IN CONVERSATION WITH MANDEEP DHILLON

interview by JANA LETONJA

British actress and singer Mandeep Dhillon has built a career defined by range, moving effortlessly between dark comedy, blockbuster franchises and high-stakes drama. After memorable turns in After Life, CSI: Vegas, Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker and The Sheep Detectives, she returns this September as Seraphina in the second season of Guy Ritchie’s MobLand. With also currently filming Netflix’s The Woods, her next chapter finds her taking on increasingly complex characters while continuing to expand her creative world beyond the screen.

bodysuit ALAIA
earrings KATKIM
tights FALKE
pumps SAINT LAURENT

MobLand became an enormous global success with its first season. What was it like returning for season two knowing how strongly audiences had responded to the show?
It’s always a great feeling when an audience responds to a show that you have really loved filming, so coming back for season two felt exciting and rewarding. It was also nice to be reunited with the cast and crew. There is something about coming back to do a second season, where everyone has a familiarity with each other, so it feels like home. I think my main thing was let’s make sure people love season two as much as, if not more than, season one.

Seraphina has such a complicated position within the family as an illegitimate daughter. What interested you most about that dynamic when you first approached her?
The fact that she is an illegitimate daughter, yet her dad’s favourite, so she can rub that in Maeve’s face, is so juicy. What interested me most was because she knows she is loved, she knows that she is smart and trusted, and she knows she is her dad’s favourite, it means she can boldly take up space.

How does Seraphina evolve in season two, and what were you most excited to explore with her this time around?
There is something so wildly freeing about playing a character that is hated by people and not giving a damn. Walking into a room knowing you are the shit, and knowing other people don’t like that or are threatened by that. It makes you feel powerful because they are the ones losing sleep, not you. I loved that dynamic.

Also, going head to head with Helen Mirren for another season is as joyous as one could hope.

Seraphina evolves in season two in many ways. Firstly, she isn’t the same version of herself that she was in season one. In season one, she came so close to death. That experience has changed something in her, and she will do absolutely everything in her power to never be in that position again.

Seraphina is fully out for herself this season. She knows what she wants and she will do absolutely everything to get it. I was really excited to explore the lengths she would go to make a change. She is super smart, savvy and strategic, and I love that she isn’t afraid to play with fire to get to the top.

blazer and trousers MONSE
earring KATKIM
pointer finger and pinky rings KATKIM
middle finger ring JANE JONES LA

MobLand is a world built around family, loyalty, ambition and power. Which of those themes do you think most defines Seraphina?
Honestly, all of them. She loves her family, even though they are all a bit messed up, and she loves her father even though she believes his time is over. She can see everyone’s flaws and their blind spots.

Her ambition is huge. She wants to be as big as Kat McAllister. She wants that level of power, and she knows the perfect way to get it.

Loyalty is something that Seraphina is asked to question within herself this season. What does loyalty mean to her? Can she be loyal? Does she even want to be loyal? Or does being disloyal actually, in a roundabout way, mean being loyal?

Guy Ritchie has such a distinctive cinematic language. What is the experience of working with him like from an actor’s perspective?
I personally have really enjoyed working with Guy. I like the fast pace that he works at, and I also like the last minute changes. You are constantly on your feet and need to be in a position to pivot at any moment.

That should scare the shit out of me, but oddly enough, I get a buzz out of it.

MobLand can be incredibly dark, but there’s also wit and unpredictability throughout it. Do you enjoy finding humor within darker characters and situations?
I do. That’s what I really enjoyed when watching season one, how funny it was in tone when there was so much darkness and chaos. I think humour makes the darkness feel more human. People still find ways to laugh even when everything around them is falling apart.

coat JEAN PAUL GAULTIER

You previously starred opposite Ricky Gervais in After Life, which required a very different kind of performance. How important is it for you to keep moving between genres?
I’m grateful that I have had the opportunity to move between genres. I think humans are so layered and wonderfully complex, and to be able to play characters who are so different from one another is definitely important to me.

