Given her ever-evolving roster of modern and period dramas, Sienna Miller knows a good set when she sees one. “It was a totally formed, fully believable world,” says Miller of the Brutalist backdrop that dominates the story line in High-Rise (in theaters tomorrow), a new thriller in which she plays a mysterious single mother living in an ominous tower where the floors are stratified by class. “The building is almost its own character in the film,” says Miller.
Shot largely at Northern Ireland’s Bangor Leisure Center, designed by Hugo Simpson in 1970, and the former Stena ferry terminal at Ballast Quay in Belfast, the film is based on J. G. Ballard’s 1975 dystopian novel of the same name and also stars Jeremy Irons as a Machiavellian architect who oversees the skyscraper and Tom Hiddleston as a doctor and new tenant. Production designer Mark Tildesley captures the book’s foreboding, futuristic tone with menacingly beautiful details, including a grand Le Corbusier–inspired foyer. “The film is dark and sinister,” says Miller. “But it’s also kind of on-the-nose in terms of the ridiculousness of what humans can do to each other, and the stories we tell each other about class and boundaries.”
Fortunately, the actress’s own home—a cottage outside London that she shares with her daughter, Marlowe—is free of such bad vibes. Read on for a peek into her lovely, low-key life.
Describe your home in five words or less.Old—16th century. Thatched. Hobbit-esque.
What’s your favorite piece that you purchased for your home?Two Deco lamps that I bought from a dealer in London. They used to be in the Plaza hotel.
If you could own any work of art what would it be?Of all the artists, I’d love to live with a Klimt. His paintings are so breathtaking.
If you could only save one thing in your home, what would it be?It would be really hard to get out the door, but I have a Damien Hirst butterfly painting, which he gave me for doing a music video for a band he managed. It’s enormous, but it means the world to me.
Before you leave the house you always . . .Get dressed. These days it’s jeans and jumpers, really.
What song has been playing most often in your home of late?We’ve been Al Green-ing it quite loudly. My favorite track of the week is “Let’s Get Married.” But I also saw Hamilton in New York, and I listen to that soundtrack religiously. It’s pretty hysterical watching my daughter, who is three and a half and has an English accent, trying to rap. Her running around going, “I’m the damn fool who shot him,” is the highlight of my day.
What was the best designed set you’ve ever worked on?High-Rise was amazing, and it’s incredible what they did with a small budget. And I just did a film that Ben Affleck directed called Live by Night, which is set in the 1920s. Every drawer I opened had a ’20s lighter or deck of cards—the attention to detail was just incredible. I play Emma Gould, an Irish immigrant, the daughter of a pimp, a sort of wrong-side-of-the-tracks, damaged little creature. It’s an amazing part.
What was the best movie prop you’ve gotten to take home?I have a compact blusher from the ’60s that I used in Factory Girl, when I played Edie Sedgwick.
Where do you keep your awards?In the downstairs loo. I don’t know why. That’s where they ended up. If I had an office maybe I would have put them there, but I don’t.
What’s your favorite design era?I love Deco. I just think the lines are beautiful. I love Swedish turn-of-the-century furniture and Austrian fabrics. I’m not so into 1960s and ’70s furniture, though I could chuck in a ’60s sofa. I really like a big mix of things.
When it comes to fashion . . .I love it all. I mean, big ’70s shaggy sheepskin coats and floaty things. I’m very at home in those. It can get a little contrived—like when I see people wearing floral headbands at Coachella, it makes me cringe. But I’ve got some Ossie Clark pieces that my mother kept and my friends’ mothers have given me, and there are some beautiful things from that era.
The most beautiful architecture is . . .Georgian. I love those windows and the waiting rooms. Those buildings feel so great when you’re inside them.
If you could live in any famous home, which would it be?Fallingwater. All of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work is amazing.
