Category: Video
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER – The Algerian-born star, who appears opposite Tom Cruise in Universal’s high-stakes monster tentpole, danced professionally for years before scoring her breakout role in ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service.’
Sofia Boutella may not have been hidden for 2,000 years like the character she’s playing in Universal’s The Mummy (June 9), but the former professional dancer has re-incarnated herself as a leading actress.
Born in Algeria and raised in Paris by a musician father and architect mother, Boutella has been dancing since she was 5. In 2007, at 25, she was chosen as the face (and body) of a Nike campaign; starred in a slew of music videos for Rihanna, Usher, Ne-Yo and Madonna; and starred in two of Madonna’s tours. But when she turned her focus to acting, she gave up dancing for good — the last time she was onstage was at Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl halftime show.
“I haven’t even taken a dance class,” she says. “I can’t mess with it. Dancing is too dear to me and I would want to perfect it. I really love acting and I feel like I should give it a proper go.”
That year, Boutella landed the lead in StreetDance 2; since then she has built up her career with a breakout role as Kingsman: The Secret Service’s blade-legged assassin and as alien Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond.
COLLIDER – In The Fate of the Furious, Charlize Theron dropped a sloppy kiss on Vin Diesel to seal the deal on their villainous pact; in The Mummy, Sofia Boutella uses a similar approach as a means to dispatch her enemies. Now, for the first time ever, moviegoers will see these two femme fatales pit their wiles against each other in David Leitch‘s graphic novel adaptation, Atomic Blonde.
A new clip reveals Theron’s protagonist Lorraine Broughton meeting up with the mysterious Delphine (Boutella), who, it turns out, is not so mysterious after all, at least where the undercover MI6 agent is concerned. This all plays out to the band Re-Flex’s early 1980s song, “The Politics of Dancing,” placing the scene at just the right time in the heart of the Cold War. Look for the full reveal when Atomic Blonde hits theaters on July 28th.
Check out the clip from Atomic Blonde below:
I chose to put the video from Vanity Fair with this article rather than the original Vanity Fair post because I think its really important that people don’t think I’m promoting Vanity Fair unprofessional and sexist behavior. The rest of the video shows how fun and upbeat Sofia is so its worth watching but the ending is SO wrong. Bravo on how Sofia handled it though – class act all the way!
REFINERY29 – Sofia Boutella is a name and face that you are about to see everywhere. The 35-year-old actress is set to star in two summer blockbusters, each showing off her ability to kick ass, and commit to unconventional characters. First, she is starring as the title character in the 2017 reboot of The Mummy, alongside Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe, and later she is co-starring in Charlize Theron’s ultimate shoot ’em up action movie, Atomic Blonde. With her new flashy roles comes a heap of publicity. And as a former professional dancer for Madonna, the Algerian performer is used to being in the spotlight — but not to this degree.
Considering her quick rise from supporting roles in Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond to headlining hits, Boutella already seems fairly adjusted to interviews, including the uncomfortable ones. In particular, there is a new video from Vanity Fair that has readers confused and upset on behalf of the actress. The video accompanies a short write-up on Boutella from the magazine, labeling her the an actress on the rise. The digital video is meant to showcase her eclectic personality, but instead, it reveals a gross trend in celebrity profiles.
In the video, Boutella dances around, says “fuck,” and talks about her career. And then, at the last minute, a man’s voice from off-screen asks her “When was the last time you had sex?” Her face drops and she stares at the camera then down at her feet. Instead of answering the (completely inappropriate) prompt, she asks what time it is, says “that’s it,” and then walks off. It’s weird to watch and even weirder that they included it in the final cut. What would a response to this question have proved? Would it have elevated the conversation? Given us new insight on her as an artist and performer? Nope. All it did was make her, and everyone watching, feel really uncomfortable.
