MobLand's Mandeep Dhillon on Seraphina's Powerful Style Evolution
On any given day in Hampstead, you might find a version of British actress Mandeep Dhillon walking around in what she cleverly describes as her "baggy and swaggy" attire. There's also a version of the 35-year-old where her look is chic and understated, "cool and expensive." But perhaps her favorite fashion persona is playing Seraphina Harrigan on the Paramount+ series MobLand. As the daughter of ruthless crime boss Conrad Harrigan (Pierce Brosnan), Seraphina takes power dressing to a whole new level. "I think I'd raid all of it," Dhillon tells Who What Wear of her character's luxe wardrobe, featuring notable pieces from the likes of Burberry, Gucci, and Saint Laurent. We'd have to agree.
With the show's second season underway, it's not just Seraphina's wardrobe that's massively stepping up—moving from the demure tailoring of last season to sultry, '90s-inspired looks. It's her drive too. Things are getting messy in the Harrigan household, and with power up for grabs, the favorite daughter is finally taking matters into her own hands. But the question is, At what cost?
Dhillon was especially excited to step back into Seraphina's stilettos for season 2. It's not every day you get to embody a "boss bitch" who isn't afraid to take up space and cut someone down. We caught up with the actress during a break from filming her next project to discuss Seraphina's journey, what it's like going toe-to-toe with Helen Mirren, and the costumes of her dreams.
Thank you for your time today. I'm excited to dive into season 2 of MobLand. They only sent us the first four episodes, which is quite the tease.
I've only seen episodes 1 to 4 as well, so we're in the same boat. It's funny because when I watched episodes 1 to 4, I was like, "Oh my god, this is so good." And then I thought about what's to come, and I was like, "Fuck, it just gets better and better."
I can't wait! Before we go there, I want to take it back to the beginning. What about the series really appealed to you at that time in your career?
It came at the perfect time, actually. I just finished doing CSI in America. I had just moved back to London, and my partner at the time was making me watch all of these gangster movies. I was always that person. Famously, whenever someone has said, "Oh, Godfather, or have you watched Scarface?" I was like, "No, I've never seen it." So I went on a weird binge of watching all of these epic gangster movies. And then this landed in my inbox, and I was like, "Huh."
The universe works in mysterious ways.
Literally. I remember reading episode 1, and actually, I went up for Harry's wife, [Jan]. I remember doing the tape and knowing I'm not right for this role. But I liked the script, so [I] put myself on tape anyway. I sent the tape to my team, and it's funny. I love cars. I love driving. I'm such a little girl racer. In another world, I'm like Lewis Hamilton, the Temu version. But you know Harry's driver, Zosia? I read that part and was like, "I really want to play a role where I get to drive a car really fast." I said to my team, "I'm not right for this role. Here's my tape. I love the script. I love cars. Can you ask if they've made an offer out for Zosia?"
[I] heard nothing, and two weeks later, all of them jumped on a call with me, and they were like, "Hey, Mandeep, so you've been offered Seraphina Harrigan in MobLand." And I was like, "Who the fuck is Seraphina?" And they were like, "We're gonna send you three episodes. You've got 24 hours to make your decision." I started reading it, and I obviously saw that Pierce plays my dad. Helen Mirren is my stepmom, and Tom Hardy is the family fixer. And then I realized, oh, she's a Harrigan. And then I started seeing the stuff that was coming out of her mouth. It wasn't even 24 hours. I was like, "I say yes!"
How did working with Guy Ritchie challenge you as an actor?
First of all, it was great. He's great, and I quite appreciate his bouginess. He is always dressed very lovely. I really appreciate that. What I really enjoyed, which actually should have scared me, is how on your toes you are. Learn your lines, of course, but also, don't be too attached to them. In series 1, there was that scene in a café where my brother calls me quite fit. That whole scene was changed that morning. Guy came into my trailer, and he was like, "Look, the scene isn't working for me. Let's change it. Let's rewrite it." So we did. And then he comes to set, and he's like, "I'm gonna just sit here throwing stuff at you. Go along with me. You might be a bit tricky, but are you up for it?" And I said, "Yeah, go on then." That's where all of that great magic came from. I love that personally. It's not your standard way of working, and I believe that that's where you do get the magic.
Do you have a favorite Guy Ritchie film?
I watched Snatch—loved that. I've not seen Lock, Stock [and Two Smoking Barrels] yet, but everyone keeps telling me to watch that. Oh, and I had seen [Netflix's] The Gentlemen as well. Obviously, that's TV. That's different. To be honest, the gangstery stuff that I was being made to watch was like GoodFellas. It was very American-based. Scarface is so good.
Were you nervous or intimidated at all to step on set with the likes of Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Hardy, and Paddy Considine?
Luckily, no. I don't know if this is a good thing, but the way I think of everyone is we're all equal. We're all humans. We're all born. We're all gonna die. We're humans and people who are great and have been around for such a long time and are successful. But I also would have the same level of respect for a teacher or a fireman or a nurse. That's just how I am. So luckily, no, I wasn't intimidated. Also, I'd done the work. I'd worked with my acting coach, and she'd give me tips if I was to feel intimidated or if I ever do have a situation where I'm on set and it is someone where I'm like, "Oh my God." But I don't really get like that. I'd only be like that with Beyoncé or Rihanna or Chance the Rapper. Not really with actors. Also a testament to them, they are just very normal people and lovely people, and they love their job. I love Pierce with all my heart. Helen is an absolute dream. It's a really fun environment.
Let's talk about Mirren because Maeve is always plotting Seraphina's demise. They do not love each other. How is it playing that dynamic with her?
