Tilda Swinton by

Tilda Swinton Films

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Asteroid City (2023)
Pinocchio (2022)
The Human Voice (2020)
Dr Strange (2016)
Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Snowpiercer (2013)
We Need to Talk about Kevin (2011)
The Chronicles of Narnia (2005)
Orlando (1992)
Caravaggio (1986)

Instagram

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Swinton does not appear to have an Instagram account that solely belongs to here. Here is an account that I found with 90 thousand followers (at the time of writing this) but it is most likely run by a fan but has also not been updated in a while. This account does though have photos Swinton has done for independent photographers and magazines.

Swinton's Appearance

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While it's quite vague, Swinton does have a very neutral, androgynous and sometimes arguably strange appearance. The reason this is mentioned is because this allows her to play a wide range of characters in a lot of different ways. This almost "alien" appearance of hers can be seen in characters such as "The Ancient One" in Marvel's Dr Strange or "The White Witch" in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Swinton's Characters

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The characters played by Swinton are usually quite strange looking owing to the acresses appearance. In Dr Strange (2016) she is completely bald which adds to the character's mystery and power. Her other characters are tend to also be scholars as seen in Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022) and Asteroid City (2023).

We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)

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One of her most interesting performances was as Eva Khatcherdorian in We Need to Talk about Kevin. The film is all about transformation and how Eva's life changes with the birth of her first child Kevin. The film captures Eva's uncertainty with her life and how it is going to change and transform.

Social Media presence

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What I found interesting is that Swinton does not have any official social media accounts. While most celebrities and stars have social media in order to promote content that they are working on, Swinton does not engage with social media at all.

Transformation and Identity:

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Swinton is known for her wild transformations for acting roles, often wearing extravingant makeup and SFX to change how she looks to fit her roles even better. She says that "The thing that keeps me being a performer is my interest in society's obsession with identity" and that she mentions how "I'm not sure that I really believe identity exists".

Tilda Swinton: collaborative chameleon who doesn't court Hollywood (2015)

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Transnational celebrity and the fashion icon: The case of Tilda Swinton, ‘visual performance artist at large’ (2016)

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By 2016, Swinton has appeared in at least 70 films, 40 plays and several live performances all of which her androgyny was a critical feature of hers. This paper suggests that she constantly presents herself as multi-faceted and transformative in order to market herself rather than the films that she is in, "embodying a model of stardom that characterizes the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century".

Swinton and Traditional Femininity

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Tilda Swinton - the Mistress of "Flat Affect" (2015)

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Swinton has the "exceptional capacity to embody 'flat affect'" allowing her to take historical genres of cinematic femininity and can "both make intelligible and also supremely refuse to embody". The article states that flat affect does not "define Swinton or vice versa" it's more that "she has consistantly demonstrated an exceptional capacity to embody this particular register".

Orlando (1992)

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A film about nobleman Orlando who wakes up in the Ottoman Empire as a woman. While the theme of transformation is clear there is more of a focus on Orlando's freedom and while she changed physically, she is still the same person.

Subverting Images of the Female (2009)

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Swinton mentions in this interview how the work that she does is not 'alternative' as people would describe it. She says how "I consider myself to be at the very heart of the mainstream because it's the mainstream for me". Even though she stared doing films with very indie and 'alternative' directors, she never considered it that way and often did work that she herself considered interesting and away to challenge and expand herself.

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Swinton interviewed by Mark Kermode (2020)

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While it is a very long interview, Swinton mentions how her film Orlando, is not necessarily about the transformation Orlando goes through into a woman, but it is about freedom and gender is just a small aspect of the film and the book on which it is based.

Photos taken from Instagram (Linked above)

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[Real actors like talking about characters] "I don't because, again you're dealing with something fixed and I'm just too 'wishy-washy' for that"

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David Bowie - The Stars (Are Out Tonight) Music Video (2013)

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After randomly meeting on a street corner, Swinton and Bowie became friends eventually resulting in him asking her to be in one of his music videos.

Swinton's transformation into Minister Mason

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Living manifestation of art: Tilda Swinton (2023)

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This article released on the 5th November, is a celebratory birthday post talking about her Life and work. What particularly interested me is that Swinton was asked for an interview at the Dhaka Lit Festival which she declined. During my research about Swinton, she often does not appear in press conferences and she barely has any social media presence which adds to not only her mystery as a film star but clearly defines her own personal boundaries bewteen her personal and work life.

Style Icon: Tilda Swinton (2014)

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This article further enforces how Swinton's beauty is hard to define and how "Worlds like androgynous and ethereal often get bandied about but fail to truly capture Swinton's minimalist elegance". She is incredibly unique with her own sense of style yet she also highlights traditional femininity.

Swintion in the Mainstream

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The Family Woman

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Swinton winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (2008)

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For her performance in Michael Clayton she won an Academy Award just showing just how skilled she is as an actress.

Doctor Strange "whitewashing" criticism with Swinton's casting (2016)

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With Swinton's casting as "The Ancient One" in Dr Strange the filmmakers were criticised for "whitewashing" a character that originally in the comics (which the Marvel franchise is based off) was Asian. Some argue that with Swinton appearing in other 70 films, she "can afford to turn down roles".

Swinton in "The Chronicles of Narnia" (2005)

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Tilda Swinton released Margaret Cho emails about film role diversity (2016)

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American comedian Margaret Cho said how Swinton treated her "like her house servant" while discussing diversity in Dr Strange. Because of backlash, Switon released the emails between the two clarifying she did not know about the massive debate and issue surrounding the white washing of Asian characters in Hollywood blockbusters due to her not using Social Media.

Swinton and Controversy

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With fame, and particularly with Hollywood Blockbusters, there inevitably comes at least some controversy and even though Swinton has not had a significant amount of controversy, there has been some especially with her casting in Marvel's Dr Strange.

Lack of Social Media Presence

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One of the key aspects of a celebrity is their presence on social media to promote their pojects. Therefore Swinton's lack of it is very interesting. This allows her to keep her work life and private life completely seperate and any press or interview work she needs to do for a film or other project is done during the period of the projects release. She does occasionally do interviews such as the BFI one (below) however these interviews seem to be far more intellectual and critical rather than traditional film press.

Playful, Fantastical, Rare: At Home With Tilda Swinton On Her Highlands Estate (2021)

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In an Interview with British Vogue, when asked about her presence on social media she says "I am a complete, complete Luddite. I have no presence on social media, absolutely none, and I never have". and adds that "I just have other things to do".

Michael Clayton (2007) Trailer

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The trailer for Michael Clayton which Swinton won an academy award for best supporting actress.

Dr Strange (2016) Trailer

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In 2016, Swinton joined the behemoth that is the Marvel universe as "The Ancient One" in Dr Strange.

Bibliography

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Addley, E. (2016) Tilda Swinton releases Margaret Cho emails about film role diversity, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/21/tilda-swinton-releases-margaret-cho-emails-about-film-role-diversity (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

A24 (2019) The Souvenir | Official Trailer HD | A24, Youtube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Al2nC0vzY (Accessed: 06 November 2023)

BFI (2020) Tilda Swinton interviewed by Mark Kermode | BFI Q&A, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfaETIdhgcA (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

Bowie, D. (2013) David Bowie - the stars (are out Tonight) (video), YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH7dMBcg-gE (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

Evans, A. (2016) Doctor strange ‘whitewashing’ row resurfaces with new criticism of Swinton casting, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/04/doctor-strange-tilda-swinton-whitewashing-row (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

Harris, J. (2021) Playful, fantastical, rare: At home with Tilda Swinton on her Highlands Estate, British Vogue. Available at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/tilda-swinton-interview (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

IMDb (no date) Tilda Swinton | Actress, producer, writer, IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0842770/ (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

Oscars (2012) Tilda Swinton winning best supporting actress Oscar®, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyg3RzcX5ig (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

RADiUS (2014) Snowpiercer - Tilda Swinton & the making of minister Mason, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-ZxY_xFm9Q&t=2s (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

Radner, H. (2016) ‘Transnational celebrity and the fashion icon: The case of Tilda Swinton, “visual performance artist at large”’, European Journal of Women’s Studies, 23(4), pp. 401–414. doi:10.1177/1350506816666384.

