Vanities

" You either die a hero or you live long enough to become an Instagram boyfriend."

Camila Morrone, 22, stars in Mickey and the Bear

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Opening Act

"Al Pacino, a stepfather figure, once told her: 'You can mess it up and still be fine. Just act.'"

Earlier this year, Camila Morrone sent shivers through South by Southwest and jolted a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival with her performance in Annabelle Attanasio'sfilm Mickey and the Bear. Her breakout role as the daughter of an opioid-addicted veteran reaches audiences nationwide this month, and now the American actor and model, who happens to call Feonardo DiCaprio her boyfriend, is taking the lead. Here, some insights gleaned from an evening at home with Hollywood's newest heroine.

SHE WAS BORN in Los Angeles to two Argentinian actors—"growing up in Hollywood, you can't really run from it"—and attended Beverly Hills High School. "Our apartment happened to be in the school district. It was very weird when my classmates were getting hundred-thousand-dollar cars because that was so not my reality."

SHE EARNED her role as the titular Mickey from a self-tape audition shot in her mother's kitchen. A day after her callback, she flew to the film's location in remote Montana, where "fast food was the norm." She favors McDonald's chicken McNuggets, extra-large fries, and an Oreo McFlurry, "vanilla always."

SHE CALLS Al Pacino, who dated her mother for years, a stepfather figure. He watched an early cut of Mickey and the Bear and sent along his "helpful" thoughts to the first-time director. (The edits were made.)

THE INDIE FILM is being hailed for its poignant closing scene. When reflecting on famous cinematic finales, she insists Rick should have gotten on the plane in Casablanca and that there was enough room for Jack to fit on the Titanic door that saved Rose.

SHE RECENTLY FINISHED Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney in less than 48 hours. She calls it "the best book ever" but isn't rooting for a screen adaptation. "I can't play either character, so I'm not interested."

YOU'D BE SURPRISED by the "amount of Spanx" in her closet, as well as the fake diamond tiara she wears every birthday.

HER HAPPY PLACE is her bed, next to which hangs a picture of an elephant named Zongoloni, which she adopted through Kenya's Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, "it costs 50 bucks a year to keep them rehabilitated. It makes for a great Christmas present."

SHE INSISTS she's rarely hit on, but the worst pickup line she's ever received is "You have the most beautiful eyes." She retorts, "They're not—they're brown and shitty."

HER IDEAL DATE involves: "A great movie, an Italian dinner, and my glass of house Cab. That's the only thing I know how to order at a restaurant because I don't know anything about wine."

SHE DEFENDED the 22-year age gap between her and DiCaprio by posting an archival photo of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart (whose own age difference was four years more) for her nearly 2 million Instagram followers. "I've been starting to show my sense of humor more," she says." People will always have awful things to say because there's a sense of entitlement and safety behind the screen, but trust me, you don't need to be that angry."

SHE CRINGES when revisiting a private moment captured by paparazzi at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes: DiCaprio diligently snapping iPhone photos of her posed arabesque. "I saw the meme: You either die a hero or you live long enough to become an Instagram boyfriend. Poor thing, he's being called an Instagram boyfriend—he's an environmentalist and a movie star and it doesn't mean anything."

BRITT HENNEMUTH