Oh, it's so brilliant. I absolutely love it. What's really nice about Helen is she loves her job, and we had a whole thing at the start of series 1 where the first day I met her, she gave me such a big hug and said, "Darling, I don't mean a thing of it, okay?" And I said, "Helen, bring it on!" And from that moment, we know as soon as they say "Action," we're on it. And it's so much fun. If we start improvising at the end, she gets so excited. She's a proper actress in the sense of, when you improv, she lights up. She makes space for everyone to be the best performers that they can be. I think scenes like that, when you've got beef with someone, are the best.
What makes Seraphina such an enjoyable character to play?
Oh, her clothes. Seraphina has a certain perfume that I use for her. All my characters do. Every single character, I make sure that I have a certain smell for them, which is quite funny because the job I'm on right now, I'm so done with this fricking smell. Like, why did I choose this? However, I'd done it on purpose because with Seraphina, she's very womanly. She's fierce. She's smart. She dresses so great. She takes care of herself very well. And the character that I'm playing right now just doesn't. So I was like, "You can't be wearing your bougie stuff for this."
What is Seraphina's scent?
There are two. The first one is the Maison Francis [Kurkdjian], who normally do Baccarat Rouge. I do a little of the À La Rose. I spray that and then Louis Vuitton Coeur Battant. I mix those two together; that's Seraphina.
So good! Back to what you love about Seraphina.
Obviously the outfits, and also, I just love that she takes up space. She is not afraid to walk into a room where she knows people hate her. If you think about the dynamic with Maeve and the fact that she is the illegitimate daughter, she's also the only brown-skin person in the family that we must acknowledge. You would think that might make her shy away, but it does not. In fact, she's like, "Yeah, mate, that's my power." She does not care, and I love that about her. She's a badass, boss bitch. She's sharp with her tongue. She can cut someone down.
Coming into season 2, Seraphina is indebted to Kat McAllister for saving her life. What were you excited to explore in terms of expanding on that dynamic?
The whole idea of power. Seraphina looks at Kat… Obviously, she saved her life, but before Kat saved her life, she always knew who Kat was. Seraphina's the type of person where she's got her dad's ambition and DNA running through her. She's very ambitious and very power-hungry. She's also very smart, and she's in this place where she's like, "I want to be at the top. I want to be where Kat is. How the hell am I gonna do that?" So when I was reading the scripts this time, I was like, "Oh God, I love that she's playing with fire with everything massively." But I also love that she's not afraid to go to the top and learn from them too.
You have talked about the emotional weight of filming season 1 because of the trauma Seraphina faces. You can see she's more hardened this season after nearly facing death. How was that for you in terms of the shift in her perspective?
I always have to ask myself about my characters, and what's the why behind their why? You can think that you're doing something, but why are you doing that? … In season 1, my why behind the why was validation. It was, "Hey, look at me. I'm a Harrigan. Accept me." Season 2 is very different. It's not validation at all. Now, [the why is] I will never ever be in a place where someone has a chainsaw to my neck ever again. And I will do absolutely anything and everything I need to do to make sure that never happens to me. For now, she's come back, and she's holding no prisoners, and she has an iciness to her. Don't get me wrong. She loves her dad, and she loves her family. But she's also aware that the ship is sinking, and she ain't gonna sink with it. There's no bloody way that she's gonna go down with it. So yeah, I really had to come back colder, come back fiercer, and just not give a shit. Even Maeve doesn't bother her this season.
You talked earlier about Seraphina's wardrobe. Tell me about building Seraphina's fashion persona and how it's evolved from season 1 to season 2.
You know, it was interesting. When I first went to my costume fitting, I was loving it because it felt more on the gentlemanly side of how they designed their clothes. Seraphina was wearing these power suits, and every now and then, she put on a skirt or a little dress, but even the dresses were more demure. They were Victoria Beckham dresses, very classy. However, season 2, I came in and saw the rack, and I was like, "Okay, cool. We are turning up the fucking heat." The main thing for [Seraphina this season], which really makes me laugh, is sex. She's sexier. And not for the male's attention, either. It's actually to piss Maeve off.
It's wonderful because she knows that Maeve not only hates her because of the fact that she's the result of a one-night stand, but she also knows that Maeve hates her because she is this beautiful woman that Conrad adores. She's also a reminder of the beautiful woman that Conrad had [an affair] with. I remember we would try all these different coats, and I love my Burberry coat that I wore at the end of season 1. But this season, there's this leather fur jacket that I've got going on, and honestly, when I put it on, I was like, "Oh yeah." She's more womanly this season. She's really standing in that wonderful feminine power.
If you could step inside her wardrobe, what are you taking?
Quite a lot—I'm not gonna lie. I'm taking the leather jacket with the fur. I'm also taking the Burberry coat, which I've had my eye on for a while. I'm taking all of her heels. I'm taking her Roland Mouret skirts, 100%. Oh god, there was this really nice vintage Gucci dress that we tried. I also want to take the stuff that didn't make it [in the show]. There were quite a few '90s throwback YSL dresses as well. I would take quite a lot if they let me. I think I'd raid all of it.
So you would say you and Seraphina are quite alike in terms of your style?
Yes and no. I want to take it all; however, I'm probably a more simple, chic version of her. She's more sexy, smoky eye, glamour, and danger. Whereas I'm probably throwing [on] an outfit [that's] chic, cool, classy, rich, expensive, but just not doing too much. But also on the flip side, if you saw me right now, you'd be like, "Are you okay?" There's also a version of me when I'm walking around Hampstead where I'm in my baggy and swaggy.
Catch new episodes of MobLand, streaming on Paramount+.
Photographer: Jack Waterlot
Stylist: Sophie Pera
Hairstylist: Sven Bayerbach
Makeup Artist: Bea Sweet
