Romeo and Juliet Stars Rachel Zegler and Kit Connor Talk Favorite Love Interests and Gladiator vs. Wicked in Off the Cuff

Hi Vogue, I'm Rachel Zegler.

And I'm Kit Connor.

And this is Off the Cuff. [jazzy music]

What was your first impression of me?

My first impression of you was,

I had met with Sam on Zoom about this project.

Sam Gold, our Director. Sam Gold.

And then after that, I got a DM from you saying,

just a very nice message

saying that you were hoping that we would be able to do it.

Mm-hmm. And I thought

that's a very nice way of creating contact.

So, there you go. I had known

that you were like probably gonna do it,

and I was- How'd you know that?

Sam told me.

[Kit] Okay.

And I was like, I'm probably gonna do it too,

and so that's why I messaged you.

Can you do your best British accent?

Ooh.

The thing is, when I try, then it's not good I don't think.

Can you give me something to say?

Hello, I'm Rachel Zegler.

Hello.

It's not bad.

Hello, I'm Rachel Zegler.

It's not bad at all.

Oh no, it's not horrible.

But you know, I spent-

See, don't call me a whore

when you say horrible. I didn't.

Horrible.

Yeah, horrible.

Horrible.

There you go! Ooh,

alright, alright, alright. Nice.

Can you do your best American accent?

He's so good at it, guys.

The Wild Robot is now in theaters.

Okay, come on. Can you say like,

I love being in New York.

New York's quite hard.

I love being in New York.

Yeah! That's quite hard.

But yeah, because you guys, on the R.

The phrase New York is quite tricky in the accent.

New York.

Ooh, what is the most used app on your phone?

Probably my camera.

Yeah.

You know- I was gonna say,

I love to document,

but it's mostly me taking pictures of my dog

and sending them to you. [laughing]

Yeah, pretty much.

What is your favorite song right now?

Lilac Wine, the Jeff Buckley version.

Gorgeous.

Yes, Jeff Buckley.

Moo Deng or Pesto?

Oh, is this like the baby hippo or the baby penguin?

What the what? [laughing]

What?

I'm gonna go with the penguin, Pesto.

Moo Deng is a baby hippo,

and then Pesto is this really sweet brown penguin

who's adorable.

What is number one on your bucket list?

We got big hard-hitting questions.

Yeah- Alright, this is a big one.

Things to do before you die.

What's number one? Things to do before I die?

Open Romeo and Juliet on Broadway.

I think you may get your wish.

It's a rubbish answer.

I think it might just happen.

Yeah.

Wicked and Gladiator II come out on the same night,

which one are you choosing to see?

Gladiator II. Really?

I'm also really excited for Wicked-

Yeah, same. It looks great.

What is your favorite red carpet look ever?

I wore this really beautiful Elie Saab with a veil

to the LA premiere of Hunger Games,

and I really, really loved it.

Where's this look from?

That is from Vogue World.

This could be in Romeo and Juliet.

That's a Loewe.

I was one of the first people to wear it off of the runway.

It was a- Yeah, look at you,

look at your hair.

Yeah, it was a cool day. Hot.

What fashion moment is this?

That's me at the Oscars, in Dior.

That's Oscars, 2022, I presented.

Oh, wow. It was was awesome.

Me and Jacob Elordi, who is eight-feet tall.

Wow, yeah.

And I still only like came up to his hip bone. [laughing]

What about this look?

I have no idea.

This is the Rocketman premier.

You were such a little baby!

Is it?

Oh my God, yeah, yeah, yeah. [Rachel gasping]

You're just a munchkin!

Is that Bryce Dallas Howard?

Yes it is, she played my mother.

Aw, you guys are so cute.

Yeah.

I would've been 15?

You look younger.

Yeah, well I did, I was cursed with a baby face.

Okay, where is this look from?

Oh, that's my Met Gala look this year.

That's Michael Kors.

There we are.

[Rachel] Yeah, a fun fact about that-

Oh wow, just look at that.

We had our final fitting on my 23rd birthday.

How about this?

That was the British Fashion Awards.

Again, all Loewe.

That was actually...

Possibly gonna wear that to Vogue World.

You look gorgeous. And we ended up...

Thank you.

What is this?

It was the Academy Gala.

The Academy Gala. Last year.

That's a beautiful photo.

[Rachel] Oh, thanks honey.

[Kit] Well done, Sarah.

Yeah, well done Sarah.

That was a fun night.

Which coworker would you call if there was an emergency?

Rachel.

[Rachel] I would-

Rachel Zegler.

