{"id":73191,"date":"2023-03-21T16:43:39","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T16:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=73191"},"modified":"2023-03-21T16:43:39","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T16:43:39","slug":"lucy-boynton-talks-playing-marie-antoinette-chevalier-spring-2023-cover","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/lucy-boynton-talks-playing-marie-antoinette-chevalier-spring-2023-cover\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucy Boynton Reigns Supreme in Her Latest Role"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lucy Boynton. Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL coat, earrings, necklaces, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whether you\u2019re a fan of Lucy Boynton<\/a> from her appearances in projects like Bohemian Rhapsody<\/em><\/a> and Ryan Murphy\u2019s The Politician<\/em> or have photos of her avant-garde red carpet beauty looks saved on Pinterest boards, the actress has a certain way of standing out \u2014 no matter which stars surround her. She\u2019s steadily worked since her first role at the age of 12 in the 2006 film Miss Potter<\/em>, and yet, she\u2019s managed to stay out of the headlines and have attention focused solely on one thing: her work.<\/p>\n

So who is the real Lucy Boynton<\/a>? While she says she thinks of show business as her \u201cjob\u201d rather than her \u201centire identity,\u201d the schedule of an actor means a typical day doesn\u2019t really exist. \u201cBecause of this job, it gets you into a strange momentum,\u201d Boynton, 29, tells GRAZIA USA<\/em>. Currently, for instance, she\u2019s in a \u201creally odd jetlag space\u201d and waking up at 3:00 a.m. \u201cI’ll sit up and read in bed or watch something,\u201d the star says. \u201cBeing up at an hour where very few other people are awake has been so cathartic and peaceful and it feels like I’m getting a jump start on my day, but privately, and so that has been a really lovely habit to get into.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lucy Boynton. Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL cape, dress, CHANEL Fine Jewelry earrings, bracelets, and rings, PREMI\u00c8RE \u00c9DITION ORIGINALE watch, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Time off for Boynton includes taking trips home to her native London and catching up on all the things she\u2019s missed while on set. She also values hanging out with friends and family and creating \u201csome semblance of a routine and integrating myself back into my life.\u201d She may even pop by an art class. \u201cI really, really love pottery painting, especially those evenings where you can bring a bottle of wine,\u201d she shares. \u201cI have an embarrassment of a collection of painted bowls and mugs, but it’s so cathartic and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lucy Boynton. Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL jacket, earrings, necklaces, bracelet, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boynton keeps her personal life intensely private, which means fans won\u2019t find her sharing on Instagram<\/a> photos of her love life (she\u2019s been tied to actor Rami Malek<\/a>), or, say, nights at the pottery studio. For the actress, the healthiest way to approach social media is doing what comes naturally. \u201cI really value it, but I realize that I value it when I’m using it for work,\u201d she says. \u201cIt doesn’t make sense to me to use it to kind of showcase my private life. I just don\u2019t really have an instinct to show friends or family on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lucy Boynton. Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL vest, top, pants, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, pumps, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lately, she\u2019s been busy creating posts to promote her new film, Chevalier<\/em>, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and will hit theaters on April 21. The drama tells the story of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the son of a slave and a French plantation owner, who ascends in French society because of his musical talent as a conductor, composer and violin virtuoso. Bologne (played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.) befriends \u2014 then falls out with \u2014 Marie Antoinette, portrayed by Boynton.<\/p>\n

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Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL vest, top, pants, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, pumps, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL vest, top, pants, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, pumps, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taking on the role of the controversial political figure initially caused the actress pause. \u201cMy first question was whether or not we needed to hear a voice like that of Marie Antoinette at the moment,\u201d Boynton explains. \u201cAnd then I read the script and I felt quite embarrassed by my kind of presumption. I think it was based on this preconceived idea that I had of her, which isn’t necessarily accurate. It’s just been shaped by the cultural representation of her, in the way that she’s been kind of villainized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to screenwriter Stefani Robinson\u2019s \u201cfresh take\u201d on the era and how it \u201cpulls it right into the zeitgeist and brings such cultural relevance to it,\u201d Boynton got on board.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first heard the name, Joseph Bologne, I assumed that I wasn’t familiar with him at all. It didn’t ring familiar,\u201d the actress recalls. \u201cAnd then I realized that he is who a lot of historians or historical texts have referred to as \u2018Black Mozart.\u2019 I had a really interesting conversation with Stephen Williams, the director, about the erasure of people by attributing them to usually successful white men. And too often, that rhetoric is \u2018the Black version of \u2019 or \u2018the female version of.\u2019 It\u2019s a really strategic way to erase someone and kind of redirect credit elsewhere. Therefore, right from the get-go, this whole thing has been such an education.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lucy Boynton. Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL jacket, pants, earrings, necklace, sandals, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boynton notes she\u2019s grateful for Robinson\u2019s research and for the work of the historian and fact checker on the film. \u201cI think it’s really highlighted the gaps in our historical knowledge, and it’s a good reminder that these history textbooks and our curriculum has had a very specific author and it\u2019s important to really challenge yourself and read outside of that in order to get the full picture,\u201d she says. \u201cI’m just really proud to be a part of shining a light on that story.”<\/p>\n