I’ve been getting a lot of DMs on my Instagram recently from fans who loved After Life and who now love MobLand, and the one thing they all seem to mention is that they couldn’t believe it was the same actress playing both parts because they are so different. That’s nice. I love that.

Your work in After Life earned you a Best Actress nomination at the National Film Awards UK. What did that character and series teach you about balancing comedy with emotional vulnerability?
I feel like life is like that. Sometimes sadness and joy go hand in hand. That was my favourite thing about Inside Out, the idea that our emotions aren’t always separate from one another.

Sometimes I will be watching the most beautiful sunset and feel so happy and grateful to be alive, and then the next minute I’m in tears because it is so beautiful. We humans are fragile, and luckily we have humour in us to balance that out. My friend and I always laugh because even in the saddest moments of our lives, we are somehow still able to crack a joke.

You’re currently also working on Netflix’s The Woods, another thriller but within the very different world of Harlan Coben. What attracted you to that project?
I have been a fan of Harlan Coben for such a long time. I read his books growing up and have loved the adaptations, so when the offer came in for this one I was already drawn to it because I love his voice.

When I read the scripts, I really loved my character on the page and remember texting my team saying, “She’s basically me.” I love when I can connect with a character, whichever way that may be, and my character in this definitely has bits of me.

Also, it’s nice to do something where at the end of each episode you’re like, “WTF?”

bodysuit MUGLER
earrings ALAIA
belt DEHANCE
tights FALKE
pumps SAINT LAURENT

You’re also a singer. Does music give you a form of creative expression that acting can’t?
Oh, absolutely. So far in my acting career, I have been bringing other people’s stories to life, and I love that. However, with music I get to tell my own stories through lyrics and melodies.

I feel way more vulnerable releasing a song than I do when a TV show comes out, because the song, my music, is a part of me. So it feels fulfilling as a way of expressing myself, but also a bit scary because it’s revealing a part of myself.

I also find that music is an easier process from thought to execution. There is something about having that creative control that I really enjoy.

Fashion can become another form of character-building and self-expression. How would you describe your own relationship with style away from the roles you play?
Honestly, for the longest time I have been a secret Adam Sandler. My friends send me memes of Adam Sandler all the time because as soon as I get home, I just transform into him.

In public, however, I’m really enjoying dipping my toe into fashion and playing with different silhouettes and structures, and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I really enjoy when I have a costume fitting and the stylist asks me to try stuff on that I would never even think to try on in real life. I am always pleasantly surprised when something looks good, and then I’m like, “Wait, I need to dress like this in real life.”

I love a nice bag. And I love a nice heel. I feel like every wardrobe needs a good few staples and then you can rotate from there.

Your career has grown steadily rather than being defined by one single breakout moment. Has that given you a different perspective on ambition and longevity?
It’s made me appreciate the journey. I think sometimes we can be so fixated on the end result, or the goal, or the destination, that we forget to realise the journey is where you have all the fun.

I’m actually really grateful that my career has grown steadily, as it has enabled me to stay grounded whilst growing and has also given me the time to evolve as a human and as an actor.

With MobLand returning and The Woods ahead, what would you like this next chapter of your career to reveal about you that audiences haven’t seen yet?
That I’m just getting started.

coat JACQUEMUS
tights FALKE
pumps SAINT LAURENT
rings KATKIM

TEAM CREDITS:
talent MANDEEP DHILLON
photography PARKER BURR at TMG LA
styling MARISA ELLISON at Opus Beauty
makeup ADAM BREUCHAUD at Forward Artists
hair SERENA RADAELLI at Opus Beauty
photography assistants NOLAN HICKEY and GIANCARLO MORENO
styling assistant SIENA SKYE BOGATIN
editor TIMI LETONJA
editorial director & interview JANA LETONJA