Kaya Scodelario’s breakout role as the quiet, yet impactful Effy Stonem on E4’s gritty teen drama “Skins”, saw her quickly become the face of the "indie sleaze" aesthetic.
While her character made an immediate impression, Scodelario has been open about the challenges of entering the glamour industry as a teen.
Speaking almost two decades after she burst onto the screens as that troubled teen, with her backcombed hair and ripped fishnets, the British-Brazilian actress admitted in a new interview that she had to grow up the hard way.
The actress, who went on to star in several Hollywood hits like “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Maze Runner’, Netflix smashes “The Gentleman”, “Crawl”, and “Senna” said: “I felt more like an adult when I was 14 than I do now. I was put into quite a weird industry and surrounded by grown-ups all the time so had to learn very quickly how to present like a grown-up in order to be taken seriously.”
The actor also spoke about shooting an infamous scene in the first season of the show, in which her character Effy spoke for the first time on “Skins”, having been injected with drugs.
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“I was nervous about it. I’d never seen a needle before. They didn’t actually stick me with it, but still feels like it. I remember my guardian, that was on set with me at the time, crying while we were filming it, because she freaked out about it,” the 33-year-old revealed.
Currently starring in “Adulthood”, Scodelario shared an insight into her own reckoning with middle age. “Since I’ve hit 30 I’m really enjoying not being the grown-up everyone wants me to be. I still have responsibilities and I like a lot of adulthood–saying no to things, and having my own voice–but I also want to do karaoke in a dodgy bar at three in the morning with some mates I’ve just met.”
Scodelario admits she isn’t a “fully cooked adult” just yet: “Maybe because I don’t drive yet. I’m still holding on to that.”
“Adulthood” is available on UK and Ireland digital platforms from November 17.
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