Dangerous Liaisons Star Alice Englert on Playing TV's Most Underhanded Ingénue
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It all began with a misunderstanding.
“I got an email I didn't read properly that just said they were doing a series of Dangerous Liaisons,” Alice Englert says. “I love Dangerous Liaisons; I've loved it since I was a teenager because I think it's got this vicious vulnerability and such a truthful tone. And I actually just thought, I don't know why you'd want to make more of it.”
But that wasn’t quite the case. The new Dangerous Liaisons series (airing now on Starz) isn’t just a retelling of the classic story of seduction and betrayal—which began as a 1782 novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, has been adapted into play and an Oscar-winning movie, and has spawned countless adaptations, including the 1999 teen classic Cruel Intentions—it’s instead a prelude to the original, telling the origin story of fiction’s steamiest schemers, Camille (who’ll become the Marquise de Merteuil) and Pascal (later the Vicomte de Valmont).
“I didn't understand that first I would be auditioning for Merteuil, who is one of my favorite female protagonists—antagonists, really—in fiction and drama,” says Englert, who’s previously appeared in The Serpent, Ratched, and Top of the Lake, and is currently directing her debut feature, Bad Behaviour. “It wasn't I read it all the way through that I finally understood we would be exploring the moment where these two people were creating themselves, that this would be the history that caused all the collateral damage in the iterations that people have seen. At that point, I was completely sold.”
It's a good thing she was. The new series is a sumptuous, biting period drama set in pre-Revolution Paris, that’s equal part love story and revenge thriller. Englert and her Valmont, Nicholas Denton, lead a cast including Lesley Manville, Carice van Houten, and Paloma Faith, and give their characters not only the sharp edges that Liaisons fans expect, but also manage to find the humanity in the younger versions of the infamous rivals.
“Alice is fearless, she will go wherever she needs to go with Camille,” says series creator Harriet Warner. “I know she went very, very deep at several points during the season to bring to the surface the huge end game of Camille’s first season. She’s extraordinary because she doesn’t miss—she gets it all, not only the raw power of Camille but the wit, the tenderness, the humor. I always saw Camille as a revolution, an agent of change, and I feel the same way about Alice.”
Still, Englert knew she had big shoes to fill; versions of her role have been memorably played on screen by the likes of Glenn Close, Annette Bening, and Sarah Michelle Gellar. “I remember one of our directors saying, ‘And now you,’ and I was like, ‘Thank you for reminding me of that intimidating list of peers,’” Englert says. “My first experience [with the character] was Glenn Close in the Stephen Frears film. It made me shiver deeply. I just thought it was so powerful seeing somebody win the game and lose everything they cared about. Every time I talk about it, I still get overexcited.”
She’s not the only one. The excitement around Dangerous Liaisons saw the series renewed for a second season before its first episode aired. And while the fate of its two main characters is clear, being given a longer road to bring them there is something for which Englert’s grateful. “I'd like to see Camille lose herself in something that feels really good, even if it's fleeting,” she says. “I would love to see her get to enjoy some pleasure, because she goes through a lot.”
Despite the character’s hardships, life on set in Prague wasn’t too difficult. “Prague was perfect for what we're doing,” Englert says. “It’s the period setting of many stories because it wasn't bombed; it's intact in its fairytale, otherworldly state. It's also, on another note, a hotspot for bachelorette parties. That's perfect for the tone of what we're up to—a mix of beauty and funny things.” And the series gave Englert a chance to bond with Denton, a fellow Australian.
“Alice is an incredibly gifted artist and actor, but also a really generous person,” he tells T&C. “She’s down-to-earth but has a highly intellectual mind; she has a vast knowledge of cinema and of the world. We’d have scenes in which I’d have no idea where we’d go. There would be rehearsals beforehand, but as soon as we got into it, it would be like we were trying to catch fire. I was so happy to be in that space with someone so generous and talented.”
Of course, most of that good will goes on ice once the cameras are rolling and their characters—former lovers now intent on destroying one another socially—begin the battle that’s made Dangerous Liaisons such an enthralling story for actors and audiences alike.
“What I took from the original was the thrill,” Englert says. “I hope the audience loves them as much as we do. I hope they love them and are as frustrated by them, that they can enjoy all their fuckery and then not try it at home. I hope they get a little thrill and a shiver. That's what kept me going.”
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