Mia Threapleton Is Building Her Own Legacy

Like so many Wes Anderson characters before her, The Phoenician Scheme’s Liesl makes quite a first impression. Clad in all white, from her habit to her stockings, the nun-in-training greets her long-estranged father, the fabulously wealthy plutocrat Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro), with a flat affect. Forthright and self-assured — and unimpressed by opulence — she immediately punctures the aura the film has spent its first few minutes building around Korda.

“I was struck by her complexity. She’s a very, very nuanced individual who has dealt with a lot in her life,” says Mia Threapleton, the actor who plays Liesl. “She felt like an onion, for lack of a better analogy. Layers of stuff to unpack that was unfolding itself throughout the whole journey of the story and throughout her growing relationship with her father.”

But if Liesl is initially ill at ease in Korda’s world, Threapleton was over the moon to be in Anderson’s. The 25-year-old is no stranger to Hollywood: As Kate Winslet’s daughter, she was uncommonly familiar with its inner workings even before she began landing roles in projects like Apple TV’s The Buccaneers. Still, she says getting to audition for Anderson was a “pinch-me” moment, as was working with legendary co-stars like Del Toro.

“Genuinely, I couldn’t stay away from work. I would cycle in on my days off and just go and hang out and watch was going on,” she says. “Wes turned to me and was like, ‘What are you doing here? You’re not meant to be in.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, can I come and hang out?’ He was like, ‘Just hide behind that plant pot. There you go.’ And I stayed behind the plant pot for the day.” Threapleton grins. “It was great.”

Below, Threapleton discusses the making of The Phoenician Scheme, following in her mom’s footsteps, and what’s to come on The Buccaneers.

What is auditioning for a Wes Anderson project like? Do you go in for a particular role, or is it a more mysterious process?

I did the self tape, and then I think about two weeks later, I got a recall, and they allowed me to read over one of the scenes again. Still, I did not know who the character was, what this film was. Another few weeks passed and they said, “Wes would like to meet you.” And I thought, “Oh, my f*cking God” — sorry for swearing — I thought, “Oh, my goodness, this is insane.”

I remember feeling extremely nervous, [but after meeting him,] I immediately was not nervous anymore because he was wearing hotel slippers and pink socks. We just genuinely chatted for about an hour before we actually did anything. And then we walked through the scenes. I heard nothing for a couple of weeks and didn’t really know what was going on, and then they said, “OK, we’d like to do a screen test with you.”

Come December of 2023, we met over the course of two days. We played around, tried on a couple of costumes. I ended up pinning a napkin to my head because we didn’t have a nun’s veil, so I was like, “Give me that napkin. I’ve got to shove some pins in my head, and we’ll make it work.” And then 24 hours later while on my way home, I got the phone call telling me that I got the job.

Of all the very accomplished, famous actors you got to work with, who were you the most intimidated or starstruck by?

I genuinely can’t give you one person as an answer to that because I had seen all of these people throughout my life and had admired their work so greatly. Meeting Benicio for the first time felt... I had no idea what to expect. And then he walked in the room when we did the screen test and I thought, “Oh, you are a really lovely, gentle purring cat of a man. You are so nice.”

Wes does all these big communal dinners. Everybody eats together. It’s sort of like summer camp. You all go and eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, and then drive into work or whatever together. It’s great. But I do remember having this moment where I had Tom Hanks on my right. Bryan Cranston on my left. I think Riz Ahmed was on the other side, and then Michael [Cera] was somewhere there, and Tom was talking about something to do with Saving Private Ryan. And I just sat on my hands and thought, “I can’t say anything right now. What am I doing here? What’s going on? It’s Woody [Hanks’ character from Toy Story] — Woody’s talking to me and giving me a hug and saying, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow at work.’” It just all felt very, very surreal. And I still feel surreal thinking about it now.

Obviously your character, Liesl, is such a distinctive person. I was wondering if there’s any level on which you relate to her?

I think I relate to her in the context of just... how to word this? I’m 24, and I feel like if I was to talk to my 18-year-old self, I would find it incredibly interesting because so much happens in your life. The growth and the self-understanding that she achieves within the story was very fascinating to me just because humans are ever-growing and ever-evolving creatures. So I just connected to her in a really human way, in relation to self-discovery and finding out different things about yourself.

Obviously your family aren’t oligarchs, but like Liesl, you are the eldest in a large mixed family with a parent who’s in the public eye, and so much of the film is about legacy and continuing on. I was wondering if you’ve thought about your relationship with your mom in that context, as an inheritor of a legacy?

No, I don’t think I had ever thought about it in that way, primarily because we are not the same person. And my decision to do this job came entirely from me. When I told my mother that this was something that I wanted to do, she was incredibly supportive of it but really, really emphasized how much hard work would have to be put in. And she was right — it is hard work. And I love it. I absolutely love it. But she was also incredibly supportive of me wanting to figure out my own ways of wanting to do this. So, I don’t think that I would say at all that this is a legacy situation. It’s me as an individual doing what I want to do individually, and I happen to also have a mom who does it as well.

A last question for the Buccaneers fans out there: Can you give any hints about what’s to come for Anoria and Mabel in Season 2?

Excitement is coming. And joy as well.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.