enters her next year of life, Deutch is taking a more considered approach. &ldquo;Focus is the word that comes to mind,&rdquo; she says. Her IMDB page&mdash;which she admits &ldquo;to opening all the time&rdquo; to recall her ever-growing list of credits&mdash;reflects her impressive acting range, with roles in rom-coms like Set It Up and Something From Tiffany&rsquo;s and thrillers like Juror #2 and The Outfit. But casting a wide net, project-wise, wasn&rsquo;t necessarily strategic. &ldquo;In the past, I struggled when I would hear people talk about crafting a perfect career, as if you're entitled or able to do that,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;My approach was always, Work begets work. Keep working, keep going, keep at it. And while I don't think that I have the power to decide exactly how things are going to go, I do feel like I can approach it a bit differently.&rdquo;&nbsp;

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It makes sense that creative control is on Deutch&rsquo;s mind: It&rsquo;s the theme of her latest film, Nouvelle Vague. A black-and-white, documentary-style retelling of the production of Jean-Luc Godard&rsquo;s groundbreaking 1959 crime drama Breathless, starring Seberg, the project was a decade in the making. Deutch first spoke with director Richard Linklater about the late legend on the set of the 2016 comedy Everybody Wants Some!! Once it was officially greenlit, Deutch learned to speak French, nailed the Iowa-born movie star&rsquo;s unique accent, and physically transformed into Seberg, blonde pixie cut and all.
L&rsquo;OFFICIEL: You just won the Breakthrough Performance Award at SCAD&rsquo;s Savannah Film Festival and the Rising Star Award at the Denver Film Festival for Nouvelle Vague. How do you feel?&nbsp;
ZOEY DEUTCH: It&rsquo;s lovely to be acknowledged, but I just feel lucky to be a part of something that&rsquo;s so personal for Rick [Linklater]. He'd been wanting to make this movie for 15 years; it's his love letter to French cinema, to Godard, and to the people who inspired him to be the filmmaker that he is today.&nbsp;
L&rsquo;O: You&rsquo;ve been acting since you were a child. Did you ever consider pursuing another path?&nbsp;
ZD: I always loved clothing and imagined I&rsquo;d be a fashion designer and an actress. As I got older, we did things like mock trials in school&mdash;one of my biggest claims to fame is that I won; I still have the gavel. So there was a moment where I considered becoming a lawyer, which my father was very excited about. But acting is the thing that I always knew I wanted to do. Maybe I'll play a lawyer one day.

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L&rsquo;O: And you could still design a fashion line. But would you want to?&nbsp;
ZD: I think I'm okay. [Laughs] I do still love fashion&mdash;and as I got to know myself more, I started to feel like the outfits I was wearing were so not me. In my teens and early twenties, I remember telling my publicists, stylists, and hair and makeup people that I never wanted a director to Google me and be like, Oh, she's that kind of girl. I was so afraid of being pigeonholed, but the downside of always looking different is no one knows who I am. I go to parties with people I&rsquo;ve made three movies with, and I'll have to be like, Hey, guys&hellip;it's me, Zoey. All because I changed my hair.
L&rsquo;O: You cut your hair into a pixie for Nouvelle Vague. Have you ever physically committed to a role like this before?&nbsp;
ZD: I have done things for lots of movies that no one's seen. [Laughs] That's part of the intentional thing: If I work this hard, I want people to see it. That wasn't something that factored into my decision-making before; I was just like, I love to act. Now I'm working really hard and would love for people to see that work. It's funny that that never dawned on me. I wasn't like, How is this film going to do? I didn&rsquo;t think that was important&hellip;and that's on growing the fuck up.&nbsp;

Now I'm working really hard and would love for people to see that work. It's funny that that never dawned on me.

L&rsquo;O: Did your energy change during your pixie era?
ZD: Well, the way people acted towards me was different. I found the attachment that other people had to my hair interesting, because I didn't care. American men were so embarrassing about it; they were very perturbed by the fact that I cut my long hair. When I got to France, it was like, Oh, you're so cute.
L&rsquo;O: What was it like to step into Seberg&rsquo;s shoes?
ZD: She's viewed not only as a cinematic figure and style icon, but also as someone who bravely aligned herself with causes far outside of the Hollywood world, and at great personal cost. It was really meaningful to me to portray this moment of her life, where, yes, she was skeptical and anxious and exasperated, but there's still joy and youth and humor. There's such a dark cloud of sadness that looms when people say her name, because of what comes later [Seberg&rsquo;s suicide at age 40]. It was an honor to bring a bit of lightness to her.

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L&rsquo;O: What surprised you most about the role?
ZD: How uncomfortable it made me to act in a different language. I started learning French two years before we made the movie, but the most surprising thing was how differently you're perceived when you're speaking a different language and also acting in a different language. It was a challenge. Seberg was also learning French, and she said that she felt insecure at times, navigating Godard's abstract direction and lack of emotional guidance, but she respected his intellect and artistry.
L&rsquo;O: Seberg famously wanted to quit Breathless because of Godard&rsquo;s behavior. If you were in her position, would you have quit?
ZD: You can't quit. [Laughs] That's not allowed. I've definitely been a part of projects where I wish I could have quit, but no, you can't. You&rsquo;ve just got to deal with it.
L&rsquo;O: You starred in your mom's 2017 directorial debut, The Year of Spectacular Men. Did you see her in a different light on that set?
ZD: I was so proud of her. I think there's a real false sense that actors have some semblance of control of things, when really, you have zero control. My mom had spent 35 years in the business with other people in charge, so it was really special to see her take control. She's always the smartest and kindest person in the room.

