Last November, French director Olivier Assayas (“Clouds of Sils Maria”) cast Chicago actor Ty Olwin, to co-star with Kristen Stewart in his feature “Personal Shopper,” a ghost story that takes place in the fashion underworld of Paris. They filmed last November in Europe and the Middle East.
Now “Personal Shopper” makes an auspicious debut at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, May 11-22, as an Official Selection, having been chosen from 1,500 films that had been submitted for entry. Assayas’ film will be up against such formidable directors as Pedro Almodovar, Jim Jarmusch, Paul Verhoeven and actor Sean Penn’s directorial debut.
Olwin, 25, has been a client of Maryanne Ziesch’s Actors Talent Group since 2012, “when he arrived here right out of screen, a University of Cincinnati drama graduate who had moved to Chicago to attend Steppenwolf theatre classes,” she says.
In his first professional theatrical role shortly thereafter, Olwin was cast as Jack in “Lord of the Flies” for Steppenwolf’s Youth series. That was followed by a succession of theatrical roles at Raven Theatre, Steep Theatre and The House Theatre.
Olwin has played recent parts in TV series “Chicago Fire” and “Crisis.” Assayas first met the young actor when he signed him for a role in “Heist,” a Chicago production which was scrapped at the last minute when funding went south.
Stewart, who had co-starred with Juliette Binoche in Assayas’ 2014 “Clouds of Sils Maria,” also appears in Woody Allen’s “Café Society,” screening on Cannes’ opening night. “Personal Shopper” will film May 21.
