“I find it a lot more satisfying getting acting gigs because it's not just based on what you look like. It's also based on your interpretation of a role - the work you've put behind it.”
Words by Christiana Boules
Photographed by Alex Hutchinson. Styling by Lauren Croft. Hair by Kim Roy at One Represents using Hair by Sam McKnight. Make-up by Lucy Wearing at Forward Artists. Stylist assisted by Wendy Hsu and Lena Angelides. Maja Simonsen appears courtesy of Prosper PR.
left: Top and skirt by Open YY. Earrings by Celeste Starre. Rings by Nada Ghazal and Daisy London. right: Top by Marques Almeida. Top and shoes by Dior. Earrings by Dévé.
In the age of video calls, it is almost impossible not to be drawn to our own reflection on the screen. Yet, when Maja Simonsen appeared, I found myself deliberately averting my gaze from my own image. In truth, it was an act of self-preservation.
Maja Simonsen, the Danish model and actor, didn’t always envision a career in front of the camera. She once considered studying psychology or business, but her background in theatre and dance ultimately took precedence. Later in our conversation, she modestly insists that her character in The Wheel of Time outranks her in coolness. But when she casually mentions having danced in a Junior Eurovision entry at just fourteen (which she reluctantly confirms has video evidence online), I begin to question whether she underestimates her own level of cool.
At seventeen, a talent scout discovered Simonsen, launching her into an international modelling career. “Modelling wasn’t my goal or something that I was passionate to do. It just ended up being a really great job to have”, she reflects. The allure of acting, she explains, lies in the chance to book a role based on her interpretation rather than fulfilling an inflexible set of criteria. “Everyone is beautiful, you know, it's not about that. I guess it's more just about... ‘Oh, we were looking for a blonde with blue eyes’”.
Dress by Cece Che. Shoes by Izie. Earrings by Gucci. Bracelet by Yingying Guo. Rings by Daisy London and Sky Diamond.
After auditioning for various parts, Simonsen landed the role of Chiad in the TV adaptation of The Wheel of Time in 2021. An Aiel Maiden of the Spear, Chiad is formidable—a warrior who would take lethal offence at being reduced to mere beauty. The character is intimidating, but landing the role was daunting for other reasons. “I love things that are based on books because you have so much material given to you. It's also incredibly scary because fans have a certain image in their head of the character—it’s as exciting as it is nerve-wracking”.
Simonsen relates to Chiad’s toughness and playfulness, though their similarities are limited. “Chiad doesn’t speak unless she really believes that it’s a worthy thing to be said. …Everything that is said has weight… Where I think I say a lot of s*** all the time”. We could all learn to economize our words, but I’m not sure I could meet the other demands of becoming Chiad. The Aiel warriors are known for keeping pace with galloping horses—a feat I assumed would be the domain of visual effects until Simonsen tells me she actually had to sprint alongside them during filming. “Oh, it was insane. …And you're not supposed to look like it’s difficult, either. So when you stop running, you're not supposed to be out of breath”.
But The Wheel of Time offered more than just dense one-liners and tests of endurance. “I ended up really finding a family”, Simonsen says, explaining the unique gratification of acting. “When you go on a modelling job, you meet people one day and then never see them again—it was literally ten years of just meeting people for the first time and then maybe seeing them again. The Wheel of Time was the first time I was in the same place for eight months. …As it happens, all the cast members are just so amazing. Now I see them like twice a week”.
Modelling, in many ways, feels more exposing to Simonsen—there is no character to embody, no script to follow. Yet even in acting, stepping entirely outside of oneself is impossible. Her first leading role, as Earlie Thomas in Love by Proxy, taught her where compartmentalisation ends and personal vulnerability begins. Premiering at the 2024 Berlinale, Love by Proxy follows an American woman who travels to Ghana in pursuit of her murdered father’s inheritance. Filming began shortly after Simonsen lost her own father. “It feels kind of weird to use something that really happened to me. It felt a bit wrong, but [the feeling] was just so strong. It was such a great way for me to channel my grief… I am still really grateful to have been given that opportunity”.
Stepping in front of the camera without a character to embody can feel raw, but in modelling, personal authenticity is increasingly valuable. Over the past fourteen years, Simonsen has witnessed a shift in the industry—one that feels somewhat kinder and less rigid in its expectations. “I think modelling is very much based on your personality and what you bring rather than just what you look like. If you’re there for a few days and you're filming or shooting something big, people just wanna actually like you as a person”.
As our conversation draws to a close, Simonsen hints at her latest project, Panic Carefully, which is currently in production. Written and directed by Sam Esmail and featuring an ensemble cast led by Julia Roberts, details remain largely under wraps. Behind the camera, she is also exploring writing and producing; off-camera—and perhaps most glamorously—knitting. “I’m a serial knitter. I knit”, she declares. It’s a far cry from the intensity of an Aiel warrior, but as a self-proclaimed homebody, knitting needles may be the best alternative to Chiad’s spears.
Season 3 of The Wheel of Time premiers on Prime Video on the 13th of March.
Dress, shoes and earrings by Yingying Guo. Rings by 886 By The Royal Mint and Sky Diamond.
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