The Slumdog Millionaire actress donned corsets and bonnets playing Selina Dalton in the movie, which opens in theaters July 1. After Julia Thistlewaite (Zawe Ashton) learns that she failed to meet the Honorable Mr. Jeremy Malcolm’s list of requirements for a wife, she hatches a revenge plot to present her childhood friend Selina as the eligible bachelor’s perfect match … think John Tucker Must Die meets 19th-century England. “It is really this one list that brings all of them together and throws them into this whole experience called life,” Pinto said in an exclusive interview with Parade.com. Continue reading to find out what Freida Pinto had to say about the list she once had, plus motherhood and how Bridgerton “helped” her new film, Mr. Malcolm’s List.
I was talking about the movie earlier and I described it as a 19th-century John Tucker Must Die with the scheming and the plot for revenge. Do you agree?
Haha! Exactly, exactly. It’s such a fun one. It’s also a movie that really makes you kind of feel hopeful, you know, in a time where the dating world is just so crazy, and you never know who you’re gonna get or what you’re gonna get, but opportunities and chances come along and you just go with the flow and then you’re just surprised and magic happens. I love your example of John Tucker Must Die.
The film is very relatable because I feel like while people might not have a physical list, most of us do kind of have a checklist when dating.
Oh absolutely! I definitely had one, so I can definitely say that that’s absolutely true. I actually had a physical list as well. I typed it out, and then put it on my phone in my notes. I had some non-negotiables on that list. I will say that I had 10 things on my list, and almost all 10 of them—one of them, I would say a little off but most of them, all nine of them were to the tee fulfilled.
Look at that! It worked out [Pinto is married to photographer Cory Tran]. You must have manifested it writing it down like that.
Completely. It was written in the most truthful way and one of my friends who told me to make that list said something like, “Don’t feel ashamed to write the things that you think are shallow,” because we’re just so afraid of being judged, but then in the privacy of your list—which in Mr. Malcolm’s case as well was never supposed to be leaked, but it did get leaked—but in the privacy of your list if you don’t write what you truthfully, truthfully want and you’re trying to, you know, just try and be very politically correct all the time in your private space as well, then you’re really not gonna manifest a truth thing. You’re just gonna keep attracting the wrong s**t. So I’m really glad that I wrote stuff that I really wanted and that really meant something to me.
What challenges, if any, were there playing the character in this time period?
There [weren ’t] real challenges per se, I would say it was more like just a lot of work and practice, as far as a diet was concerned and then getting adjusted to wearing a corset every time. Not challenges, they were just part of what I do for a living.
I can’t imagine the corsets were too fun to wear or comfortable.
Well, I was pregnant when I was filming so that’s why it wasn’t fun!
Okay, that presents a whole other set of things to deal with on set!
Completely. And no one really knew except Zawe [Ashton] and one of the producers. And I think towards the end, I cheekily asked my director, “Do you think when you’re filming just my face, I can loosen up my corset?” and she found the request really interesting and I think she guessed at that point that I was pregnant.
Now that you brought it up, I have to ask: How is motherhood treating you? Is it magical?
So magical. I mean I can’t wait to be done with the interviews and then go home and cuddle with my boy [Rumi-Ray] again.
So sweet. Switching gears back to the film, have you always been a fan of period dramas and Regency love stories?
I’ve always, always loved period dramas, period movies. I think I’ve watched everything with Keira Knightley in it. I think for me, it’s just such a magical escape. It’s also kind of a world I fantasize about, you know, the way they carry themselves and the mannerisms and the way they speak and the costumes they wear. It’s all very magical to me. And so I’ve always enjoyed that so much.
Was playing a character like this kind of a dream role for you?
One of the many dream roles. I have many dream roles, and this is definitely one of them.
Did you reread Pride and Prejudice or maybe watch Bridgerton to help you prepare for the role?
I definitely watched the movie again and I had already watched Bridgerton … I think they were filming Season 2 at that point. But the preparation really did not come from any of these movies to be really honest. You’ll be surprised the preparation for me was more the ’90s rom-com like Bridget Jones’s Diary and Notting Hill. Because for me, the romantic comedy element was really more those movies. It’s just the mannerisms and the time period was the 1800s, but the theme and the tone of the film for me was Bridget Jones’s Diary and Notting Hill.
I am curious—do you think Bridgerton inspired or maybe paved the way for the film in the sense of showing a diverse inclusive cast in 19th-century England, or was that idea already?
So we had already shot the film even before Bridgerton was conceived. The short film. Yeah. We had shot it about four years ago, so it didn’t inspire us in terms of the casting at all. The actual inspiration for that was Hamilton… but what Bridgerton helped us with is getting the world primed and ready for a movie like Mr. Malcolm’s List, because Shonda Rhimes is Shonda Rhimes, and whatever she touches, she turns to gold. And even though we made the short film four years ago, we still found it hard to drum up the right financial interest in it. People were very excited when they watched it and the reception was amazing on YouTube, and they got a million likes and views and whatnot, but investors still found it to be a bit risky to put their money into a movie which was cast completely against type, but then Bridgerton and its success made it possible for financiers to see it little by little, so eventually, it did happen. I feel, you know, kind of just this industry is all about helping each other out and when we do it more willingly as opposed to begrudgingly it just makes things happen, makes things happen faster. So in a way Hamilton inspired us, we made the short film, Bridgerton was made, Bridgerton helped us again and here we are releasing the film in a few days.
Regency era stories have given us heroines like Elizabeth Bennett, Kate Sharma, and now we have your character, Selina Dalton. What do you think makes Selina a great role model and what can people today learn from her?
The thing that I love about Selina is that she stands her ground even though she is someone who is willing to go along for the ride and partake in her friend’s little game, she really has a mind of her own where if something starts feeling right, she’s able to say it. She’s also someone who is not afraid to express the respect that she has for herself. You know, there’s a lot of self-respect that the girl comes with and she’s not afraid to let Mr. Malcolm know or let Julia know or let anyone around her know that she’s a self-respecting woman and that she is going to speak for herself and stand up for herself. So, despite her going along with a revenge plot, I feel she has a lot of redeeming qualities in the sense that she is able to kind of come into her role and is very steadfast in her beliefs about herself. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Next, thirsty for more Bridgerton? Here are 22 sexy, scandalous shows just like the Netflix series.
