Meet the model: Erika Linder

MY GIRLFRIEND IS ALSO A MODEL. People always ask if we’re competitive when it comes to jobs, but we aren’t like that, we’re just happy for one another. They assume that because Heather [Kemesky] and I work in the same industry, and because girls ‘behave in a certain way’, we must be having constant cat fights, but we’re best friends. I am super stoked when she’s doing well and vice versa. It’s great when we get to travel or do campaigns together but it’s also brilliant that we completely understand each other’s concerns and anxieties.

GROWING UP, FASHION WAS NOT A PART OF MY LIFE. My parents split up when I was little, so I grew up between Stockholm and the countryside, I was an eight-year-old loner who just wanted to hang out in the forest. I got scouted by a model agent at a concert when I was 14. She hounded me for a few years but I had no interest. I thought modeling was all about wearing heels and loads of makeup and, at the time, I was busy playing football and starting bands. I wanted to be a rock star. It wasn’t until I got to university, where I was studying languages and feeling a bit lost, that I decided to give modeling a shot.

I USED TO DO MALE MODELING. When I was starting out I had this idea that if I modeled as a guy then I wouldn’t have to wear dresses and makeup or anything I was uncomfortable with. This was back in 2011 and nobody really understood where I was coming from. I really had to fight for it. For my first shoot, I was booked to play a young Leonardo DiCaprio and then things really took off. I ended up landing a beauty campaign for Tom Ford’s men’s line; that was really gratifying.

I NEVER STUDIED ACTING. A production company reached out to my agents with the script for my first movie, Below Her Mouth. I had never even thought about becoming an actor before – I just thought that was a totally LA thing to happen. I didn’t realize that male modeling kind of put me on the map. When the movie ended up going to the Toronto Film Festival, I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t prepared for all the exposure that came with it. I’ve got a TV show coming out this fall and a new movie in January; this time around I feel more mature and much more prepared for it all.

I’M INSPIRED BY PEOPLE WHO GO AFTER THEIR DREAMS. Ever since I started acting, Tilda Swinton has become a huge inspiration, along with Cate Blanchett. They live life by their own rules. They’ve found the perfect balance between commercial projects and art-house cinema. I’m not the kind of actress who is dying to do a superhero blockbuster. I like to challenge myself to do things that other people – and often I – don’t understand.

I’M CRAVING AM ADVENTURE. Heather and I really want to take a tropical vacation soon, we’re thinking somewhere in the Caribbean or maybe Asia. We live between New York and LA so when we’re on the west coast, sometimes we’ll just load up the car and head to the forest or rent a cabin and drive up to Yellowstone, where we love to ride horses. But right now, we’re both looking for blue water and palm trees. Ideally, we’d just throw our phones in the ocean once we get there.