You might remember Kaya Scodelario from Maze Runner. Now that she has joined the Pirates franchise, being a part of male driven casts is a regular day at work for her. Kaya talks with us about what it’s like working with the boys, how Johnny Depp made her “laugh and laugh,” what she hopes audiences will takeaway from Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and about her childhood obsession with 101 Dalmations.

Kaya Scodelario Interview: Female Empowerment, Johnny Depp & 101 Dalmations

[When Kaya enters the room, she was gorgeous and very slender but she joked about wearing Spanx when complimented on her dress. You would never look at her her and know that she is a new mom! She shares with us about her costumes for the movie.]

Kaya Scodelario: There’s something really cool about a corset, it does feel quite empowering actually, because you have to sit up strong. The first day is awful. And I’d get my husband to secretly loosen it up at lunchtime so that I could eat and stuff. I like that Carina’s dress, it isn’t perfect, it’s actually tattered and old and ripped up and dirty as that helped me kind of [helped me] understand a bit of her back story.

[Then she shared with us what it was like being basically the only female in this male dominated cast.]

Kaya Scodelario: The guys have never made me feel like the only woman, especially on Maze Runner, they always treat me exactly the same. I’ve never felt like, you know, I’ll walk on the set and they’re like the girl is here, we have to stop farting. They continue to do that anyway. I think [that] once they get over you being a woman, it can actually be kind of bonding and nice.

Every role I look for a woman that I would have liked to have seen at thirteen on the big screen. She’s an orphan, she’s a survivor. She’s also stubborn and argumentative and she’s also funny and flirty and there’s so much to her. And I’m grateful that they wrote her this way. It’s something that I hope my son grows up watching and respects in women and understands in women, that we aren’t just the Disney princess or the love interest or the damsel in distress and she’s certainly not any of those things.

[Do you do your own stunts and if you do what was that like?]

Kaya Scodelario: I really love to do all that stuff. It’s not [something] you do every day in life, you know. But I actually injured my shoulder, I popped out something in there on the black pole of all places. And so afterwards it was kind of tough we had about four weeks of filming still so I had to wear a sling in between takes and I had to go quite easy on it. But I did all the swimming, I swam in the Australian ocean with the sharks and every other thing that can kill you there. And it was a lot of fun, I love having the opportunity to do that stuff.

[She also shared with us about some of the things that have happened in her life that she was able to tap into for emotional scenes in the movie.]

Kaya Scodelario: My father lived far away from me and he’d always say if you look up at Orion’s Belt, we’re both looking at the same star and he passed away. So it was very easy for me to tap into that moment and also getting to work with an actor like Geoffrey. He’s wonderful…a really giving actor. And to really focus on that relationship, it was an honor.

[Kaya Scodelario is dyslexic and she shared some thoughts and recommendations for children who are also dyslexic.]

Kaya Scodelario: Well the biggest thing for me was just knowing that I wasn’t the only one. I remember when I was twelve and I was diagnosed, I was really freaked out by it because I didn’t understand what it was. For me it meant “I’m dumb,” that’s like all I knew, I thought well this just means that I can’t ever achieve what other people can. And then they had a poster up in my school saying Tom Cruise has dyslexia. And that instantly to me was like, “oh okay, well he’s doing all right.”

There are great resources out there, my school was wonderful, they gave me extra time in exams. Just have an open conversation about it and then find support groups and make sure that the school also understand what it is. It’s kind of a taboo subject, we don’t really know much about it. So the more we can discuss and the more resources we can bring into schools, I think the better.

[Then I asked Kaya what she would like to see for her character in the future if there are more Pirates movies to come in this franchise.]

Kaya Scodelario: I would really like to see her exploring her love of the stars and astronomy and going out to the ocean. And also this new identity that she has…it’ll be cool to see whether she takes that on or not, what she does with that new kind of mission in life.

[What was it like working with Johnny?]

Kaya Scodelario: It’s wonderful. When you watch the movie, you get to see the one take that’s selected, we get to see the fifty five other ones that he comes up with on the spot. And he’s just a genius. There’s a reason why he’s so successful. And his improvisation…my first day on set with him, I had to be really serious in a scene, and I just laughed and laughed and laughed and I was like I’m going to get fired, there’s no way they’re going to put up with me. He just brings it every single time.

[How did you go about getting the role?]

Kaya Scodelario: I was actually I heard about it maybe four years ago. All the Maze Runner boys [helped me do] this audition tape, which was really sweet of them. And then I flew to Los Angeles to meet with Brenton, and we just got on really well. He’s a nice kid. And as an actor we kind of bounced off each other and we really enjoyed flushing out the scene, working out what we wanted to do with it, and it went from there.

[Kaya then goes on to tell us about improvisation on set.]

I am very instinctual, and that’s how I like to work, I like to improvise and I like to make sure that the dialogue fits my voice and my character’s voice and the directors are really open. Every morning they’d ask if I had any issues with any of the dialogue, if there’s anything I felt would work better. There was a day where Johnny actually came into my trailer beforehand and reworked an entire scene with me, which I was amazed at, that they still do let you have that creative freedom.

[What do you want the takeaway to be from the film?]

Kaya Scodelario: It is an adventure for the whole family and it’s something that should be seen on the big screen and the best technology possible. We spent six months making this and two years in post production for a reason. That’s how it should be seen and that’s how the whole family will enjoy it at its best.

[What was your favorite Disney classic movie?]

Kaya Scodelario: I was always obsessed with the Dalmatians. I just loved 101 Dalmatians, and I actually had a Dalmatian themed bedroom growing up, my poor mother had to paint like white walls and black splotches everywhere! I just loved that movie and also the live action version.

*Thanks to Louise at MomStart.com for the epic pictures. 😉

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