Vicky Krieps says she embraced “rage” and refused the Hollywood path after Phantom Thread

Vicky Krieps, speaking in a new interview published July 31, said she expected attention and industry pressure to push her toward mainstream Hollywood after her breakthrough role in Phantom Thread, but instead chose to keep working in smaller, independent European films. Krieps said the idea that she would “go to Hollywood” was not how she saw her own instincts, describing her approach as staying receptive to risk rather than chasing a conventional career script.

Krieps framed her creative temperament in blunt, personal terms, saying, “Change is happening! I can cut off my hair and misbehave,” when asked about the emotions and self-possession behind characters who challenge social expectations. In the interview, she connected that willingness to break from what is expected to a broader life history of resisting people telling her what not to do.

She also described a period early in her career when she became pregnant in her 20s and said she received advice not to have the baby because it would derail her acting trajectory. Krieps told the publication she followed her own decision anyway, describing the choice as an early demonstration that she would not let outside pressure define her personal or professional boundaries.

The actor discussed her relationship to “rage” and rebellion as elements she brings to roles, but she positioned them as part of practical acting discipline rather than a style for shock value. She said her willingness to misbehave, cut her hair, or otherwise make drastic changes is tied to staying alert to what the work requires, even if it makes her career look less predictable to the outside industry.

Krieps’ comments come alongside coverage of Love Me Tender, a film she is using the interview to promote. The article presents her as reflecting on how her audience and the industry responded to Phantom Thread, and what happened next as she continued building a career without fully following the expected “star turn” route.

The interview underscores a tension that often follows high-visibility roles: studios and media attention can pull actors toward larger-scale projects, while performers may find that their most satisfying work is in smaller productions that allow more personal control over character choices. In Krieps’ telling, her post-Phantom Thread selections reflect an effort to keep authority over her own risks.

Taken together, Krieps’ remarks portray a career shaped less by anticipated industry milestones and more by decisions she says she made against advice, including family decisions and appearance changes that she argues supported her growth as an actor.