Director/writer Ruben Östlund wins his second Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or after 2017’s The Square. Triangle of Sadness follows a superficial model couple, Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), on their free superyacht vacation. The trip takes a drastic turn for the pampered social media influencers, Russian oligarchs, and one-percenter business leaders. Östlund skewers wealth disparity, class divisions, and the power dynamics of relationships. The film excoriates the rich and puts them through a stunning turn of events.
Filipina actress Dolly de Leon steals the show in Triangle of Sadness. She co-stars as Abigail, a toilet cleaner on the yacht who finds herself an alpha female in the third act. Survivors of the yacht’s destruction struggle on a deserted island. Abigail is the only person who can fish and start a fire. She holes up in a stocked lifeboat, and then turns a lusty eye towards the handsome Carl. Their cavorting doesn’t sit well with the sunburned and hungry Yaya.
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Leon is a marvel that towers over the film. Her performance is deservedly generating awards buzz. She molded the character with Östlund, which was originally written as a man. Leon discusses her fantastic opportunity, the film’s philosophical approach to the rich, power, and its influence on the sexes.
A Symbiotic Relationship with Ruben Östlund
I loved this film. You were great. Talk about the auditioning process with Ruben Östlund. Did he allow you to see Abigail’s entire character arc?
Dolly de Leon: Well, when I auditioned, I only had a brief synopsis and the three sides of the film. That was enough to really give me a big picture of what the story was all about. He really helped me a lot in developing the character once I was on board. When I finally made the cut, we really worked together on creating Abigail. He didn’t really have a fixed age, how Abigail looked physically, or if she was younger or older than me. So he really built on my own personal take on Abigail’s background. Then he would give me feedback, and I would adjust things. It was a very symbiotic relationship between me and Ruben in terms of developing Abigail’s character.
Abigail in the second act is working as a maid. In the final act, she becomes the alpha female and runs the show. Did you get any fulfillment or happiness from Abigail taking control? Was there a bit of schadenfreude watching the other characters suck up to her?
Dolly de Leon: That’s the most fun part to play. It’s people who are very domineering and controlling, to me, that’s the most fun. So I really had fun doing that, that part, but maybe not cheering for it so much. It’s really quite hard to have a certain dislike for these other characters. I love all the actors that we worked with. We developed a really strong friendship. And to this day, we’re still good friends. It was a bit of a real challenge to give them a hard time on the island. Abigail would just push them around, give orders, and tell them what to do. Ruben wanted it to be very clear that Abigail, even if she’s not speaking or has no lines, just by the way she carries herself, you can already see that she’s very powerful.
Power and Sexual Dynamics
NEON
Let’s extrapolate on that. The film talks about power and wealth disparity, but it also tackles sexual dynamics. I couldn’t stop laughing when Abigail makes Carl her lover. It flips the script on what was happening with him and his girlfriend in the beginning. Talk about filming those scenes in particular. They’re very intimate. Was it uncomfortable to get through?
Dolly de Leon: I’ve never done a scene like that in my entire life. I was dreading that day when we were filming it. They kept pushing it back because of weather. I wanted to get it over and done. Finally, on that day, I was really nervous. It became a little easier because Harris is really easy to work with. We talked about how we saw the scene and how we wanted it to unfold. We had a little workshop with Ruben while we were on the island about a week or two weeks before we actually we shot the scene. We were able to kind of break the ice. It’s really always awkward. We’re thinking of the angle of the camera, the action, the directions given by the director, the lines that we’re supposed to deliver. After doing a few takes, I became comfortable. It became more organic. I was spraying my mouth with Evian at the end. When I’m nervous my mouth gets really dry. I was really thirsty in the scene. That’s why I had to get a drink of water. So yeah, not easy at all.
Is Abigail taking advantage of a younger man? Do you think the character would have been well received if it were a male doing the same thing to a young woman?
Dolly de Leon: No, they probably would have gotten sexual harassment or something. That’s another problem now, the gender roles that we play. We think that just because you’re a woman, you can take advantage of people, but that’s wrong. If you think about it, maybe Carl is the one who’s taking advantage of Abigail. Right? Maybe it’s a win-win situation between the two of them? They’re both using each other. It’s that kind of relationship. But yeah, you’re right. If the man were the one in power, it would be seen totally differently. I learned from Ruben that originally, Abigail was supposed to be played by a male mechanic. I’m glad he changed his mind by the suggestion of one of his students and made that character a woman.
Are the Super Rich Despicable?
Let’s talk about the way that the film looks at wealth disparity. I thought it was very relevant depicting class divisions. Others are saying that Ruben went overboard and paints the wealthy as despicable with no redeeming values. Do you think that he’s correct in his assertions?
Dolly de Leon: Ruben is trying to drive a point. It’s not his objective to show the kindness and warmth of these rich, powerful people. That’s not the point. If you think he’s making a generalization, then I think that they need to really reflect on that. They’re the ones making that assumption. Rubin is definitely not imposing on them. Just like the way he portrays Abigail, this woman who turns the tables on them and abuses power. I don’t think all Filipino overseas workers are like that, right? We cannot make that generalization. It just so happens these uber rich people are very controlling. Then you have this Filipina, who is treated like nothing on the yacht, she gets on the island, and abuses her power. That makes for a really good story. That’s why he chose to play it out that way.
Best and Worst Day on Triangle of Sadness
Neon
What is the best and worst day for you on the set of Triangle of Sadness?
Dolly de Leon: I think the best day on set was working with all the actors all at once. I really loved having that scene with the octopus, when I was distributing the food. That was so much fun. They are such pros and so talented. It makes the job easy. The worst is probably getting on the peak of that mountain. I was terrified of that day. I had to prepare a week in advance for that scene because I am terrified of heights. The whole crew was very supportive, and our line producer was very helpful. He brought me to the site before filming to help me get used to the place. I don’t think I had any really bad experiences.
Oscar Buzz
I don’t want to jinx you, but there’s a lot of buzz around your performance. We’re heading into award season. Do you think of yourself as someone who could be an Oscar nominee or winner?
Dolly de Leon: There’s this teaching that you manifest by really wanting, so that it will happen. I believe in that. I want it to happen, of course, but that’s not the end goal. To me, it’s really been able to do more work that excites me as an actor. If an award helps me get that, then I would love it. If I don’t, it means another actor needs it more, and she deserves it. At the end of the day, I just want to keep working with great filmmakers and talented actors. It would be fantastic. But if I don’t, I’m not going to cry or lose sleep over it.
Are there more offers pouring in? Do you see yourself getting Hollywood attention from this role?
Dolly de Leon: There are some offers I am leaning towards doing. There’s one that I really want to do. So I think that’s the goal. That’s what I’m manifesting, to be able to work with filmmakers here or in Europe. I hope there’s more to come and that it’s sustainable.
A majority of audiences will be discovering you in this role. Tell us something about yourself. How do you enjoy your spare time?
Dolly de Leon: Oh, my gosh, sorry, I’m going to give you the most boring answer. I love taking care of plants. I have a little garden at home. Seeing a new leaf grow, that’s what excites me. I’m really jumping up and down seeing life growing in my garden. It’s the actor in me. I love to create. I crochet, you know, the most boring person (laughs). I know it sounds kinda weird, but I love watching crime videos. It’s not because I am advocating for serial killers. Of course not, I’m very interested in helping people find justice. I’m also into watching body language experts. I think that also helps me as an actor. I can tell immediately if someone’s bored, wanting to get out of the conversation, or if they’re really engaged. Those are the things that I love doing.
Triangle of Sadness is currently in theaters from NEON.