Ross, P. (2008) Tilda Swinton interview: 'We're not all sleeping together, it's so much more boring than that', The Scotsman. Available at: https://www.scotsman.com/news/tilda-swinton-interview-were-not-all-sleeping-together-its-so-much-more-boring-than-that-2479626 (Accessed: 06 November 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers (2014) Michael Clayton (2007) Official Trailer - George Clooney, Tilda Swinton Movie HD, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kJRYBhG43Q (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers (2021) The chronicles of narnia: The lion, the Witch and the wardrobe trailer | movieclips classic trailers, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usEkWtuNn-w (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

Rotten Tomatoes Trailers (2016) Doctor strange official trailer 1 (2016) - Benedict Cumberbatch movie, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7gvFravm4A (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

Rotten Tomatoes Trailers (2021) The Souvenir: Part II Trailer #1 (2021) | Movieclips Trailers, Youtube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQze5M9gtcI (Accessed: 06 November 2023)

Stacey, J. (2015) ‘Crossing over with Tilda Swinton—the mistress of “flat affect”’, International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 28(3), pp. 243–271. doi:10.1007/s10767-014-9193-8.

Stuart, C. (2014) Style icon: Tilda Swinton, The Herald. Available at: https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/13151435.style-icon-tilda-swinton/ (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

Swinton, T. (1990) ‘Subverting images of the female’, New Theatre Quarterly, 6(23), pp. 215–228. doi:10.1017/s0266464x00004516.

swinton.tilda (no date) Instagram. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/swinton.tilda/ (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

Tasnim, Z. (2023) Living manifestation of art: Tilda Swinton, The Daily Star. Available at: https://www.thedailystar.net/entertainment/tv-film/news/living-manifestation-art-tilda-swinton-3462351 (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

Tilda Swinton: Collaborative chameleon who doesn’t court hollywood (2015) The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/24/tilda-swinton-collaborative-chameleon-who-doesnt-court-hollywood (Accessed: 05 November 2023).

Magazine Covers

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Swinton have covered a number of magazines over the years with a surprising amount of them being covers of international magazines. This clearly shows just how recognisable she is to so many people around the world and how big of a star she is. It also brings attention to her unique fashion style and how iconic it is.

Swinton Covers Vogue Korea (August, 2015)

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Swinton Covers Interview Germany (Summer, 2017)

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Swinton Covers W Magazine

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Swinton Covers Another Magazine (2009)

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Swinton Covers S Moda Magazine (August, 2017)

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Swinton Covers Vogue Ukraine (November, 2020)

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Swinton Covers Vogue Japan (January, 2019)

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The Souvenir - Official Trailer (2019)

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Swinton appeared in this film alongside her daughter Honor showing how much of a family woman she is. She has also stated in an interview that even her daughter was in this film with her, she has no desire to become an actress and now studies psychology and neurology.

The Souvenir: Part 2 - Official Trailer (2021)

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Representation of Motherhood in Film

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Swinton has represented motherhood in her films before particularly in her film with Lynne Ramsey We Need to Talk about Kevin. The film really questions about what happens when a mother has a child and does not have any maternal love for it at all and how it can change her own and her sons life.

Tilda Swinton interview: 'We're not all sleeping together, it's so much more boring than that' (2008)

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In this article by the Scotsman, Swinton talks about how life is for her after seperating from the father of her children and being in a relationship with a painter she met on the set of Narnia. She calls this arragement perfectly normal for her and her family and declares her home "a shame-free zone".

Swinton seperating her home and work life

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In numerous interviews and articles, Swinton has mentioned now she does not have any social media at all as well as not owning a television. She is just too busy for it. She much rather stay in her Scottish Esate in the Highlands with her family and working on personal projects than focus on what people online say about her. She is very capable of completely separating her work life and personal life and not allowing either to affect the other.