'Phantom Thread' Actress Vicky Krieps Is on Her Own Time

Lately, Vicky Krieps has been thinking about her 16-year-old self, the one who routinely attended demonstrations in her native Luxembourg. She once chained herself to railroad tracks to protest radioactive waste. Other times, she rallied against human-rights violations and “the famous George Bush war.” Hearing her recount these tales is disarming. Krieps speaks with the same feathery half-German lilt familiar to those of us who have seen (perhaps umpteen times) her breakthrough performance as Alma, the muse and sparring partner to Daniel Day-Lewis’s iron-handed couturier in 2017’s Phantom Thread. Like Alma, the 37-year-old Krieps has an independent streak that is steadfast but not overwhelming.

“My grandfather was in the concentration camp, so when he came out he was very rebellious and very angry,” she says during a long Zoom conversation. “The whole family was kind of influenced.”

Do not cutesify climate change. The U.S. won’t seek the death penalty in seven federal cases, raising hopes that the Biden administration may end the practice. What vaccinated people should really know about their risk from the Delta variant. Feelings are contagious, but you can help your loved ones when they’re sad without sacrificing your own good mood. Y2K fashion is back, but it’s always had a dark side. And here’s an octopus in a cup — remember what we said about making climate disaster cute? Don’t purchase single-use plastics.

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