Emerald Fennell is a triple threat: writer, director, actor. She is also a big fan of eyebrow piercings, The Crown alum tells Esquire in an episode of Freeze Frame for her new film Saltburn. The film, in cinemas today, tells the story of Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) who finds himself inundated with aristocrats during his first term at Oxford University in the mid-2000s. He makes friends with dreamboat Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) and soon meets the whole family at their estate: haughty mother Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), distant dad James (Richard E. Grant) and bewitching sister Venetia (Alison Oliver). The summer is an unforgettable ride for everyone involved, including audiences.
For Freeze Frame, Fennell - who won the best original screenplay Oscar for Promising Young Woman - discusses working with Keoghan, and why she fought for Elordi to have an eyebrow piercing (“In 2007, there was nothing hotter,” she notes). Fennell also goes deep on how she made Saltburn come alive with interiors that are “on the edge of taste” and the inner workings of an aristocratic estate. Is it normal to have multiple libraries? Or a butler that will go through your underwear? Or to wear black tie for dinner? Consider this an education or, perhaps, a warning. And don’t forget your cufflinks.
‘Saltburn’ is in cinemas now
Henry Wong is a senior culture writer at Esquire, working across digital and print. He covers film, television, books, and art for the magazine, and also writes profiles.
