Carnival Row's Cara Delevingne Had A Terrible Experience Filming In Freezing Temperatures
As the faerie Vignette Stonemoss on the neo-noir, occasionally racy Amazon Prime fantasy "Carnival Row," Cara Delevingne's fae freedom fighter plays a pivotal role opposite Orlando Bloom's human-fae hybrid Philo Philostrate. The two are first thrown together, and then torn apart, as they navigate the series' narrative of racial intolerance, war, and resistance. Throughout the series' two seasons, Vignette and Philo both fight the horrific oppression faced by the fae and other non-human species confined within the bounds of the ghetto that gives the series its name.
Filmed primarily in the Czech Republic with detours to locations in Germany and Illinois in the U.S., the series' world-building features an intricately detailed, steampunk-inspired motif. While shooting in the Czech capital of Prague, the show often filmed scenes on the backlot of the city's Barrandov Studios. However, shooting a fantasy show is rarely simple, and the actors can face all sorts of unexpected issues. During one particular interlude depicting Delevingne and Bloom conversing while caught in a drenching downpour, the actress says the backlot's frigid temperatures posed a particularly daunting challenge.
As she revealed during an appearance with Bloom on "Conan," the conditions put the usual "rain blimps" out of action. As the actress recounted, large water hoses were used instead for the scene, with torrents splashing off of Bloom and, basically, directly into Delevingne's face, leaving her cold, sputtering, and barely able to deliver her lines.
Conditions on the Carnival Row set made for a cold, soggy scene
As Cara Delevingne explained during the "Conan" Q&A mentioned above, the "Carnival Row" scene in question between her and Orlando Bloom was shot "in Prague on location [where] they had an incredible backlot." But she added, "It was absolutely freezing." Bloom then noted the lot's low temperature, saying "I think it was probably minus six [Celsius, i.e., 21 degrees Fahrenheit]." With the studio's standard "rain blimps" frozen and useless, Delevingne continued, the crew had to train water hoses on the actors and continuously deluge them with water, which is understandably a reasonably unpleasant experience in such weather circumstances.
Of course, Delevigne wasn't the only one suffering from the situation ... yet somehow, her co-star's costume also managed to contribute to her discomfort without directly adding to Bloom's own. As water started blowing, Bloom's costume became an additional problem, with one component of his outfit conspiring to make his co-star's life even wetter and more unpleasant. "Orlando had a bowler hat on," Delevigne said. "So when they were shooting the hose on his bowler I was just getting water returned to my face." The actress went on to pantomime her hilarious efforts to continue delivering her emotional, heartfelt lines to Bloom while periodically stopping to bend over and spit out water. So, while "Carnival Row" may evoke a magical, fairytale realm for audiences, filming certain moments could be an icy, water-logged nightmare for Cara's faerie Vignette.
The water hoses were an example of Carnival Row's dedication to immersion
Of course, it's worth noting that the actors weren't exactly up in arms about the no doubt uncomfortable experience with the water hoses. Though Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevigne freely shared the less-than-pleasant cold water experience, they have also been quite clear that the fantasy series' commitment to immersion more than makes the occasional cold shower worth the while. "People will want to go to Prague to see Carnival Row because the detail, the level of attention to detail for the set and all of the locations ... you know, as an actor, your dream is to walk into a space, and you're like, 'There it is'," Bloom enthused about the "Carnival Row" sets, positively comparing them to "The Lord of the Rings."
Delevigne agreed with the sentiment. "It's a fully realized world," she said. "I mean there wasn't one part of it which wasn't real. You could pick up and smell a real pig's head."
Apart from the immersive environment, Delevigne has also been known to praise "Carnival Row's" willingness to discuss oppression, which has made sure that the show has plenty of stakes to go with its elaborate sets. In this context, her and Bloom's tale about the cold-water hoses becomes more of a part of the show's approach to immersion than an ordeal they were genuinely against — as proved by the fact that they shared the entire experience as an amusing anecdote rather than a genuine grievance. Still, part of the job as it may be, trying to go through your lines while being splashed in the face with freezing water doesn't sound like the easiest day at the office.