I'd answer the phone.

Yeah, you'd answer the phone,

it's whether or not you could help me.

I'm sorry, but do you remember the one time you were like,

Yeah, my foot really hurts and I don't have anything,

and I was like, Can I send frozen peas?

In our invited dress for Romeo and Juliet-

[Rachel] A terrible time to hurt yourself, by the way.

I hurt my foot on a ladder.

She offered to send me frozen vegetables

so that I could ice my foot.

But then I thought, I'll just go to sleep.

What is a random fact no one would guess about you?

I haven't gotten my eyebrows done since 2021. [laughing]

Really?

Yeah. Wow.

[laughing] You look impressed!

But yeah, and I love my eyebrows, and I never want them

to be any thinner than they are already.

What is the lowest note you can hit? [laughing]

Are we talking about emotionally,

or are we talking about singing?

[laughing] I think singing, babes.

Okay.

What's the lowest note I can hit?

Go ahead.

[Kit singing deep note]

Is that a note? [Rachel humming deep note]

What has been the most rewarding part of your career?

When young Latinas come up to me

and say that they see themselves

achieving something in this industry

because of anything I've done.

I've had it a lot at our stage door.

Do you have a favorite Romeo and Juliet adaptation,

outside of our own?

Gnomeo and Juliet.

[laughing] Gnomeo...

Music by Elton John.

Oh right, okay.

Have you not seen it?

[blowing raspberry] Classic.

Do you identify more with Maria or Juliet?

I think Juliet's a more universal young girl character.

She is 13, and I'm not.

Maria was 18 when I was 18,

that's when I did the movie.

So I think culturally, she kinda comes first.

So, Maria.

But, it's a lot easier to defend Juliet

than it is to defend some of Maria's choices.

Did you seek advice from anyone

while training to become Juliet?

I didn't.

I get nervous to ask people for advice.

I did get a really lovely text from Helen Mirren

when she found out.

She just like, You are going to be effervescent,

just be confident and make every choice.

Unsolicited Helen Mirren advice is always appreciated.

Yeah, you take it.

Love it.

Do you dress any differently in New York

than you do in London?

No, not at all.

I know, the same Carhartt jacket.

It's the same clothes.

The same one.

Who's your Broadway idol?

Stephen Sondheim.

And I got to work with him before he passed away,

and it was one of the greatest opportunities of my life

to know him in his lifetime.

What's the strangest place you've been recognized?

Probably at the urinal.

Yeah. It's always-

I had someone stop me for a photo

while I was changing in a bathroom once.

Ooh yeah, good fun. Super fun.

What is your biggest theater superstition?

The Velasco is haunted.

Say hello to Mr. Velasco when you go into the theater.

His apartment is still upstairs.

Don't be weird.

What has been your most regrettable fashion choice?

[Rachel laughing]

I've worn some awful things in the past,

both in my personal life

and when I first found myself in this industry

and found myself going to things,

I was experimenting and finding myself.

If you could be in any other Shakespearean play,

what would it be?

I would wanna be Hamlet, in Hamlet.

Would you? Yeah!

Who has been your favorite love interest to work with?

Ooh, ooh, this is a juicy question.

[Rachel] There's a right answer.

Joe will obviously have a special place in my heart

for many reasons.

The balcony scene

is one of my favorite scenes I've ever been able to play.

Yeah.

And getting to play it with you

is always a joy every night, so.

I've never had a love interest

that I wish I had more scenes with,

and this is the first time I get to say that, so.

[Kit] Hey, there you go.

This is a lightning round.

Oh my God.

[upbeat jazzy music]

Movies or TV?

[grunting] Movies, movies.

It's you now. Oh,

London Or New York? [laughing]

New York City.

I'm really struggling. [laughing]

Yeah.

Spring or fall?

Fall!

Restaurant or takeaway?

Right now, restaurant, usually takeaway.

Capulets or Montagues?

Montagues. Boo!

Poison or dagger?

Dagger.

[laughing] Window seat or aisle seat?

Aisle seat.

Instagram or TikTok?

Don't have TikTok, and I have to go Instagram,

but I would like to say neither.

Tragedy or comedy?

Tragedy.

Roses or lilies?

Roses.

16th century or 21st century?

I mean like, I'm gonna say 16th century,

but I think that's like so wanky to say.

I was just born in the wrong generation.

I think that. [laughing]

Yes or no?

Yeah!

Vogue, thank you so much for having us.

I'm Rachel Zegler.

And I'm Kit Connor.

And this was Off the Cuff. [laughing]

Yeah, it was.

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