Napoleon: He could steal the show from Joaquin Phoenix. Who is Vanessa Kirby?

A few months after Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, we meet Vanessa Kirby on the big screen in Napoleon. The actress – who barely appeared in the film – swapped tailored suits and blonde hair for dramatic period dresses and brown curls. In front of Ridley Scott’s camera, she plays Emperor Bonaparte’s great love, Josephine. As adept in muscle-bound action films as he is in costume, the actor has continued to showcase his versatility in recent years.

The daughter of a surgeon and a magazine editor proved herself on stage for the first time. Spotted by an agent who introduced her to David Thacker, director of the Octagon Theater Bolton, her theater career began in earnest in 2009. His performances earned him an Ian Charlson Award nomination two years in a row.

His debut on British television was noticed immediately. The Hour, a behind-the-scenes television program in the 1950s, saw him appear alongside Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas) and Dominic West (Sur Ecoute). Then, on the set of the BBC mini-series Great Expectations, he became friends with Gillian Anderson. The English actress then introduced the X-Files star to director Benedict Andrews. The latter offered her the role of Masha in a modern version of Chekhov’s play. Three sisters, which received critical acclaim. In 2014, Andrews brought the two actors together to share a poster for his adaptationA Streetcar Named Desire. The success was such that the show was exported to Broadway.

Although his heart belongs to the world of theatre, his performances in cinema are equally noteworthy. The young woman plays the best friend of Rachel McAdams’ character in the romantic comedy It’s About Time. She previously played Sam Claflin’s ex-fiancée in the adaptation of Jojo Moyes’ bestseller. Finally, it was Queen and Country, a romantic drama about World War II, that he took the lead. Genius then invited him to lend his features to Zelda Fitzgerald alongside Colin Firth, Jude Law and Guy Pearce.

She wears the outfit several times, for example in the fantasy series The Frankenstein Chronicles, and in The Crown, a Netflix series, Vanessa takes on Princess Margaret’s wardrobe. In order to become the sister of Queen Elizabeth, played by Claire Foy, a beautiful British woman seriously explores the life of the royal family. This character with a tragic fate, forced to live in the shadow of his sister and unable to marry the person he loves, has a great influence on him. The program was a great success, which allowed the actor to be noticed by the general public.

Since then, his career has seen a new growth and the actor has been sought after for big performances. Thus, we find her opposite Tom Cruise in the lucrative and spectacular saga Mission: Impossible, where she plays Alana Mizopolis / White Widow in Fallout (2018) and Dead Reckoning – Part 1 (released last July) and its sequel (expected in 2025). Still in the action department, she plays Jason Statham’s little sister in Hobbs & Shaw, a spin-off of the Fast & Furious franchise that also stars Dwayne Johnson.

But it does not neglect the dramatic register in which it excels. This is evidenced by her intense performance as a mother grieving the loss of her son in Pieces of a Woman, which earned her the Wolpe Award for Best Actress at the 2020 Venice Film Festival, as well as a Golden Globe, BAFTA nomination. And the Oscar for Best Actress. We also got to see her as a young mother and Hugh Jackman’s companion overwhelmed by her son’s depression in Florian Zeller’s The Son, which came out earlier this year.

Now he can add playing Empress Josephine to the ambitious Napoleon to his CV. He, who knew nothing of French history, read many works in preparation: “We went to the Napoleon I museum in Paris, the Chateau de Malmaison. I even went to Josephine’s tomb. It was a complete immersion in this period of history and I was honored to discover her life.”

An honor, of course, but the most difficult experience. As the actor explains, it was to play this role “painful and uncomfortable” because he said “This is the lot of many women. I felt an immense sympathy for her because she had no say in the matter, even though she was driven by passion and incredible energy.”

We find Vanessa Kirby in Eden by Ron Howard, surrounded by an impressive cast: Anna de Armas, Jude Law, Sydney Sweeney and Daniel Bruhl. Before joining the MCU? She is definitely going to be Jane Storm/Invisible Woman in the new version of Fantastic 4 that is currently in development.

(Re)discover our interview with Ridley Scott for Napoleon, in theaters now: