Kaya Scodelario’s barometer for whether one of her projects is good?
Airport security.
“The test is always immigration in the U.S.,” says the British actress. “Whenever you say what you do, they’re always like, ‘Oh, what have you been in? I don’t know you from anything.’ But ‘The Gentlemen’ is one of the few ones where they’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, yeah, I know what that is. Come on.’”
The actress — who broke out in “Skins” and went on to star in films like “Wuthering Heights” and “The Maze Runner” — is currently Stateside on a family holiday, a few weeks before the release of the Netflix show’s second season. “This is always the fun bit, before it goes out into the world, where I still don’t know how it’s gonna be taken,” she says, adding that the pre-release buildup is also a welcome opportunity to reunite and celebrate with her costars.
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Although not yet sure how viewers would receive the new season, she did know that viewers loved the first one, which earned a Golden Globe nomination for best musical or comedy television series, and Scodelario a Gotham TV Awards acting nomination for her portrayal of Susie Glass.
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Heading into the latest season, “We all very actively wanted to drive the stakes up a little bit,” Scodelario says. “It’s really important that the show keeps the humor and the fun-ness that people love about it, but we wanted to give these characters a real kind of challenge,” she adds. “It takes a slightly darker turn, but not in a way that ever overwhelms you or leaves the DNA of the show.”
The new season, which was released on Sept. 3, dives deeper into the dynamic between business partners Susie and Eddie, portrayed by Theo James, and also explores Susie’s past through the introduction of a new character from her past.
“We get an insight into who she was before this empire,” Scodelario says. “For me, her whole motivation this season is to get out [from] under her father’s shadow. It’s to establish herself in a business that she’s really good at, but is still kind of a foot soldier in,” she adds. “It was exploring how she navigates her own path within this business. That obviously means she makes some choices that her father probably wouldn’t agree with — and that I don’t know if I agreed with.”
Scodelario’s innate understanding of Susie emerged as soon as she read the audition sides for the character, and has grown stronger with the new season. “I just could feel her instantly. I knew her voice. I knew her mannerisms,” she says. “There was something about her that felt like picking up an old glove and slipping it back on again.”
She quite literally slipped back into Susie’s world, and credits show costume designer Loulou Bontemps’ approach to highlighting the character’s authority, without tapping into the usual tropes of women’s power dressing (aka, pencil skirt suit sets). Much of Susie’s wardrobe was sourced from vintage markets around London, creating an aesthetic identity that is distinctly her own.
“We play with the idea that [Susie] changes her outfits based on her environment, which is a savvy move on her part,” Scodelario says. “She wants to always make the other person feel comfortable so she can gain their trust.” That translates to tweeds and classic British tailoring when Susie is out at the countryside Halstead Manor. In the new season, the characters travel to Italy for three episodes. “We got to play around with some Dolce and Gabbana pieces, some vintage Versace pieces, leopard print and headscarves,” Scodelario adds. “Susie has this great chameleon-esque way of adapting to her situation, and the clothes are a really easy way of doing that and showing how smart she is.”
While Scodelario has already TSA’s stamp of approval, the series, which has been renewed for a third season, also appeals to her friends and her friends’ parents alike.
“It’s one of the few projects I’ve done where every generation has watched it. And I think that’s to do with Guy Ritchie being such a consistent thread in the fabric of British cinema,” she says of the show’s broad fan base.
“It has such a wide range of audience, and that to me is always a joy, because that means everyone can share it and enjoy it and talk about it,” she continues. “We shouldn’t want to please everyone, because that is impossible. But with this one, it actually is a joy to see the responses and to see how much people have enjoyed watching it.”