Zendaya Hopped on The Phone With Timothée Chalamet for Elle

Chatting with her friend and VMAN cover star about everything from winning her first Emmy to finding hope and joy in the most trying and uncertain of times.

  • Author: Valerie Stepanova
  • Photography: Inez & Vinoodh

Despite all of the trials and tribulations the music industry has faced over the past few months, 2020 has been quite a success in Zendaya’s world. After winning her first Emmy award, producing her own film under all the constraints of the lockdown-ridden world and using her social media to encourage people to vote, she’s now getting ready for the previously delayed, highly anticipated release of an adaptation of Dune.

In celebration of the upcoming feature, the star hopped on the phone with her friend and VMAN cover star Timothée Chalamet to chat about everything going on in Zendaya’s world for Elle. From discussing Z’s Emmy win to ruminating on things that have been bringing them hope and joy in this up-and-down year, there’s a lot to unpack in this warm conversation between two friends and colleagues. “At this moment in time, it is hard to find joy and beauty in things, and I really think that is important. Right now, we as Black people need to embrace joy and not let it be taken away from us,” Zendaya said.

For Z, it has been work that helped her find joy and a sense of accomplishment in life. “I experience moments of joy when I’m able to create art and be involved in projects that I connect to deeply, whether it be Euphoria or Malcolm & Marie, the movie I shot during quarantine with [Euphoria creator] Sam Levinson,” she said. “Another thing that gives me joy is seeing people’s responses to my work. With Euphoria, it’s been incredibly moving to see how people connected to what Sam has written. I’ve heard so many beautiful stories about addiction and recovery, and that brings me hope.”

She also teased a little bit of Euphoria‘s second season to come. We will see the first of the two “bridge” episodes very soon, on December 6,  but the production of the series itself was understandably pushed back due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “I can’t really say too much about the in-between episodes, but I’m excited for people to see them,” the star teased. “We’re doing a little Christmas special to check in with everybody on Euphoria until we can get back to [the full production], which probably won’t happen until after I get back from filming the next Spider-Man movie, which is pretty soon.”

Now that much of the travel and social life are out of the picture, the two have admittedly been missing some aspects of their old, hectic life — like getting to visit the most amazing places around the world for work, or throwing crazy dance parties when production wraps. “I had a great fricking time,” Zendaya recalls, thinking back on her on-set experience for Dune. “I felt like such a badass, just wearing that suit and walking around on these beautiful rock formations. It felt cool and so exciting to be part of the magic.”

And while we all would be excited to see more of Zendaya on our screens ASAP and get to experience movies in movie theaters all over again, it’s worth it to wait a little bit and let the things ease up before we can live our lives to the fullest all over again. As Z beautifully put it: “But you know what? All of that can wait.”

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