Lucy Boynton Of 'The Politician' Is Blazing A Path For Herself
Photography by Nick Thompson
Styling by Leith Clark
Earlier this year, Lucy Boynton was in a frigid New York City — then still as bustling as ever — filming the much-anticipated second season of Netflix’s The Politician. Today, though, she is firmly parked in London, having spent most of the summer riding out quarantine together with longtime boyfriend Rami Malek.
“It’s a strange feeling to look back on that time, which was so recent,” she tells L'Officiel over the phone. “I mean, we wrapped at the end of February, when the mutterings of COVID were becoming a real thing in the headlines. It’s strange to feel like we’re in a very different world.”
Season two of The Politician sees Boynton return as Astrid Sloan — lead character Payton Hobart’s icy ex-rival — who, at the end of season one, renounces her privileged upbringing and moves to New York City to strike out on her own. It isn’t long before Astrid finds herself entangled in Payton’s political (and personal) drama once again. “It’s always a kind of fun rainbow of situations that [series creator] Ryan Murphy puts us all through,” she says.
Like Astrid, Boynton is thoughtful, complex, and enigmatic. Here, she opens up about being a woman in Hollywood, where she finds inspiration, and how she has learned to question the status quo.
L'Officiel: This season of The Politician deals a lot with the struggle between old and new ideas. What are some outdated ideas you’ve seen in your industry that you think we should move on from?
Lucy Boynton: There’s still a long way to go in how pretty much everyone’s stories are written by predominantly white males, but now that we’re coming into those conversations, hopefully that will change.
I think it’s been a bit of a slow process, but you get into creators like Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, who write The OA, and Brit talks very openly about how she wasn’t seeing any roles that she wanted to play, so she wrote and created them for herself. I think that there is this new sense of ownership, of taking it upon oneself to create the material that you are not seeing.
LO: The show features a cast largely made up of strong women, which, even now, is rare. What was it like to work in that sort of environment?
LB: It was really exciting, and kind of sad that you note how different it feels. I think it should be acknowledged that sets like these, which are built by brilliant women, are more of a rarity. Just to be around people like Judith Light — the word "inspiring" sounds like such a cliché, but it’s what immediately comes to mind when thinking of her. She’s just so completely involved and invested in the present and in her current world, and she’s so curious about everyone. She's so kind and generous with her thoughts, experiences, and questions. The opportunity to work near someone like her is such an education. It provides these clear markers of what you could hope to be or be around in this industry.
LO: You’ve mentioned that a lot of what you know about feminism came from your sister. What is something she taught you that you still keep in mind today?
LB: That’s such a good question! I was with her yesterday for her birthday talking about just that, and I was kind of analysing what she taught me in her birthday card.
I think just questioning everything around you slightly more. I think we all previously found it quite easy to just accept the world as it was. Growing up, when I was at an all-girls school, I don’t think we questioned the world, and its systems, and what we were taught, enough. I think the generation below me definitely does now, but back when it wasn’t so common, it was definitely my sister who encouraged me to take a second and question everything and surround yourself with people who know better. She always had a stack of books to recommend. Her curiosity about the world and her attempts to learn from everyone have always been an encouragement.
LO: You’ve become known for your red carpet looks. Has fashion always been something you were interested in?
LB: It wasn’t something I used to be too concerned with, as my sister will tell you. My style growing up wasn't anything that was cool or influential in any way! I think the costuming process in the industry started to get me excited about clothes, in addition to the different periods I got to investigate through costumes during different projects.
Working with my stylist Leith Clark has been a real game-changer as well. The fashion industry can be a very intimidating and daunting entity, but I've enjoyed getting to experience it with her, making it more about what I appreciate as well as a form of expression.
LO: Where do you get beauty inspiration from?
LB: [My makeup artist] Jo Baker is definitely the source of all inspiration in terms of beauty looks. She is amazing, and she's made it so much more fun as well, because she's unleashed the opportunity to do anything with it. At these events, you know people are looking to judge you, and you can’t help but feel out of place at those things, so having an opportunity to take ownership of yourself and just do it for you has been very liberating.
LO: You’re set to play Marianne Faithfull in an upcoming biopic. What drew you to that project?
LB: I wasn’t aware of her story beyond how we all know her, as this iconic figure of the '60s at the centre of a changing London and the rock and roll scene. When I first got the script in and started researching her, I found it so fascinating and relevant to a lot of the conversations we’re having now about how much power the media has in portraying people, and specifically, how the media portrays women.
The more you find out about her, the more fascinating she becomes. When you come to understand the family she’s from, the way she was brought up, and who her ancestors are, you see that this woman was never going to have a quiet life. There’s layer after layer to uncover, so I couldn’t be more excited.
Credits
Photography Nick Thompson
Styling Leith Clark
Hair & Makeup Alexis Day using Chanel and Monat
Producer Alexandra Oley