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Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL jacket, earrings, necklace, rings, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL jacket, earrings, necklace, rings, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When it came to her role, Boynton says she was \u201cinformed\u201d by past portrayals of Marie Antoinette in pop culture, but she knew it would be impossible to show the \u201centirety of a human being\u201d in a 90-minute movie \u2014 especially one that wasn\u2019t centered on her character. That gave her, she says, \u201cpermission to just channel what is important in this story.\u201d In this case, that was the queen\u2019s friendship with Bologne.<\/p>\n

Boynton typically doesn\u2019t have a prescribed method for choosing roles, nor does she have a bucket list of specific projects she wants to be a part of. Rather, it\u2019s \u201cusually quite instinctive,\u201d she says. \u201cIt’s a combination of seeing who’s already attached, especially the director, because I think if you share the same ultimate goal as the director, in terms of your character and the message of the story and the goals in the takeaway of the film, then it makes for a really exciting process and a really creatively liberating and collaborative one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next on her to-do list, Boynton will be working on an indie movie she feels \u201creally passionate about,\u201d and she\u2019ll be tackling a project with a director she\u2019s wanted to work with for years. \u201cThe thing that excites me most is the idea of being caught off guard or just emotionally affected by the script and the character and getting that adrenaline rush of \u2018I must do this, and I can’t wait to start.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL pullover, pants, earrings, necklace, bracelets, sandals, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL pullover, pants, earrings, necklace, bracelets, sandals, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That passion for acting ignited in Boynton at 10 years old, when a \u201cgame changer\u201d drama teacher started at her school. \u201cWe had science teachers doubling as drama teachers and it was something that wasn’t taken seriously at all,\u201d Boynton recalls. The new teacher explained technique, gave validity to the craft and \u201cintroduced acting to us as an opportunity to discover someone else’s experience and live outside of our own life and our own self for a period of time,” Boynton says. \u201cI had no concept of how to get there and how to do it. I didn’t know any actors, but I knew that it was something I really loved and felt passionate about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boynton considers herself lucky to have found her passion early on. \u201cOnce you start to gear yourself in a certain direction, you become very determined, and everything works towards feeding that ambition,\u201d she says. \u201cTo be able to start doing that at 11, 12 years old, I just feel really grateful. I was working with the kindest, most nurturing directors and producers and other actors and I can’t believe how fortunate my introduction to this industry was.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL dress, CHANEL Fine Jewelry earrings, rings,
(800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One lesson she learned at the beginning was to continually redefine what success means to her. \u201cI was given the advice that it\u2019s going to change constantly as you grow up, but just keep checking in with yourself and keep deciding and defining for yourself what happiness and success is,\u201d she shares. \u201cJust the acknowledgement that [it] will change as you grow up gives you so much leeway to keep reengaging with what your own goals are. And it keeps you much more sane, I think, to do that rather than trying to fulfill some prescription of what success or happiness should look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL jacket, pants, earrings, bracelet, sandals, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Lucy Boynton. Photographs by Nicole Nodland. Styled by J. Errico. Hair by Leigh Keates. Makeup by Alex Babsky. CHANEL coat, earrings, necklaces, (800) 550-0005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What does \u201csuccess\u201d look like for Boynton at this moment? \u201cIt’s finding balance. It\u2019s giving my personal life and home life as much attention and feeding and watering as much as I have spent doing it for my work,\u201d she explains. \u201cBeing present for friends and life events has made me really happy recently, so I’m definitely putting more effort into that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boynton adds the last few years have been the best of her career thanks to the projects she\u2019s worked on, and she wants to keep the momentum going. \u201cI’ve been so happy, and I’ve been sitting back and trying to understand what that equation was that made the last couple of years so joyful,\u201d she shares. \u201cBut ultimately, I think [the goal is] balance, as cringe and clich\u00e9 as it is, and staying true to yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read GRAZIA USA<\/em>\u2019s Spring issue featuring cover star Lucy Boynton:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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