Souheila Yacoub

The Body as a Working Tool

Souheila Yacoub never started out chasing applause in a dark theater. Before the spotlights and red carpets of Cannes, the life of this Swiss actress, born in 1992, was measured in hours of training and chalk on her hands. She was part of the national rhythmic gymnastics team, but her Olympic dream fell apart just before London 2012. That sports setback was the push that drove her to Paris to study acting at the Cours Florent.

The discipline of the mat carried over to the film set.

In 2018, director Gaspar Noé was looking for dancers and extreme physical profiles for his new film. Yacoub landed the role of Lou in Climax after an audition where energy mattered more than the script. During that shoot of barely fifteen days, the actress realized that her past as an athlete was a competitive advantage (and a creative one) over other performers with classical training.

But her recognition in the French industry didn't come solely from her physical ability. In 2019, she took part in the series Les Sauvages, playing Jasmine, and proved she could carry the dramatic weight of a complex political production. And she did it without giving up the physical intensity that is already her personal signature in every shot.

Conquering European Auteur Cinema

During 2021, the actress took on projects that moved her away from supporting roles. In Entre les vagues, she played a young actress struggling with illness and professional ambition. It was an exhausting job that demanded total emotional commitment. Critics in France began to see her as an heir to that tradition of actresses who aren't afraid to be uncomfortable in front of the camera.

Then came the call from Albert Serra.

Catalan director included her in the cast of Pacifiction (2022), one of the most unusual films of that season. Working with Serra means accepting chaos and constant improvisation. Yacoub adapted to that working method, where scripts are suggestions and takes can last for hours under the sun of French Polynesia.

In 2024, her presence at international film festivals was constant thanks to the variety of her collaborations. Yacoub prefers to work with directors who have a strong visual vision (even if that means physically demanding shoots or extreme climates). For her, acting is still an extension of the discipline she learned in the high-performance gym.

Her Leap into Blockbusters in 2024

The year 2024 marked her definitive entry into the Hollywood market with Dune: Part Two. In the Denis Villeneuve film, she played Shishakli, a Fedaykin warrior among the Fremen. Taking part in a 190 million dollar production allowed her to work in natural locations in Jordan and Abu Dhabi under extreme heat that reminded her of her competition days.

Her physicality remains her main language.

That same year, The Shrouds premiered under David Cronenberg's direction. In this techno-horror film, she shares the screen with Vincent Cassel and Diane Kruger. The project explores the connection between the living and the dead through surveillance devices in the graves. Yacoub accepted the role drawn to the Canadian director's cold aesthetic and to the chance to work in adult science fiction.

For the shoot of The Shrouds in 2024, the production team used a digital scanning system at 360 degrees to recreate the actors' bodies in virtual post-production environments.