So Horns is really fun. A surprise to all concerned when the plot synopsis reads 'Daniel Radcliffe grows a pair of horns'. It's a supernatural thriller; dark, funny, visually impressive and with a stonking performance from Radcliffe – The Boy Who Lived To Finally Be Considered A Serious Actor.
Brutally murdered before the story even starts, Juno Temple plays Merrin, Radcliffe's girlfriend and features only as a memory, something she was really into. 'For me, ultimately, it's a love story,' says Juno when we met her last week. 'A love story that is filled with a puzzle to be solved, and a devilish blessing.'
It's not the first character that Temple's played which blended innocence with darkness. Remember Dottie Smith in Killer Joe? We're still haunted by that whole chicken drumstick wanking scene. Also, Lola Quincey in Atonement, the uppity child that ends up marrying her abuser.
'I'm definitely not afraid of darkness, I think that real life is filled with dark things, and filled with joyous things, and embracing both is really important. I mean, Horns also made me laugh so hard, and it has these moments that everyone can relate to. There's a break-up scene for example, and that sadness of losing someone that you love so deeply, but you can't stop them from doing what they're doing – that's a very relatable moment. And when Ig (Radcliffe) gets alienated from sociery, we've all had that, maybe not to that extreme, but we've all felt that alienation, and it can be heartbreaking,' she says.
The film tells the story of Ig Perrish, who everyone believes murdered his girlfriend. He wakes one morning with a pair of horns growing out of his temples (as you do), and finds he's now burdened with the unfortunate power of making everyone tell him their darkest secrets.
'People have been asking me,' says Temple. 'If I would want the horns and oh gosh no! I don't want to know people's darkest truths and I don't want people to know mine. Aesthetically they were gorgeous! But the burden of finding those things out, I think you'd suddenly start to feel very bizarre about being a human, you'd want to crawl away and become another creature.'
Temple and Radcliffe were strangers before filming, meeting on set in the middle of a forest in British Columbia, but got to know each other quickly – no thanks to to some pretty intense sex scenes. 'I've never been weird about nudity, we all take our clothes off to get in the shower, we take our clothes off to make love, we all do those things, and nudity can be such a liberating and magical part of life. But shooting a sex scene is never going to be the best time. It's awkward, it's complicated, it very technical, it's not sexy at all! But it can be funny. Oh golly, sometimes the positions you find yourself in in this line of work can be mind-blowing!'
Not that she found it awkward with Daniel. 'Me and Dan spent a lot of time together really getting to know each other. We became very good friends, so there was a trust factor there, and incredible sense of safety. That also really helped with our chemistry. We had to create a relationship that has been going on for over 10 years, where they were madly in love with each other, so we really had to sum up our whole lives.
And what of the whole Harry Potter thing? 'To me he's not Harry Potter – to be honest I didn't even see all the films. I got to know the real Dan, and the last thing on my mind was Harry Potter. He is so appreciative and so loved making those films, and they're so much a part of him, but at the same time, it's like being a teenager, and he's thinking "I've done that now, can we all move on?" And he had to do that very publicly and I think he couldn't have done it more brilliantly.'
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Aside from acting, Juno's got one more passion that she's totally obsessed with which is, oddly, fabulous underwear 'A woman can take over the world if she's wearing great underwear! When I talk about how much I love underwear people say "Oh I bet your boyfriend loves that" but underwear is somethings that's so personal, something that's for just yourself. I like wearing great underwear under my sweatpants!'
So what's behind this obsession? 'I love the engineering, the design, learning how to wire a bra, bone a corset, mould underwear to a women's body so that they feel good. Because in today's society, my God, sometimes they make it tough for a woman to feel good about herself, and I think underwear can really do that. Women have these beautiful bodies that should be wrapped in things that make them feel good. I've made a couple of pieces myself, things inspired by Indian saris, little silky shorts, but what I'd really like to try to do is go all Surrealist. Eggs and Bacon. Something that looks like a shark's taken a bite out it. I want to get all Salvador Dali on that shit! I think it's important as a woman to embrace your sexuality and whatever you need to do that, do it!'
Juno's got a packed year ahead of her, and she's just wrapped on Black Mass with Kevin Bacon and Johnny Depp, but the character she would love the chance to play is Marilyn Monroe.
'I love to give it a shot playing Marilyn, even though Michelle Williams did it so beautifully. I've always been a huge fan of hers; her vulnerability and sexuality and comic timing on camera was unbelievable. I've read so many of the things she used to write down and the struggles she used to have. When I think about my fantasy dinner party, she would definitely be sat right next to me.'
Horns is out in cinemas today.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.