Melia Kreiling - ContentMode

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Melia Kreiling

stars in

Amazon Series

MAMMALS

The Athens born actress Melia Kreiling plays the leading role of Amandine in Prime Video’s Mammals, opposite James Corden. Witten by Jez Butterworth, the series takes us on a wild ride of complex and often hard to solve puzzles surrounding love and romance without ever giving us a smooth or easy solution. Amandine is the kind of girl you either love or hate. She has little regard of which one you choose because at the end of the day she keeps it real with everyone, most importantly with herself. We sat down in Kreiling to talk about her time with such a special script, her experience filming, and all the high and lows of relationships.

Knit camisole & Necklace: CHLOE

The twists and turns in Mammals are next level. What was your experience like reading the script initially?

Yes, they really are. As I first read it I was busy trying to track how and when things took place in the timeline, and eventually I felt that timelines are so subjective when it comes to relationships; it happens all the time, those involved remembering things completely differently and placing events at different times to the other’s recollection. Then on top of that you have the mouth-dropping incidents themselves, which can seem so completely insane on a screen and a condensed storyline, and really isn’t life just incredibly inventive and surprising sometimes? Especially when there is a strong catalyst.

Shearling Jacket: IRO PARIS

You grew up in Athens and have a background in dance. What motivated you to pursue acting?

I trained in dance from a young age, and as I grew older and my experiences of dance deepened, I was increasingly interested in dance theater, a very prominent style of dance in Europe especially. I remember watching performances of Pina Bausch’s dance company and seeing how much more there was to it than just physical technique. I was by nature quite theatrical, and also quite interested in what makes people behave as they do, and so when circumstances changed it became almost a natural evolution to go on to study acting. I also think about how fortunate I was to have been raised in a culture where going to the theater for a night out is as normal (and affordable) as going for a casual dinner.

Amandine is the kind of girl you either love or hate when you first encounter her. What was your experience like with the character and how did you connect with her?

I was so excited when I realized how little she cares about whether we love her or hate her. And I don’t mean that she is arrogant about it, but that she has a very deep sense that her life should not be dictated by what people think of her. She is an outsider in many ways, and embraces that. In literal terms, by being a French girl in a very British environment, and in more soulful ways that she is a sort of wandering dreamer and doesn’t really mind if people don’t get it. I really fell in love with how little she feels she should explain to anyone. As an audience we may disagree with her, find her reprehensible, or love her entirely even, but none of that was ever the point for me. It is her drive to understand love at its purest and most capable that really tickled me. There’s a line she says during a therapy scene: ‘what a heart is, what it can do, what it must do’. That idea and image of a heart as both a trainable muscle and a spiritual force, is just amazing.

Blazer and pants: IRO PARIS Heels: Larroude

The role of the hero switches in the show between Amandine and Jamie. Can you share a bit about the dynamic of starring the show opposite James Corden?

It was a perfect fit for me. James’s quiet power as Jamie, how endearing and willing and unstoppable he made his character, it made perfect sense as to why my character is drawn to him. And in terms of us as actors, there was complete safety there for me, it felt like he just trusted what I was doing, we were very much in natural sync about how to create these waves of change throughout. And we did it without much discussion really. That’s where the great writing comes in, too. And the directing. It just all clicked together. Also, he is the perfect dose of silliness and fun when you need it. You have to get some breaks in there, you know?

The show has a lot of strong symbolism such as the whale and the violin. Which one did you identify with the most?

There’s so much symbolism and magical realism here. I connected to all of it because once you let go of the literal, you realize how much of life we tend to explain in those ways or attach meaning to things that may seem irrelevant or even straight up weirdo to someone else. The ones that I loved the most in the series are actually not ones my character is directly involved with. The conversation when Jamie explains to Jeff how he ‘can’t see the bottom of this’ in his discovery of Amandine’s cheating; it takes place in a rose garden! How beautiful is that? A rose, so beautiful and essential and scented like heaven, and yet so full of thorns too. You have to be careful when handling roses don’t you? What a great place to have a discussion like that for a scene, without ever making it obvious.

Shearling Jacket: IRO PARIS

It’s refreshing how Mammals doesn’t seem to discriminate against any of the characters, no matter how flawed they are. It makes you question morals in romantic relationships. What did you take away from this project?

I agree completely, it is refreshing. What I started to really consider is that perhaps morals are for the relationship part of the agreement between two partners, not for the love part of it. Love doesn’t really follow rules, does it? Love does its own thing, it dances to its own jazz. The morals are what we put in place to try to avoid the inevitable crash that untamed love might lead us to. I love that these characters are balance-beaming with their flaws and virtues. Desperately trying to hold onto morals while also figuring out what those morals even are.

You’re playing Sofia Sideris in the new Emily in Paris. Can you share a bit of what we can expect from your character?

Sofia is a visual artist who lives and works on this idyllic little island called Hydra (which is actually a real-life haven for artists from around the world) and she gets invited to exhibit her work in Paris. There’s a lot of surprises in this season and I had a ton of fun working with the cast. It’s such a pop culture phenomenon so it was of course a wonderful project to be a part of. And this character is a feisty one!

Knit camisole & Necklace: CHLOE

When you’re not on set, what are you doing?

I’m traveling, eating, reading, seeing my family, enjoying the down time and then getting restless again.

Can you share one of your favorite scenes from Mammals?

One of my favorites is the final scene between Jamie and Amandine. There’s so much room for interpretation. It’s one of those scenes where I could feel it in my bones: the vast confusion of relationships. The full spectrum of it all.

Jacket: Dolce & Gabbanna

What kind of roles would you like to explore in the future?

There has to be something I inherently understand or perceive about a role I want to play, but it needs to also cause some friction for me, some kind of challenge, or question that I feel I want to answer… Those are my favorites anyway.

What’s your skincare routine?

I wash my face with Dr Organic tea tree face wash, morning and night. I apply some toner by Apivita. I use various anti-redness moisturizers, followed by an eye serum from Amore Pacific and eye cream by La Mer. I love chantecaille’s buildable foundation, and if I’m having a jeans and sweater day I’ll also smudge my lips with some CHANEL Rouge Alllure lipstick. I don’t walk out the house unless I have brushed my eyebrows upwards.