.aesthetic talk
ELIZABETH DULAU on Identity
*Transformation Characters Across Star Wars, Netflix & Stage
written + interview Alban E. Smajli
Actor Elizabeth Dulau is entering a season shaped by roles with weight—political, historical, emotional. As Kleya Marki in Andor, she returns to the Star Wars universe for its final chapter, joining Diego Luna and Stellan Skarsgård.
Her presence remains precise and charged with a quiet urgency. In House of Guinness, created by Steven Knight for Netflix, she plays Lady Henrietta. The story follows the Guinness family across Ireland and New York in the 19th century, navigating legacy and fracture after the death of Benjamin Guinness. Dulau also voices the Piebald Deer in Wicked, a brief but memorable role.
She has appeared in Maternal, All The Light We Cannot See, The Outlaws, and Gentleman Jack, building a body of work that feels grounded and deliberate. Each performance speaks in its own register. In this interview, Elizabeth shares thoughts on transformation, emotional access, and the quieter moments that shape a role.
dress SPORTMAX
earrings BONVO
Alban E. Smajli
You’re orbiting galaxies in Andor, slipping into corsets for House of Guinness, and voicing trembling deer in Wicked—what does it feel like to be a shapeshifter in a world constantly asking for identity?
Elizabeth Dulau
Yeah, this is an important discussion. I am a firm believer that actors should be allowed to transform into people far removed from themselves but there are boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed. There are some lanes that I very clearly do not belong in and that’s ok, that’s someone else’s lane. There’s still scope for shapeshifting within the lanes available to you.
I think it’s also important to acknowledge however, that a person’s identity can in many ways change throughout their life. This pressure to clearly define oneself is something that feels counterintuitive to me. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realised actually being more of a shapeshifter in some respects feels natural to me and maybe that is part of my identity. It allows for growth and change and playing and to be honest that is why I’m drawn to being an actor. It allows me to really explore all the different sides of myself. To be honest, none of the roles I’ve played (yes, even the deer in Wicked) feel like someone other than myself. Every character feels like a singular thread of myself I pull on and enhance in order to transform.
The industry often feels like a theatre within a theatre. Where do you find the unscripted moments that still feel real?
I think these moments are found in the people you meet. Every now and then you’ll come across a real gem of a person with whom you can drop any professional guard and just be a messy human. I’ve certainly found that with Jacob James Beswick on Andor and Jennifer Macbeth on Maternal. People like them don’t come along often and I think it’s important to sit up and take notice when they do.
House of Guinness is soaked in legacy and loss. How do you personally move through stories drenched in history without getting stuck in the past?
When playing any character that is in a situation far removed from your own it’s important to remind yourself that your shared humanity connects you. Yes, do your research on the world in which they live, the etiquette, the politics, the faith systems but they are still a flawed person just like you. They will feel love, desire, rage, jealousy, grief and you can access their inner lives through your own experience of these things.
You’ve been part of massive universes (Star Wars) and deeply intimate dramas (Maternal). Which scale do you dream in?
My god I LOVE this question! I think my dreams range throughout many different scales. I am a big daydreamer and was often made to think it was a problem. I was constantly told to stop daydreaming and concentrate! But I realised while I was at drama school that my daydreaming is what helps me connect to my characters. I can happily spend hours dreaming up backstories for my characters to enrich their presence. I like to take the same approach to my own life too, dreaming up an ideal future for myself to then take steps towards it.
Fashion—do you see it as armour, as performance, or as rebellion? Or something more private?
I see it as all of the above. Fashion is one of the most accessible forms of self-expression and we’re always expressing ourselves with it whether we realise it or not. What we choose to cover ourselves with externally reflects something that’s going on internally. Maybe it’s a front, armour, a performance or a truly authentic expression of how we’re feeling in that moment. I love using fashion as a mode of creativity and character. When filming self-tapes for an audition, a really easy way to feel like that character might be throwing on a shirt or a pair of shoes that make you walk differently. In our everyday lives we can put on a different combination of pieces that make us feel like a subtly different version of ourselves and that feels so exciting to me.
dress + shoes SPORTMAX
earrings BONVO
coat SELF-PORTRAIT
tights FALKE
shoes ROGER VIVIER
belt + earrings FASHION ARCHIVE
“None of the roles I’ve played (yes, even the deer in Wicked) feel like someone other than myself.”
Elizabeth Dulau speaks with Alban E. Smajli
for LE MILE Digital SS25
How do you prepare for a role that requires emotional submersion—but still demands you show up, camera-ready, hair lit, line perfect?
All the camera-ready elements I don’t even think about. That’s someone else’s job. I let them look after that. As for the emotional submersion, there are a combination of factors at play. Good prep is always a winner. Again, I will often use daydreaming in the run up to a shoot to flesh out their life. I also use music a lot. Music accesses a part of our brains that logic simply can’t, so I create various playlists for each character and just before we shoot I’ll listen to a song that’s helpful. But the moment the director calls action I let go of all that prep and just focus on my scene partner, trying to change them and allowing myself to be changed by them. You have to trust that all your prep is there in the background without you having to hold on to it.
There’s a certain hush in your roles—quiet strength, subversion, layered tension. Where does that stillness come from?
I think this comes from a certain amount of internal conflict. I’m often drawn to characters whose outer projection is quite different to their inner lives. Kleya for example has a very cold and controlled exterior but I played her with the conviction that deep underneath all those external layers is someone who loves very deeply and holds a lot of hurt and rage. There’s something a little wild in her. I think this sense of stillness is born from the tension between those inner and outer lives. I’m suspended between the two.
Imagine a film directed by your future self—what genre would it be, and what would the costume department look like?
I’m very intrigued by sci-fi actually. I think it’s a really useful tool with which to ask questions about our world. And I have lots of questions! The costumes would probably be pretty elaborate. I’d need to get Michael Wilkinson on the team!
You’ve been part of a galaxy far, far away and now a dynasty built on stout. What story hasn’t been told yet, that you're dying to step inside?
I’m really inspired by filmmakers like Mark Ruffalo who use film as a form of activism, shining a light on important issues. Personally, I think there are more stories that need to be told about the climate crisis because there’s still so much apathy towards this issue.
The real change would only come about when government and major corporations commit to change but I believe we could bring about that change if we collectively put enough pressure on them. There’s so much potential for film and TV to create social movements, just look at Netflix’s Adolescence or ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office. Both dramas created such a huge public response that the government took action and maybe there’s scope to do the same with the climate crisis.
talent ELIZABETH DULAU
photographer ANTONIO EUGENIO
stylist PRUE FISHER
hair ERIKA NEUMANN
male up PHOEBE HEARD
photographer assistant DANIEL EYNON
Special thanks to Grace Yeoman, PR Pinnacle
blazer ARMANI EXCHANGE
trouser ARMANI EXCHANGE
bra INTIMISSIMI
shoes MANOLO BLAHNIK
earrings FASHION ARCHIVE
coat THE FRANKIE SHOP
tights FALKE
earrings MISHO
shirt + shorts THE FRANKIE SHOP
tights FALKE
shoes MANOLO BLAHNIK
earrings MISHO
belt FASHION ARCHIVE
“Fashion is one of the most accessible forms of self-expression… What we choose to cover ourselves with externally reflects something that’s going on internally.”
Elizabeth Dulau speaks with Alban E. Smajli
for LE MILE Digital SS25