Before scoring a scene-stealing role as a dancing robot in 2015’s “Ex Machina,” Tokyo-born, U.K.-raised Sonoya Mizuno had a career as a ballet dancer. Since then, she’s co-starred twice with Emma Stone, in “La La Land” and Netflix’s “Maniac,” had an over-the-top wedding in “Crazy Rich Asians,” and reteamed with “Ex Machina” director Alex Garland twice more, in “Annihilation” and the upcoming FX limited series “Devs.” In the latter, Mizuno steps into the leading role for the first time, playing a software engineer who suspects the company she works for might be responsible for her boyfriend’s death.
Tell us about your first day on a professional set.
My first acting job was “Ex Machina.” I remember the first day was the first scene I had, which is when Kyoko goes into Caleb’s room and delivers tea. I remember it very well. I don’t remember being very nervous for some reason. I guess I was only delivering a tray of tea, but still. I did the scene and I left the room and I did this hand movement on the door and I remember Alex Garland really liking it, thinking it was really good. This is my memory of being surprised and [thinking], Cool, nailed that! That was my first day of my first film, my first acting job.
READ: Alex Garland on ‘Annihilation’ and Why He Cast Natalie Portman
Speaking of Alex Garland, you’re working with him again on “Devs.” What has playing Lily on this series added to your acting skills?
It’s just so much bigger than anything I’ve ever done. The scope of it, the length of time that I’m on the screen is so much more than anything I’d done before. There were so many things that I had to do that were basically new to me, including dramatic dialogue scenes, very emotional scenes, a lot of action, physical stuff as well. It was like doing a six-month master class.
You spent the first part of your career as a ballet dancer. When did you decide you wanted to be an actor?
To be honest, it wasn’t one particular moment. I started dancing when I was a child because I wanted to act. It was always there in the background. Then I moved around in quite a few ballet companies and I never felt very satisfied. At some point, I did make a decision to do some auditions for extra [roles], and then the plan was to eventually audition for drama school. Then I got “Ex Machina” while I was still in a ballet company. The decision was made for me, in a way. It had always been there, but it just happened, and then I was happy to go with it. I knew it was the right thing to go with it.
How did you first get your SAG-AFTRA card?
I believe it was a job called “The Domestics,” which was directed by Mike Nelson. It’s a film shot in New Orleans. I remember I had recently moved to L.A. and I didn’t really know what a SAG card was. I remember walking down Hollywood Boulevard and being on the phone with my English agent and she was saying, “Oh, to do this job, I think you’re going to need to get your SAG card.” And I hadn’t the foggiest idea how to do that and I was leaving in like, three days.
READ: How to Join SAG-AFTRA
What advice would you give your younger self?
In a way, you go through all the shit stuff and you learn so much from it. In my case, I feel grateful that everything that happened happened. I would say to be patient and not worry about achieving so much when you’re young. I’ve always felt [like] a bit of a slow developer. I started acting when I was 26, and at ballet school, I was always one of the ones who took longer to get strong. I always felt a bit behind, and it would frustrate me and I felt like I needed to catch up. Recently, I’ve let go of that and I’m going on the ride of the highs and the lows. I’m hoping life will be long and I can reach the high points later and not worry about it too much. Just be patient and be happy to be slow-burning.
What’s the wildest thing you ever did to get a role?
I guess the wildest thing I’ve ever done is for “Ex Machina.” At the time I auditioned, I was in a full-time ballet company under contract. When I heard Alex wanted to audition me again for the Kyoko part, the director at the ballet company wouldn’t let me leave. So I quit my job and got on a plane to London. I didn’t have anywhere to live, I didn’t have any income. I didn’t know if I was going to get the job, I had no job afterward, I didn’t have any agent. I just went and thought, Fuck it, I’m going to see what happens. Luckily, I did get the job. I was couch surfing for a few months. I don’t really have the situation where I can just go home and live at home. So that was probably the wildest thing I did: I gave everything up to go to that audition, not even knowing if I was going to get it or not. Thank fuck I did. [Laughs] It worked out!
Was landing that job how you got your first agent?
No, I couldn’t get an agent after I did that job, after I shot it. Which is fair enough, because I think people were like, “Who are you? Where have you come from?” I did try, but it took me about a year, and then I got a small agent in London, a boutique one. That was my first agent. Then I took myself out to L.A. to do some meetings with managers, but I got turned away from a lot of places, which happens to a lot of people. After the film came out, that was the first time I got a bit of interest from American reps and agents, which was nice.
What is your worst audition horror story?
I had an audition for a David Mamet play, which I really wanted to do and I feel like I definitely bombed that one. I don’t want to talk about that. [Laughs] It’s happened quite a few times, but I’ve probably erased them from my memory because it’s quite traumatic.
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What performance should every actor see and why?
I don’t know if people can watch it now—maybe it was filmed—but Glenda Jackson in “Three Tall Women.” I think that was the most moving performance I’ve ever experienced watching; it really shook me to my core. I’m always trying to learn more about how to use my voice, because obviously I come from dance and I’m more familiar with using my body. Amongst everything else that was amazing about her performance, the way she used her voice, the way she held nothing back and had this willingness to go anywhere and such depth and clarity, was really one of the most powerful things in the theater I had ever experienced. That’s a performance that will stay with me forever.
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