Emma Stone Keeps You Guessing

Few actor-director duos have delivered as many delightfully deranged moments in recent cinema as Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos. From The Favourite to Kinds of Kindness and Poor Things—for which Stone won the Oscar for best actress—their collaborations thrive on moral chaos and radical transformation. With Bugonia, the pair push their genre-bending experimentation even further. Adapted from the 2003 South Korean cult classic Save the Green Planet!, the film casts Stone as a ruthless CEO abducted by two conspiracy theorists convinced she’s an alien. Believing she communicates with her mothership through her hair, her captors (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis) shave her head onscreen. It wasn’t movie magic: Stone actually sacrificed her hair for the film. The role is a sharp pivot from her ferociously unguarded Bella Baxter in Poor Things, a part the 37-year-old says is “my favorite character of all time.” Still, Stone’s Golden Globe–nominated performance in Bugonia is just as captivating, keeping audiences guessing whether she is, indeed, of this world.

In the original film, Save the Green Planet!, your character is a man. Does he also have his head shaved as you do in Bugonia?

Yes. In the adaptation, that was, like, page eight that they shave her head, because in the original movie that’s what they do. The two kidnappers shave my head because, of course, if you’re an alien, you can communicate with your mothership through your hair. Everyone knows that.

I know you believe in aliens, but do you believe in ghosts?

I totally believe in ghosts. I've never seen one, but I've sensed ghosts everywhere, all the time. Whether it's people or my own mistakes or other people's mistakes—I can just feel ghosts on every corner, and they haunt me, clearly, as ghosts do.

Have you spoken to them?

I have said out loud, “We’re all good. You are welcome here. I wouldn’t like to talk to you or see you right now, but if you’re there, just know I come in peace.” It helps me feel a little bit better and is probably some form of psychosis, but I’m an actor. [Laughs]

Did you enjoy being bald for this role? Frankly, it seemed worse that the kidnappers slathered you with cold cream.

The cream was significantly grosser than having my head shaved. I was so grateful I was bald, because hair getting stuck in that would've been disgusting. Can you imagine, long hair and cream? It feels like a sensory nightmare.

I know Bella Baxter stayed with you for a while after Poor Things. Do you ever miss her?

I miss her all the time. If I could have a chance to play Bella again forevermore, I would. But I've got to stop talking about that fucking movie. I mean, even Yorgos is like, "We get it, you miss Bella. Get over it. Grow up.”

At Halloween, did you see people dressed as Bella Baxter?

I’ve seen people as Bella, but this year I went as a surgeon for Halloween, which I think is my real job.

Oh, really?

I am a doctor. I might not have the degree to prove it, but I’m telling you right now, I’m a doctor. If you need a diagnosis or any help with anything medical, come to me. I went to Harvard Medical School, and I have a team of doctors that concurs. [Smiles]

Do you still get starstruck?

I get starstruck in a different way now. When I was younger, I used to burst into tears when I saw someone I really admired.

Sadly, Diane Keaton, one of your heroes, died recently.

I’m getting choked up. She will always be my North Star, ultimate hero, because she taught me about not wanting to emulate anyone else, including her. She taught me how valuable it is to the world to realize who you are and what you can contribute. In so many facets, not just as the brilliant actor that she was, but as a director, photographer, curator of coffee table books, a person who made wines—she was just so herself. Houses, fashion, everything about her was one of a kind and completely Diane. She's the person who really made me realize that the most valuable thing you can be is yourself, authentically. She was the best ever.

Like you, she could be very funny and very dramatic, all in one second. It's a rare trait.

She was just so alive. I think life in general is very tragic and very funny at the same time. You're holding both things, typically, in the state of the world, in relationships, all of it. It's all kind of a tragic comedy. Anyone who can really channel that and bring it out the way that she did, it's just a gift to us all.

Do you have a favorite reality show?

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. I am really invested. When Jen Shah was getting sentenced in New York, my brother and I waited outside for two hours in the freezing cold just for a chance to see her. But I live in New York. We walked over there. Her getting arrested on camera was wild.

And Bronwyn, you’ve never seen anyone dress like this in real life. It’s phenomenal. Yesterday, I was catching up on two episodes. They’re on a boat trip, and Bronwyn is wearing a life raft around her waist, but it’s part of her sailing outfit. Everything is sort of a costume. I love it.

You and Jennifer Lawrence are doing a Miss Piggy movie. Are you playing Miss Piggy?

First of all, that is the biggest insult to Miss Piggy I've ever heard, and I will not have her name dragged through the mud like that. Why would I play a literal star? She's the greatest. No, of course I'm not playing Miss Piggy. And neither is Jen. We pale in comparison. Are you out of your mind? Miss Piggy is playing Miss Piggy. She would be storming out right now at the mere suggestion.

Are you more like a cat or a dog?

I definitely used to think I was a dog, and now I definitely think I'm a cat with dog features. I'm one of those cats that can be more friendly, but really, inside is a cat, and needs alone time and is a little bit of an introvert and a little bit of a bitch. I'm kidding. Am I?

You were a good sport when we asked you to drag a bloodied body for these pictures.

The backstory, in my mind, was I’ve killed this guy. Then I got distracted, and then I remembered that I had to deal with it.

Hair by Mara Roszak for RōZ Hair at A-Frame Agency; makeup by Lauren Parsons for Sisley Paris at Art Partner.

Style Director: Allia Alliata di Montereale. Codirector: Frank Lebon. Director of photography: André Chemetoff. Hair by Jawara for L’Oréal Professional at Art Partner; makeup by Lauren Parsons for Sisley Paris at Art Partner; manicure by Jolene Brodeur for Dazzle Dry at the Wall Group. Set design by David White at Streeters.