Ben Mendelsohn and Maisie Williams star as Christian and Catherine Dior in The New Look. The first three episodes of the drama series are currently streaming on Apple TV+ and new episodes will be released every Wednesday through April 3.

This emotionally thrilling series reveals the shocking story of how fashion icon Christian Dior and his contemporaries, including Coco Chanel, Pierre Balmain, and Cristóbal Balenciaga, navigated the horrors of World War II and launched modern fashion.

“It was the best thing that we really sort of, we really tried to make sure it happened, and thank God we had Apple+ that made this show because they gave us everything we needed,” Mendelsohn told me, reflecting on his experience filming in Paris. “Being able to remain in Paris was… ‘cause it’s a character in itself, the city is so beautiful, so particular, the vibe of the place, and it was great. We didn’t leave there ever. We shot the whole thing there, and it took a fair while, but it was enormously… it gave us a lot. It gave us so much.”

Williams shared, “I mean, living in Paris really helped me kind of immerse myself in Catherine’s world. I got to kind of walk the streets and go to a lot of the places that she went to or like, not inside, but you know, the outside. I think that just really helps when fleshing out someone’s world, if you’re seeing and breathing the air that they were, I find that to be really helpful. I also felt a bit of distance from my own life. I think sometimes when you think about getting into character, it’s sometimes more getting out of yourself. It just kind of is both. And so, having that degree of separation from my life was really amazing.”

I asked the actors about how filming the show exclusively in Paris helped their performances, which places stand out from their time there, and taking on these roles.

Watch my interviews below: