Ride to further stardom
‘‘I have absolutely no interest in portraying what other people think of as strong. It’s a way of making women more acceptable in a male world, and I am just not on board with that,’’ she says. ‘‘I don’t think women are crying out to see strong women; I think we know we are all strong but we’re just crying out to see women on screen at all.’’
In her role as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl in the Spider’s Web, Foy trades her buttermilk complexion for a body adorned with tattoos and also sports a jagged, super-short haircut. It’s her attempt to reinvent the role previously played by Noomi Rapace and Rooney Mara.
‘‘I felt very strongly that I didn’t want to just say she has a mohawk and loads of tattoos and the job’s done. I wanted to go back and understand why she has those things and why she wants to create a veneer of unapproachability so I could make sense of it.’’
Foy won’t talk about her split earlier this year from her actor husband, Stephen Campbell Moore. And she will not speak about their 3-year-old daughter, Ivy.
‘‘I don’t feel comfortable talking about my family, I’m afraid,’’ she says, firmly but politely. Spending time with Gosling, who navigates intrusions of privacy daily, she seems horrified this might be in her future. ‘‘I’ve always said that if it becomes too much, I won’t do it any more,’’ she says.
Foy is naturally funny and self-deprecating but she sheepishly admits the trappings of fame aren’t all bad.
When Foy attended the 2017 Golden Globes as a nominee for the Best Actress in a TV Drama award, she was overcome with excitement even before she found herself on stage accepting the award.
‘‘I saw Meryl Streep and there’s no way you feel you can go up to someone you admire that much and tell her what she means to you,’’ she says.
‘‘I try to remember that everyone goes to the toilet, but at award shows everyone really does go to the toilet, and when you come back, suddenly you are sitting next to Stevie Wonder. Your heart is pounding but you just casually say ‘Hello Stevie’ because it’s too normal for it to be weird!’’
Given her current big-screen takeover, Foy may have to start regarding such situations as her new normal.
– Sydney Morning Herald
First Man is in cinemas now. The Girl in the Spider’s Web is out on November 8.