Getting Dressed With Tessa Thompson

TESSA THOMPSON: Well, I really love getting made up but I’m not skilled at it. It’s not something I do a lot of, necessarily. But even in my career I feel like so much happens for me with costume, makeup and hair. There’s something transformative about changing the way you look. When it comes to red carpet stuff, I feel like [I’m playing] a character. Like tonight, I’m a character.

TT: I’m wearing this Schiaparelli dress, this yellow gown. I’ve never done something that feels Old Hollywood—I guess I’m more interested in doing things that feel interesting. And I find the pressure to look “beautiful” sort of oppressive! That’s why I tend to wear things that feel more interesting, because then I relinquish myself of that responsibility. But tonight is just a really, really pretty dress. It’s kind of princess-y. I was just taken by the color. But I’m having a two dress night—I have a slip dress for the after-party. There’s also something magic about that Cinderella moment—pouf, the dress disappears at 10 p.m.!

TT: Yeah I loved it. Partially because I’m maybe not so good at doing that in my waking life. I’m a lady of leisure, I like to hang out and read. In my work, I like to do things that leave me with a more expansive idea of who I am. Or to take on roles I’m not even sure I can do—the physicality in this was daunting to me and I had to figure it out and work hard at it. And also this idea that, because so much of the work that you do as an actress is subjective, when you’re doing something so physical there’s an objectively good way to do it. You work with a stunt team and it’s good or it’s bad. And I liked that actually, having a clear barometer of accomplishment. There’s something so absolute. You can measure it.

TT: I would say that I don’t have much to compare it to, but that’s a lie. My Dad moved to New York when I was nine, so I grew up part-time in Brooklyn, and because of my work I travel so much. And certainly I’ve been to parts of the country I wouldn’t have [otherwise] traveled to. Which is great, because it’s really insular being only in Los Angeles or New York. But I was just texting with my Dad because I grew up very much in Hollywood—my Dad had a studio on Yucca and Ivar, and we would walk down to Hollywood Boulevard just to do errands and go to the library and stuff. The premiere tonight is at the El Capitan, and my Dad was saying what a trip it is for him to be back there. Before the Roosevelt was trendy, we used to go and use the pool there. And that’s where the after-party is—so it’s this odd, full-circle thing. I think a lot of people in the industry have come from elsewhere, and Hollywood to them is a notion. To me, it’s just a place that needs street cleaning.

TT: If I wasn’t in a hotel room?! I would say one thing I really love about LA—and I miss when I’m in New York—is the dinner party. Also the potluck. It’s such a Los Angeles thing to get together and have a weird combination of food. Because no one has bothered to give a thematic idea of what to bring [laughs]. Those tend to be my favorite meals. And, because it’s LA, having to hear about people’s dietary restrictions once you’re there. But me and my girlfriends are really fond of that sort of a night. I also like to go to this Korean spa called Olympic Spa, and they’re open until 10 p.m. Or [you can] go there in the daytime and when you leave it’s pitch black outside.

TT: When I’m working a lot, I have those blue eye drops that you can get in Paris. And tea tree oil tooth picks—I really like those! And Marc Jacobs lip color in the shade No Angel. It’s kind of close to my natural lip color.

TT: If I look back at films that had a profound affect on me, I think of Amelie – I remember the tagline was “she’ll change your life.” And I felt really changed! I remember leaving that theatre, and I was not a French girl with a perfect bob, but there was something about the story. It was so thoughtful and alive, and it spoke to something honest. A longing for and a simultaneous fear of a great love which alters you. And if you could be a part of making something like that, that feels so classic. And the Sally Potter film Orlando [which deals with] ideas of gender and identity. I loved Bowie and Prince from a young age, so seeing experiences that capture that [same perspective]. As a kid I was always really interested in identity and how arbitrary it can seem, what a performance it was.

TT: It’s Prince! It really is. But honestly, for the red carpet thing we were looking at lots of images of Diane Kruger! I just thought, she looks good all the time [laughs]! But I hear she dresses herself, she does her own makeup sometimes, and she always makes it look easy. But yes, Prince, he’s my number one.