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L&rsquo;O: Having studied the French New Wave&mdash;and grown up in Hollywood&mdash;are you nostalgic for anything in the industry&rsquo;s past?
ZD: I'm nostalgic for a time when people made more of an effort to go to the theaters. I wish that collective experience was still a big part of our lives. It's not, and that&rsquo;s sad. I have to say&mdash;and I probably will get pushback for this&mdash;but the only thing consistent with every single period [of film] is people complaining about how difficult the industry is. It&rsquo;s not a new hurdle; it just finds new ways to be difficult. So when people say, The business is really tough right now, I'm like, Was there a time when people weren't saying this? I'm not discrediting; I'm just saying it's not new, and we have to find ways to adapt and continue to make art. That is what Nouvelle Vague and the New Wave period were about: the industry was challenging and they couldn't get their movies made, so they did it their way. So, be inspired to go do it your way.

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L&rsquo;O: You starred in Our Town on Broadway in 2024. Would you take on another theater role?&nbsp;
ZD: Yes. Do you have a job for me? [Laughs] I needed to take a pause after last time, because it's a different type of time commitment where you can't just go home for one day. I&rsquo;ve gotten used to having the ability to come home for a Saturday&mdash;see my partner, see my dog, touch grass, and then go back. There just wasn&rsquo;t enough time to go to LA, so I needed a break, but I want to get back there soon.&nbsp;

I think there's a real false sense that actors have some semblance of control of things, when really, you have zero control.

L&rsquo;O: Do you read about yourself online?
ZD: For the longest time, I read everything. When IMDB message boards existed, I looked at every comment. As someone who consumed press and media growing up, I always believed where there was smoke, there was fire. If there was enough of a rumor, there probably was some truth to it. And that's just so not true. I was making a movie in Savannah, and there was a whole thing about me&mdash;a podcast about someone I was dating, which was literally on-a-different-planet wrong&mdash;and they were speaking about it so confidently. I was so disturbed. [Juror #2 co-star] Nicholas Hoult did voodoo magic on me and was like, You will not look at any of that, ever again. And I didn't.
L&rsquo;O: Boundaries are healthy.&nbsp;
ZD: We like boundaries. But I also think our generation&mdash;or maybe the generation below us&mdash;has gotten confused and overcorrected. They&rsquo;re overly boundaried.

L&rsquo;O: You&rsquo;ve been vocal about Katharine Hepburn influencing your career. Is she your style icon?&nbsp;
ZD: She&rsquo;s my everything icon, but definitely more from an acting perspective. I had never seen an actress do what she did.
L&rsquo;O: If you could swap closets with any actress, who would it be?
ZD: I don't know when it happened, but that closet refresh that Jen Lawrence has had is not to be believed. I drool at every $3 billion shirt she's wearing to the park.&nbsp;
L&rsquo;O: You and your mom are famously big vintage shoppers. Do you still thrift together?
ZD: My sister, my mom, and I love going to estate sales and thrift stores together. That's our bonding thing. It's been a minute, but we'll get back into it and go dig.

From Left: Top and bag PRADA; Jacket, top, shirt, and belt PRADA Bracelet PRADA ETERNAL GOLD

L&rsquo;O: What's the best vintage piece you've scored?
ZD: I grew up going to Montana a lot, and there was just the best stuff. People didn't know what they had there. I think my number-one most-worn thing ever is a red zip-up jacket with a collar, kind of a workwear vibe. My whole house is that red, too.&nbsp;
L&rsquo;O: You got engaged this fall. What&rsquo;s your approach to the bridal era?
ZD: I have no idea. Maybe my bridal era will just be this [points to sweatshirt]. This is off-white, right? I'm not sure yet; it&rsquo;s early days. But it's fun. We're really happy to be in this phase of the relationship; we didn't want to immediately rush into planning. We wanted to enjoy this time, which we have been.

L&rsquo;O: You might have a busy awards season ahead of you, too.
ZD: Listen, I just go where I&rsquo;m told and I have a good time. I'm so lucky&mdash;and so happy&mdash;to be here. It's easy to get jaded&mdash;or to go to these places and feel unimportant, or not cool, or not worthy. What's the more interesting route? To genuinely meet someone new, have a good conversation, and have a good time. You're in control of that, and I guess it comes with age and experience. It&rsquo;s funny because I had on my to-do list today to write a bit about what I hope for this year; not necessarily accomplishments, but I wanted to see what came out on the page. Talking about all of this feels like a sign from the universe to actually go do it&hellip;you know, instead of just rotting and finding some spooky reality show that destroys brain cells.

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HAIR: Ricky Fraser THE WALL GROUP
MAKEUP: Kelsey Deenihan THE WALL GROUP
PROPS: Guerin Design
CREATIVE CONSULTANT: Mariana Suplicy
PRODUCED BY: Simon Schwarz, Enid Robbins, and Peter Roth NO-NAME PRODUCTIONS
DIGITAL TECH: Dave Klaus
LIGHTING: Paul Gillmore
STYLING ASSISTANTS: Bota Abdul and Madison Dobson
HAIR ASSISTANT: Quincy Spaulding THE WALL GROUP

The Evolution of Zoey Deutch

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