NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - The Drink with Kate Snow: Suki Waterhouse

Episode Date: October 7, 2024

Suki Waterhouse’s modeling career began after being discovered in her teens while shopping. But with the release of her much-anticipated sophomore album, Waterhouse is hoping to reclaim ownership of the labels that initially defined her. She talks with NBC News’ Kate Snow about her early success, her career, her friend Taylor Swift and becoming a mom.

Hey everybody, it's Kate Snow. Suki Waterhouse, the model, actor, singer, she met up with me at Lodi in Rockefeller Plaza. She asked for a regular full sugar Coca-Cola. Kind of surprising for my series, The Drink, which is always about how somebody got to the top of their field. Suki told so many great stories, how she was discovered while she was shopping as a teen in London, how she learned to play the keys just for the series Daisy Jones and the Six, and how her friend Taylor Swift asked her to open for her this summer. We talked about being a new mom, how she's trying to reclaim ownership of her narrative through her new album, Memoir of a Sparkle Muffin. Yeah, that's the name. You can

find all of my conversations with top artists, entrepreneurs and visionaries at NBC News dot com slash the drink. I used to go to like pop star school. I mean, two times. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Which was there's a school for that was like a class that you do. What are you having? I'm having what you're having. A Coca-Cola? A Coca-Cola. Okay. You asked for real Coca-Cola. Mmm, I love real Coca-Cola.

Like full sugar. Yes. I would not have pinned a bottle having a real Coca-Cola. A little bit of a guilty pleasure. Oh, but it's so good though, isn't it? Cheers. To Coca-Cola. To Coca-Cola.

We're in Lodi at Rockefeller Center. Okay, great. Good to know, because I wouldn't have known that. I know where you are. Suki Waterhouse, you have a song, Model, Actress, Whatever. Yeah. You are model, actor, singer.

Yes. New album out. Whatever. Whatever. You sing, call me a lover, disaster, whatever. sing call me a lover, disaster, whatever Other half of my story is with me forever Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah I think that line in itself I think is I don't know, I think when you're young

And you're going through a lot of these things publicly I think your story can just That was something that I felt anyway You lose control of it Yeah, your story, your narrative You're not ever really allowed to say you're part of it I guess that song and I guess where I feel like I am now I feel like I'm much more through my art through my songwriting I feel like I have much more of an ownership of it now So you grow up in England. Uh-huh.

And there's a story that you get discovered. Is that right? Yeah, I mean, yes. I think, I mean, it definitely wasn't that kind of thing. Oh, you get discovered and suddenly, like, life's totally different. Where are you at this point? I'm on Oxford Street. Oxford Street.

I think I'm like 15. 15? Yeah. And there would be a big topshop and a big H&M. Right. And teenagers would just be there all the time, so they would have scouts. Okay, but wait, so you're in, you're shopping? Yeah.

You're 15 and you're shopping somewhere. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And somebody just walks up and says, hey. And says, and yeah, and maybe says, would you like to come and we'll basically take you around agencies and stuff. I'm like, could I go to Topshop more if I do this? You know, it was pretty bottom of the barrel for like a long time. Okay, okay.

And then, and it slowly, it slowly kind of. So when do you start feeling like you're getting jobs that, oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm doing this? I think, yeah, it slowly kind of got better and better. And then Burberry was a really big turning point for me I think, yeah, it slowly kind of got better and better. And then Burberry was a really big turning point for me with modeling because once they take you on, they send you to around the world. They'd send you to Singapore, they'd send you to China, they'd send you to Japan, like everywhere.

When did you start singing or writing songs or being musical? I remember meeting a friend of mine, a pianist, and I would go all the time. This is like when I was modeling. Before that, I'd been in stage school, singing school. I used to go to pop star school two times a year. Oh yeah? There's a school

for pop stars? There was like a class that you do. It was with these two really cool women. You'd learn how to do a mic. And the two women, I think one of them had used to be in a girl group or something, so that was a blast. I think people might think that you've just sort of become a singer in recent years,

but you've been musical a long time. Yes, it is a long time. I mean, I've been releasing music for a long time. It's just like, people didn't see it as much. You were doing that kind of like, quietly, right? Yeah, in 2016 i mean i did try to make as big a deal as possible you know it just didn't kind of like it was but you know it was it was sweet i had like a couple of i had like a hundred thousand followers on uh spotify and that was like a cool part of when when a song that um called Good Looking really blew up.

