Josephine Langford is a cold person. No, not in the figurative sense—she means it quite literally.
It’s no wonder why. The Australian actor was born and raised in Perth, one of the hottest cities (on average) in the entire country. So when the 24-year-old was transported to Bulgaria where she filmed her latest film instalment of the cult teen film series, After We Fell, the climate was a little bit of a shock to the system.
“It was negative zero—and in some of the scenes I was standing outside in a mini-dress,” she tells marie claire in an exclusive interview alongside her co-star and on-screen love interest, Hero Fiennes Tiffin.
“I’m usually a very cold person,” she explains, while Fiennes Tiffin affirmed: “And I was in a full suit—I had thermals underneath, I’d doubled up my socks and I was still freezing… I have so much credit for you”.
It was December 2020, and much of the world was in a full-scale lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But in a fortunate situation, filming for the third instalment in the After series was able to go ahead—provided the entire cast and crew remained in a tight knit bubble.
Interestingly, being locked down in the same hotel together during filming worked far more in their favour than expected.
“There was this close knit family vibe,” Fiennes Tiffin describes, “Because of the restrictions we were forced to spend more time together.”
And that translated onto the screen, a place where the cast had to create chemistry and perform at their best together in freezing temperatures (no easy feat).
“[Being locked down together] definitely helped me,” Josephine adds.
“You get to spend all this time with them off-set, and that translates to being more comfortable on-camera too.”
Of course, the scenes the pair were filming together weren’t exactly easy—COVID or no COVID.
The After films (based on the best selling teen series by Anna Todd follow the turbulent relationship of two coming-of-age teens Tessa and Hardin.
As they navigate their way through their early years of college, friendships and relationships are tested—particularly between the leading couple, whose fiery romance delves into deep and darker themes including addiction and assault.
After We Fell, which is set for release on Amazon Prime on October 22, is a continuation of the complicated relationship between Tessa and Hardin, as well as their failing connections to their fathers.
There’s some very problematic moments we see play out—from Hardin sabotaging Tessa’s dream job to testing her loyalty in extreme ways.
The book alone is a heavy read, and the film is expected to amplify that on-screen—but Fiennes Tiffin explains there’s something in it that people can truly learn from: “I don’t mean at all by copying Hardin and Tessa because their relationship is far from smooth,” he adds.
“There’s a magnifying glass that we’ve put on every aspect of this kind of relationship. You see the steamy sex scenes, and you see the arguments as well as them indulging on certain things you probably shouldn’t indulge in—these are real aspects that a coming-of-age love story might shy away from.”
After We Fell drops on Amazon Prime on October 22—to watch it, sign up to the streaming service here.
