Marion Cotillard: The Tempest

French actor and style icon Marion Cotillard on playing Lady Macbeth, wearing leotards (just a phase) and turning jewellery designer for Chopard.

- Photograph by Eliott Bliss

Marion Cotillard lends to her every role, indie or big ticket, a quiet mystique and a fierce intensity. Whether as French cabaret icon Edith Piaf (La Vie En Rose), a suicidal ghost (Inception), a maimed trainer of killer whales (Rust And Bone), or a fired factory worker (Two Days, One Night). Off-screen too, her whimsical, confident red-carpet choices regularly split opinion polls down the middle. Now the 40-year old French actor is pouring her unquestionable star power into saving the planet. She's been an ardent supporter of Greenpeace, canvassing for causes from the protection of indigenous Amazon people to the endangered Sumatran tiger. And earlier this year, she made her jewellery-designing debut for Chopard with pieces in keeping with the Swiss luxury house’s efforts to produce ethical luxury. Here, she talks to ELLE about the experience, her inimitable fashion choices and why her role in last month’s Macbeth has been her most terrifying yet.

ELLE: Were you intimidated at the prospect of playing Lady Macbeth?

Marion Cotillard: Yes. It is such an iconic role and has been played by incredible actresses in unforgettable performances. For the first time in my life, I sensed the pressure of trying to be good enough for a role and its history. When I took the lead role in La Vie En Rose, I was often asked the same question with regard to Edith Piaf. But I knew Piaf and had listened to her without really knowing anything about her life so I was less intimidated. The pressure of playing Lady Macbeth stayed with me throughout the making of the film and it never diminished.

ELLE: Was performing Shakespeare a long-nurtured fantasy of yours?