Inside the lavish Dangerous Liaisons masquerade ball-themed world premiere
On Wednesday night, the star-studded cast of Starz's upcoming historical drama Dangerous Liaisons rang in their world premiere by waltzing into an ornate, late 18th-century masquerade ball that felt ripped straight from the pages of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' iconic novel.
Held at Cipriani Wall Street in NYC, the black-tie event — which featured an opera performance by Rachel Hippert, string musicians, and a large display of a scenic view of Paris complete with a hot air balloon — was impressive not only for its attendees, but the cast as well. "This is pretty lush. To be honest, it's very different to Melbourne, to Australia, to my garden, to my flat," Nicholas Denton, who plays the "snake-like" Pascal Valmont, told Entertainment Weekly on the red carpet. "I've never been in this kind of experience before, so it's super new… I'm having my own moment right now."
Dangerous Liaisons is, of course, no stranger to being adapted on stage and screen. A 1988 film iteration, starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich, was nominated for seven awards at the 61st Academy Awards. It was later reimagined as the teen drama Cruel Intentions, featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe, in the '90s.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images 'Dangerous Liaisons' stars (from L-R): Michael McElhatton, Nathanael Saleh, Carice van Houten, Colette Dalal Tchantcho, Nicholas Denton, Alice Englert, Paloma Faith, and Kosar Ali
Instead of rehashing familiar territory, the newest iteration of Dangerous Liaisons serves as a precursor to Laclos' 1782 novel and sees its legendary characters — the bold Camille (Alice Englert) and cunning Valmont (Denton) — as they climb to the top of high society in pre-revolutionary France by any means necessary. The genesis of the show, however, came to creator Harriet Warner through a short and unassuming passage tucked away within the original text.
"There's one particular letter in the book that really gives this sense that there could have been a very different life before this very iconic character of the Marquise de Merteuil," Warner shared with EW. "That kind of made me think, 'Wow, there is something new to say here.' There's been so many adaptations, you want to have something fresh to say, and I thought, 'I want to know how these two people come to be so amoral and corrupted and the toxicity of their relationship. I want to go back to the beginning. How did that start?'"
A screening of the first episode at the event — rife with tension, deceit, and seduction — not only highlights the lengths these characters will go, but the dangers that come with it. "I've brought the danger because I think what we have, telling it from a slightly different social class, is the sense of what happens when there's no safety net," Warner explained. "I wanted to make the schemes and the games [that] these two characters play when we meet them in the novel and the movie… I wanted to really invest those with huge stakes."
The series is bolstered by the sizzling chemistry between its two leads that Warner could feel right off the bat from their first joint audition. "This show is all about chemistry. At the end of the day, it's a love story," she said. "It might be a toxic one, but it's a love story."
Adela Loconte/Shutterstock Alice Englert at the 'Dangerous Liaisons' world premiere in NYC
For Englert, stepping into the shoes of Close's character was a teenage dream realized. "I remember feeling this kind of shiver in my body from Glenn Close's performance," she recalled of watching the movie. "The idea that pride and love were incompatible rang so true. The game teases this idea that one day you will win, but you are always a kind of prisoner of it no matter what. I just thought it was vicious and vulnerable and I love it."
The Power of the Dog actress, however, was less enthused about its accompanying corset. "It was really interesting because, in some ways, sometimes the costumes felt like a fortress that could protect you," she shared. "But then, most of the time, it really felt something like a straightjacket. A kind of bondage into the time period. I'm very relieved to be in the modern times because you really feel it."
Meanwhile, Denton stayed as far away from Malkovich's original performance as possible. "I've never seen 'em, but I'm a huge John Malkovich fan. I remember watching The Glass Menagerie daytime TV movie he did," he said. "It blew my mind, so I reckon if I watched the film, I would've just copied John Malkovich."
John Lamparski/Getty Images Nicholas Denton at the 'Dangerous Liaisons' world premiere in NYC
More than anything, Dangerous Liaisons required Denton to be quick on his feet. "The most important part of playing something like this is you don't know which way you're going to go in a scene," he shared. "The tact can change really quickly and so, for me, as an actor, it's blessed."
He also praised his fellow castmates for their sensitivity with the "gnarly context and subject matter" depicted in the series, adding, "It's toxicity in relationships, it's power dynamics, it's trying to rise in the nature of patriarchy in the 18th century, and it's pretty amazing to kind of start to throw fists with our manipulative text. It's super charming."
But, as Game of Thrones alum Carice van Houten noted, Dangerous Liaisons is also about the bonds between women too. "We're shown so many different ways and different layers of society, it's not just the upper class waving their fans, it's also the poor people and their love life and how they do that and what they have in common," she said. "It's also a real show about sisterhood. I think that should be cherished and we have to really be aware of that."
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Carice van Houten at the 'Dangerous Liaisons' world premiere in NYC
Despite its heavy subject matter, there is still a bit of levity present too. Actress and musician Paloma Faith calls her character, Florence de Regnier, a magical sort of "17th-century TikTok influencer" who is "happy to project her power and manipulation." Still, that doesn't mean she was scrolling through her For You Page for inspiration. "I'm on TikTok begrudgingly," she joked. "I just think it takes so much time. I've got a full-time job also. Several!"
For Colette Dalal Tchantcho, the role of Ondine de Valmont allowed her the opportunity to return to a familiar world once again. "I actually played Merteuil in drama school," she revealed. "I was 18, 19, and there were plenty of girls around that looked perfect for the role, but I was honored with playing her and so I was already familiar with the source material. My agent knew this, so when it came along, I was ready to go."
And, naturally, a few lighthearted pranks took place on set as well. "I would steal the gloves away from the grips and hide them in places," Tchantcho shared. "I had gaps in my petticoat, so I would hide some snacks and would give out Twixes to people that did little favors for me.
John Lamparski/Getty Images Colette Dalal Tchantcho at the 'Dangerous Liaisons' world premiere in NYC
"I accidentally was saying Alice's lines because we had done it so many times and I was so tired that I started to think it was my line. One time, it was funny. Second time, she realized, 'Oh, you didn't realize it's not your line!' I was like, 'I'm sorry!'"
Directed by Leonora Lonsdale (The Pale Horse) and Olly Blackburn (Sanditon), Dangerous Liaisons rounds out its cast with performances by Nathaneal Saleh, Lesley Manville, Clare Higgins, Michael McElhatton, Lucy Cohu, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Kosar Ali, and Mia Threapleton. The series will premiere Nov. 6 on Starz.
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