The Authentic Heroine

English-Brazilian Actor Kaya Scodelario Got Her First Big Break At 14, In The Cult Show Skins, But More Recently Won Us Over In The Ted Bundy Film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile. Now She’s Added A Covetable Gig With Cartier To Her Cv And Is About To Star In A Buzzy New Netflix Series. She Chats To Elle About Loving Dystopian Sci-fi Films And Arnie Flicks In Equal Measure

Your first big role on screen was as Effy on Skins – a beloved and iconic character. Why do you think she, and what she represents, continues to resonate?

There was something quite magical about her and a lot of young people saw themselves in her. On the surface she seemed very controlled and put together – and fun – but as we explored throughout the series, she was actually quite a damaged soul. We watched her battle her demons and fall in love and have her heartbroken and have the fear of having her heartbroken. And I think that’s something young people like to see played out at that time in their lives. They understood it. It’s such an emotional thing when you’re a teenager and you fall in love; it’s very different later in life. That’s the reason why your first love stays with you forever. And people really enjoyed seeing her try to figure out what to do and who to choose and which path to take in her life. People still wonder about it now. I even do. I think, “What would have happened to her now?” And she’s probably the only character I have played that will always stay with me. She was my first love in a weird way, out of all my characters.

Effy in Skins, Teresa in the Maze Runner trilogy and Carina in Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – you often play strong, confident and independent characters. Are you like this in real life?