The most fearless actress in Hollywood

Chloë Sevigny opens up about her gritty new role

Chloë Sevigny, star of Kids, Boys Don’t Cry and Big Love, has doubled Sky Atlantic’s drama audience playing a pre-op transsexual contract killer in Hit & Miss. She’s the style icon famous for starring in cult indie films and quirky dramas but Chloë Sevigny’s new role takes a stretch of the imagination, even for her. Currently starring in Hit & Miss as Mia, a gender confused hit man, her gritty performance has entranced viewers. As the Manchester-based series nears its conclusion, Stylist catches up with her.

How did you get the role in Hit & Miss?

They had me in mind and sent me the scripts. My agent took a look at it and was like, “This is one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in my life. I think it’s brilliant but I’m not sure”. The screenplay read very differently to how it looks on television. It was much more provocative. On the screen it’s very lyrical and beautiful but on the page, it seemed much more hardcore.

So were you aware of what the role would entail?

To a certain degree. I think the hardest part for me was grappling with the nudity. In the beginning I tried to convince them to have a body double. I was very uncomfortable and I wanted to respect the character and not have her feel exploited. The long and short of it is that she’s in the wrong body; she’s a woman, but she hasn’t gone all the way yet. She’s been called a freak her whole life. She’s transitioning and has isolated herself from everybody she’s ever known. She’s trying to build up the confidence to make the final step.

ABOVE: Chloë Sevigny playing Mia in Hit & Miss

You’ve said that filming in Manchester was quite a lonely experience for you…

Yeah. Being worried about the accent and the part being so demanding physically, I think I might have felt isolated in the way that she did. Sometimes you’re not aware of it at the time but in retrospect you realise. Now I feel like it was an amazing experience and the part is like nothing I will ever play again.

You’ve had a really varied career. Does Kids [her controversial first film about teenage drug abuse and HIV], seem like a different lifetime?

It seems very long ago. We shot it in 1994, so it’s almost 20 years. I’m so proud of that movie. It made such an impact. It’s like the indie Titanic or something.

ABOVE: A scene from Hit & Miss

You became a poster girl for indie cinema. Were you comfortable with that?

It wasn’t something I did intentionally. Sometimes I’m afraid that it’s this label or stigma almost. But there’s a great history of actresses who have maintained an independent career and then worked with studios, such as Michelle Williams and Tilda Swinton. I’m just waiting for my time when the studios call me…

Is that something you’re looking forward to?

I hope so. I’m not opposed to it; a lot of great directors work in the studio system so if it happens I certainly wouldn’t say no…

Hit & Miss, Tuesdays, 10pm, Sky Atlantic

Image credit: Terry Richardson/Art Partner

Hit & Miss is out on DVD and Blu Ray from July 2 from Fremantle Media Enterprises

Tags: TV shows, actresses