Zendaya’s latest magazine photo session, overseen by Dune director Denis Villeneuve, featured the actress baring plenty of skin.
And Denis went with an arty theme for the W magazine spread: The beauty from Oakland, California, wore a skimpy black top that showed off her slender arms and chest before she modeled a small gold bra.
Inside the issue, the former teen star revealed why she felt that her Dune co-star Timothee Chalamet would be put off by her.
Light on clothing: Zendaya flashed plenty of skin for her latest magazine photo session which had her Dune director Denis Villeneuve overseeing the shoot
As good as gold: And Denis went with an arty theme for the shoot: The beauty from Oakland, California, wore a skimpy black top that showed off her slender arms and chest before she modeled a small gold bra
‘I had just gotten my wisdom teeth taken out…My biggest fear was that my mouth would be vile, and then I would have to do a scene with Timothée where we have to be really close, and he would smell my dry socket breath,’ said the Spider-Man star.
But she was very attracted to the project.
‘Walking in other people’s shoes is my job…So when you have this beautiful meeting of escapism, other realms, dimensions, planets, futurist times, but then you can also exist as a human being who’s just going through life and trying to survive and exist [trailing off]…It’s so hard to find the heart in something really, really massive.
‘And there’s no person better at that than Denis,’ said the cover girl.
Dune pair: Inside the issue, the former teen star revealed why she felt that her Dune co-star Timothee Chalamet would be put off by her. Seen in February
Feeling self-conscious: ‘I had just gotten my wisdom teeth taken out…My biggest fear was that my mouth would be vile, and then I would have to do a scene with Timothée where we have to be really close, and he would smell my dry socket breath,’ said the Spider-Man star
BUT: But she was very attracted to the project. ‘Walking in other people’s shoes is my job…So when you have this beautiful meeting of escapism, other realms, dimensions, planets, futurist times, but then you can also exist as a human being who’s just going through life and trying to survive and exist’
Zendaya also said she likes to be in control.
‘As a Virgo, I hate not being in control of things, and spontaneity is difficult for me in real life,’ said the Valentino model.
But acting lets her cut loose, she claimed.
‘It’s funny, because that’s why I love acting so much. It’s the one space in which I can feel safe being spontaneous, because I’m not myself; I’m someone else. There are no consequences.’
Props for her director: ‘And there’s no person better at that than Denis,’ said the cover girl
The issue was the fourth and final cover of W Magazine Volume 2, The Directors Issue.
Directed by Villeneuve, Photographed by Jack Davison, Written by Brooke Marine, Styled by Law Roach, the profile was definitely one of the magazine’s more arty.
The Directors Issue celebrates some of the greatest and most talked about directors in film this year.
Inspired by David Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth and how to play with time, not space, Villeneuve asked Zendaya to portray a visitor from the future in an out of-this-world photo production.
Cruise control: Zendaya also said she likes to be in control. ‘As a Virgo, I hate not being in control of things, and spontaneity is difficult for me in real life,’ said the Valentino model
Denis Villeneuve on shooting his first magazine cover: ‘Zendaya has shot maybe 10,000 covers of magazines. It’s something I’ve never done…I’m approaching this with a lot of humility. My expectation about it is just to have, frankly, creative fun.’
Villeneuve also discussed his passion for movies: ‘One of my favorite things about cinema is when everybody starts to dance and create poetry with a camera. It deeply moves me and gives sense to my life.
‘The language of cinema is by far the most powerful way to tell a story. You hypnotize people, and you bring them into a world, into emotions. Music can do that in some ways too, but there’s something about cinema that is, for me, unbeatable.’
Acting helps: But acting lets her cut loose, she claimed. ‘It’s funny, because that’s why I love acting so much’
On the cover: She had round objects all around her head as she wore a black dress
And he loves that he pulls people in: ‘What will make a story relevant is if you believe in the characters, and if they are real beings having real human responses…People will believe in Arrakis if they believe in Zendaya. And Zendaya killed it. When we turned on the camera and she started to behave as Chani, I saw the birth of the character.’
He started in documentaries and that gave his a special edge.
‘I learned to approach reality with a camera, and to use a camera in the context of improvisation…A sci-fi movie is very different from a documentary, but there’s still a sacred space that I’m trying to protect,’ said the director.
The magazine hits newsstands on March 8.
