Zendaya reveals what it was like to shoot her new Netflix movie Malcolm & Marie in quarantine

After winning her first Emmy this fall for HBO’s Euphoria, Zendaya has been getting considerable Oscar buzz for her unique new film Malcolm & Marie.

The film was shot in quarantine lockdown with her co-star John David Washington, with her Euphoria creator Sam Levinson writing and directing the film, which was picked up by Netflix in a huge $30 million deal in September.

The 24-year-old actress opened up to Pharell Williams on his new podcast OTHERTone about the film, which debuts on Netflix February 5, revealing she did a lot more than just acting.

‘We made a bubble. We all quarantined and stayed in this very small area in the middle of nowhere. We shot in this house… we weren’t allowed to leave or go anywhere,’ she revealed.

“I’m doing my own hair and makeup in the bathroom and brought a lot of my clothes to help with set [decoration],’ she added.

The actress added that Malcom & Marie was the first time she allowed herself to ‘trust her instincts’ since she thought the movie was so special.

She said the idea for the movie was birthed through, ‘quarantine conversations that Sam and I had, wanting to create something and wanting to do it safely.’

‘I really wanted to be creative and I hadn’t worked in a long time, through that year anyway,’ she said, adding she didn’t really do much acting throughout the year.

He suggested that they could simply shoot a film in her home, though she admitted, ‘it turned into something more special than that.’

While they were bouncing ideas off of each other, Sam called her with an idea about a ‘relationship piece’ with just two characters, ultimately played by Zendaya and John David Washington. 

‘Just two characters existing in this space together, going through something in their relationship, and that’s really all it is,’ she said.

She added they used a small crew from Euphoria, though they still didn’t have a full crew, including an assistant director, which meant they were, ‘figuring out continuity and stuff like that on our own.’

The actress said they shot it in 14 days and 14 nights, and Sam was ‘writing it as we go,’ adding it was ‘really special.’

‘I’ve never been able to do something on that level of collaboration with all of us, and it was really special,’ she said.  

Zendaya is currently filming Spider-Man 3 in Atlanta, which is slated for release next summer.