Emma Stone’s unique Poor Things character look was actually a mistake

12.08.2023 - 13:51 / gamesradar.com / Emma Stone / Willem Dafoe

After the success of 2018's Oscar-nominated The Favourite, Emma Stone and director Yorgos Lanthimos have re-teamed for a new movie: period sci-fi-drama-comedy-oddity Poor Things. 

Stone plays Bella, a Frankenstein's monster of sorts, brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist played by Willem Dafoe. Lanthimos and Stone worked closely to bring Bella to life – but one detail was all Stone.  

"Well, I remember I dyed my hair too dark and we had to kind of go with that," Stone tells the new issue of Total Film magazine, which is out on newsstands on Thursday, August 17, in an interview conducted before the actors' strike. 

"That was an idea, that she’d be almost ahead of her time – a reactionary of sorts," Lanthimos explains. "But childlike and natural, and all these things. So we felt like, 'It’d be a great idea to dye her hair dark.' But then Emma went ahead and became jet black. And I was like, 'Alright.'"

"It just kept going and going and it was like, 'Goddamn it. Alright.' Black," Stone laughs – and you can see the results in our exclusive images from the film above.

Lanthimos continues: "It looked stunning with her very white skin. There’s all these accidents, to the very detailed design of certain costumes, and then, I don’t know, they break apart, and then we build something else. So it’s a very complex process, I think."

Poor Things arrives in cinemas on December 8. In the meantime, check out our picks of the other best upcoming movies on the way in 2023 and beyond.

This is just a snippet of our interview in the new issue of Total Film magazine, which features The Marvels on the cover. The magazine hits shelves this Thursday, August 17. This issue also comes with a free 48-page photo supplement looking behind the scenes at Warner Bros to mark 100 years of the studio. Check out the covers below:

If you're a fan of Total Film, why not subscribe so that you never miss an issue? You'll get the magazine before it’s in shops, with exclusive subscriber-only covers (like the one pictured above). With our latest offer, you can get a free gift worth £69.99 when you take out a print/bundle subscription. Head to MagazinesDirect to find out more (Ts and Cs apply).