It was fun actually, because the people that were there when it was so small kind of felt like, they were like, we own this, we knew about this, we loved this before everyone else did. Be honest with me. They worth it? I wouldn't be here if they weren't. You star in Daisy Jones and the Six.

I'm a huge Fleetwood Mac fan. I feel like it's loosely based on that. Yes, definitely, yeah. How did that happen? How do you get that role? I know you had had roles before that. I mean, you're clearly known at that point. Well, I knew that the book was being,

I'd already read the book and I went into my agent's office and I saw this kind of like Daisy Six, Daisy Six, like kind of board and everyone's names being written up. I think they were casting Daisy. And I was like, I have to be in the show. I did an okay job in the audition. Then I was getting my, in the elevator about to leave. And someone just said, come back, come back in. Like, they just want you to nail this, like, angry scene, like, again. Like, I hadn't, like, gotten mad enough. I was like, oh, my God.

So I went back in. And, you know, it kind of got completely ramped up and went nuts and did that scene. And then it was come back in January, but play us a Jim Morrison song. Okay, and you had not been a keys player. Not that great. Not really.

Not that great. Yeah, so I spent the whole of Christmas, because everyone was quite busy. Practicing the song. So I called up everyone I knew. I got like three different piano teachers. I left my parents' house after like a night or something. And I just went over and over again.

Do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Like, come on baby, like that. But like everyone around me hated me. Did Daisy Jones and the Six kind of motivate you to put out music? Yes, and I think, yeah, it motivated me just to go and make the record. By the time we got to the end of Daisy, I had like, you know, a label suddenly,

which was bizarre, and also a tour book with Father John Misty. It was just amazing to be able to be in like a show like that and go on tour and have music. It was kind of, it was mad. And you're dating at the same time, Robert Pattinson. You're also balancing getting pregnant at some point at the end of last year, right? Like middle of last year, yeah. Middle of last year.

Yeah, yeah, I was on tour. Okay, I'm just trying to, as a woman, I'm like, and as someone who's had babies while being a reporter, and it's hard. I'm sure you've done that. I'm sure you've worked, like pregnant'm sure you've worked pregnant, right? Yes. How long did you?

Like breastfeeding in back rooms and all that stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pumping. You just make it happen, because we're warriors, right? You just, you do. Cheers to that. You go into warrior mode.

Warrior mode, mom mode. Am I right that you're writing the album that's out now? Yeah. Memoir of a Sparkle Muffin. You were writing that while pregnant? Yes. Some of it? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I moved the studio into my living room for the last two months. You know the last two months? Yes. Or last month. You just don't really want to go anywhere. You're just like, I don't really want to leave the house anymore. I don't really want anyone to see me. And it kind of made me go, it made me really want to leave the house anymore. I don't really want anyone to see me. And it kind of made me go,

it made me really have to focus in. You opened for Taylor Swift. For Suki Waterhouse! Insane, insane. If you'd have told me that, I went to the 1989 tour like 10 years ago. As a fan? Did you know her?

Yeah, I knew her, but I had my little shirt and I had a little camera. And then I was into that. And then 10 years later, you're opening at Wembley. Did she ask you to open? Does Taylor call and say, hey, Suki? Yes, yeah. That's what happens.

That's mind blowing. Well, she had mentioned it a year before at dinner, but I just didn't know if that was real. You know? You didn't think it was a joke? No, not a joke, but I just didn't know if that was like real, you know? You didn't think it was a joke? No, not a joke, but I just didn't know if it was real. But she's someone that we're always like, you know, you shouldn't, like she kind of, I feel like she's someone if she says something,

she means it. You know what I mean? Your parents were there. You can be the biggest star in the world, but you still want your parents to be there and be proud. Yeah. Yeah. Do we have time to do rapid fire just really quick? Your favorite song? Gold Dust Woman.

Oh, I love that song. Stevie Nicks. Group you'd love to collaborate with? Oasis. Oh, they're on tour right now. They're British. It would never happen, but I would just love that. You said that about Taylor Swift, too. Mm-hmm.

You never know. Sometimes you have to manifest, right? Sometimes you do. Sometimes you do. Favorite moment with your new daughter? Oh, my goodness. Probably the first time she smiled. It just took me by such a surprise that, you know, you just start crying, and it makes your heart jump.

I love that. Suki Waterhouse, thank you so much for the Coke. Thank you so much.