Léa Seydoux recently broke her silence on her severe mental health issues that she has been facing since the age of 18.
At the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, the 40-year-old French actress’ films Gentle Master and The Unknown premiered, where she told Variety that she experienced “strong panic attacks” in the past that felt very real to her while working on The Unknown.
Seydoux shared, “When I was 18, I had strong panic attacks. Even now, I still have strong panic attacks — and when I have a panic attack, it’s the vertigo of being yourself.’
“I remember having a panic attack: I watched myself in the mirror, and I was like, This is me. I am myself. What I see in the mirror is actually me,” she added.
The Dune star went on to admit that she struggles to connect with herself while watching movies she has acted in.
Seydoux quipped, “When I watch a movie with me, sometimes I’m like, ‘Is it really me? Do I really look like this person?’”
For those unaware, The Unknown starred her as Eva, “a woman with whom the movie’s lead, David (Niels Schneider), has a one-night stand. David then wakes up inside the woman’s body, immediately creating a crisis.”
The film, which will be released in French theatres on August 26, 2026, has an ensemble cast, including Niels Schneider, Victoire du Bois, Lilith Grasmug, Shanti Masud, Jonathan Turnbull, and Valérie Dréville.
While Gentle Monster, a drama film, starred her as Lucy Weiss, “a pianist who has moved from the city to a country house in the hope of easing her husband Philip’s severe burnout,” as per its official synopsis.
