Victoria’s Secret model Camila Morrone won a starring role in The Night Manager after a pep talk from her stepfather Al Pacino
There was a time when Camila Morrone, who lounged on superyachts in string bikinis, was one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s incredibly beautiful girlfriends. This was before the Victoria’s Secret model swapped catwalks for acting to launch a stellar career, following the advice of her stepfather Al Pacino.
Camila, 28, says mentorship from Pacino, 85, helped her overcome the struggle to convey emotion on camera and land the lead role alongside Tom Hiddleston in the long-awaited second series of The Night Manager, which starts at 9pm on New Year’s Day on BBC1.
She remains close to Pacino, whose ten-year relationship with her mother Lucila ended in 2018, and who benefited greatly from her advice in a tearful, tense scene involving Hiddleston’s character, Jonathan Pine, 44, in a hotel room.
He says that at the beginning of his acting career, he told Pacino that he “didn’t know how to act or cry” on camera.
She says he advised her: ‘Just be yourself. It’s okay if you’re not crying, just react to the action and it’ll be okay.’
An industry expert adds: ‘There was a time when Pacino was his stepfather and Leo was his boyfriend. This must be worth more than a top acting school.’
After the success of the first series, which aired a decade ago to rave reviews, the producers knew the sequel to the adaptation of John le Carré’s novel needed an actor who could embody the same fiery chemistry Hiddleston shared with his former co-star Elizabeth Debicki.
“They knew Camila was right to play Roxana in her first audition,” says an industry insider.
‘She has a combination of incredible sexual appeal and palpable intelligence. He’s not arm candy, he’s a force to be reckoned with.’
Camila says: ‘My character is a total con artist. ‘She’s the smartest person in any room, I love that, and all the men are eating out of the palm of her hand.’
In a highly anticipated scene, we see him in a steamy three-way encounter with Hiddleston and Diego Calva, who plays evil weapons boss Teddy Dos Santos.
Camila, 28, says mentorship from Pacino, 85, helped her overcome her struggle to convey her emotions on camera
As businesswoman Roxana Bolaños, she helps Hiddleston’s Pine infiltrate a Colombian gun ring. In a highly anticipated scene, we see him in a steamy three-way encounter with Hiddleston and Diego Calva, who plays evil weapons boss Teddy Dos Santos.
Born in Los Angeles in 1997 to a family of Argentinian actors, Camila attended the Beverly Hills school, where Nicholas Cage, Angelina Jolie and Carrie Fisher also educated.
She began modeling internationally at the age of 18, and two years later landed her first major film role as Bruce Willis’ daughter in Eli Roth’s action film Death Wish.
Before The Night Manager, her most notable role was in the 2023 Amazon Prime series Daisy Jones & The Six, for which she was nominated for an Emmy award.
This led to him auditioning for The Night Manager, which would make him an international star.
The James Bond-like drama launched Hiddleston’s career in 2016 and launched leading lady Olivia Colman, 51, into awards territory.
The six-part version of Le Carré’s 1993 book was an immediate hit with audiences and critics; 10 million people watched the finale and the book stormed the charts at the Baftas and Golden Globe awards.
Although a sequel seems certain in an industry where numbers are watched, Le Carré never wrote a sequel and died in 2020.
The BBC admired the adaptation and approved a second series.
However, despite the support of his three sons who managed his estate, nothing could pass the development stage for a long time.
Camila was happy to pose alone as she hit the red carpet at the London premiere of The Night Manager this month
David Farr, 56, who wrote the first series, was not immediately available to work on the second series. Other screenwriters tried but failed to create Le Carré’s world.
Then Farr finally dreamed up the idea for a sequel. I half woke up and thought, ‘I think I know what this is.’ I’m aware of what the story might be,’ he told Radio Times earlier this month.
At a memorial event following Le Carré’s death, Farr relayed his dream to the producers, who immediately ordered an episode. The new season, which takes place mainly in Colombia, is directed by Bafta award-winning Georgi Banks-Davies.
This time, Pine infiltrates a weapons ring. His arch-nemesis Richard Roper, played by Hugh Laurie in the first series, is thought to be dead but still wields influence over the criminal underworld.
In a world full of deceit and intrigue, Camila’s character is persuaded to join Pine in tracking down one of Roper’s evil henchmen. Later in the series, she shows off her sexy side by turning into a full Bond girl by wearing a striking blue dress for that clinch with Hiddleston and Calva.
Off-screen, she has moved on from her five-year romance with DiCaprio and is dating music video director Cole Bennett, 29.
Next year, she will star in Netflix’s The Age of Innocence, portraying Countess Olenska, the character played by Michelle Pfeiffer in Martin Scorsese’s 1993 film.
She may have spent years in the shadow of two Hollywood stars, but Camila was happy to pose on her own when she hit the red carpet at the London premiere of The Night Manager this month.
