Elisabeth Moss is stepping into a different kind of role with her new film Shell, a dark comedy that takes aim at the obsession with youth and beauty in Hollywood.
The actress, 43, portrays a performer in her 40s whose management encourages her to get some cosmetic work done in order to land better roles.
What starts out as a career decision soon spirals into something more sinister when her character tries a cutting-edge procedure developed by Zoe Shannon, played by Kate Hudson, only to discover that the treatment comes with deadly consequences.
The movie, directed by Max Minghella, leans into a campy horror style rather than a serious critique of aging and beauty standards.
Moss says that was exactly the point.
“That’s what we really wanted,” she explains. “We wanted it to be this entertaining, fun, campy, wild ride of a film without there being some super-serious statement about beauty and aging.”
While the storyline touches on very real pressures faced by women in the industry, Moss points out that chasing youth is hardly new.
She describes the theme as something humanity has lived with for centuries, and part of the fun of Shell was exploring just how far people might go in that pursuit.
Hudson’s character, she notes, pushes those boundaries the most, risking everything in the process.
The project also marks a reunion between Moss and Minghella, who previously worked together on The Handmaid’s Tale.
Moss, who also serves as a producer on the film, says their creative partnership is effortless. They share the same taste in movies and television, and on set, she explains, there’s no ego or unnecessary drama, just a mutual focus on getting the work done.
Despite her reputation for serious, emotionally intense roles like Peggy Olsen in Mad Men and June Osborne in The Handmaid’s Tale, Moss reveals that her off-screen personality is much lighter.
She admits most people expect her to be “super, super serious” when they meet her, but quickly realize she’s the opposite. That side of her, she hints, might one day lead her into a romantic comedy or a straight comedy role.
“I obviously gravitate towards more dramatic material because I love doing that. I love dramatic acting, and I don’t consider it hard — it’s fun for me, is the best way of putting it,” she explains.
But Moss also looks back fondly on the golden age of rom-coms from the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s, films she describes as Capital Mmovies — well-written, old-fashioned stories that audiences enjoy watching.
“So yeah, I’d love to be a part of something like that,” she says.
Shell is now playing in select theaters and is also available on digital platforms starting October 3.