Mia Goth Based Her Frankenstein Performance on Her Daughter

Mia Goth found the key to her wide-eyed, guileless portrayal of Elizabeth in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, in part, during an unexpected moment on set. One day, her young daughter crossed paths with Jacob Elordi in full prosthetics as the Creature. “He walked past, and my daughter ran up to him,” Goth recalls. “She wasn’t scared at all, just curious. What struck me was how intrigued she was by him. There was no fear. That interaction ended up informing, a little bit, my approach to Elizabeth and how she meets the Creature.” In the film, Goth plays both the mother of Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), who dies in childbirth, and the object of his affection—a not-so-subtle nod to the Victorian notion that women existed only as mothers or wives. But Goth imagined Elizabeth as someone who could never be contained. “She was like smoke to me,” the 32-year-old says. “I would have her for a moment, and then she would be off again. She’s kind of a creature in her own way, fluttering in and out.”

The costumes for both of your roles in Frankenstein were magnificent. Did that help you get into character?

Kate Hawley, our costume designer, is extraordinary. She was buzzing with inspiration and passion. It was the first time I fully understood what a tool costumes can be in pushing a narrative forward. When I landed in Toronto, where we were filming, I was very scared. But when I went to the costume fitting, I started to find my character from the outside in. I can’t even tell you how many fittings I had. We shot for about a year, and I was in and out of costume fittings that entire time. On this movie, I wasn’t really a part of the world anymore—I was just making Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. That’s one of my favorite things about making this movie—you lose yourself.

Do you believe in ghosts?

I do. I really want to see a ghost. Every time someone tells me, “There's a ghost in here,” I try to stay up late and see what happens. Nothing ever happens. Maybe I have to act as though I don’t want to see one, and then one will appear.

Do you have any interesting scars?

I do. When I was about 14, I stole a meatball sandwich from Costa, a café in London, and when I put it in my oven to heat it up, I got a scar.

Did you often steal meatball sandwiches?

I stole so much stuff. There was a time when everything I was wearing—my headband, earrings, tights, shoes, and everything in between—was stolen. But then I got caught stealing perfume, and I stopped.

Have you lied about having any specific skills to get an acting job?

I will lie about pretty much anything if it means I’m going to get a job that I want. If you need me to horseback ride, speak Chinese, and tap-dance—funnily enough, those are lifelong passions of mine. [Laughs]

Which film makes you cry?

Blue Valentine makes me cry. Those performances are heartbreakingly beautiful and so well done. Titanic makes me cry. Doesn’t the end make everyone cry? Leo is gorgeous in that film.

When was the first time you wore high heels?

I was about 14. I had started going to these underage raves in London called Let’s Go Crazy. I had bright pink sparkly shorts from Topshop and my first pair of heels. I was on my way out the door, and my mum said, “Where’s your outfit?” because my shorts were so tiny. She sent me back to my room and made me change. It was for the best, because you did go crazy at those raves, and I would have broken my ankles.

I went to SNL a couple weeks ago, and Sabrina Carpenter was the host. I am obsessed! I felt like I was 6 years old again. I was looking at Sabrina and I thought to myself, I want to be five foot two and a platinum blonde, singing into my hairbrush.

Hair by David von Cannon for R+Co. at A-Frame Agency; makeup by Nina Park at Kalpana.

Style Director: Allia Alliata di Montereale. Codirector: Frank Lebon. Director of photography: André Chemetoff. Manicure by Jolene Brodeur for Dazzle Dry at the Wall Group. Set design by David White at Streeters.