Lily: I make mistakes all the time and that’s what life’s about...
JAMES SPEAKS OUT ON INFIDELITY AS WEST ESCAPES TO HIS FAMILY’S CASTLE
LILY JAMES has admitted she makes ‘mistakes all the time’... but would never run away from them.
The Mamma Mia! star’s confession, made during a magazine interview, proved to be bad timing as it emerged days after her married co-star Dominic West was spotted nuzzling her on holiday in Rome at the weekend.
James, 31, was promoting her Netflix drama Rebecca when she said: ‘I think I make mistakes all the time and I feel that’s what life’s about and I would never want to run away from a situation or be too scared to act.
‘It’s better to throw yourself in and make mistakes with an open heart. If your instincts are right even if they’re misguided, or if you’re open, you can recover from your mistakes and learn from them.’
The actress, who recently split from former Doctor Who Matt Smith after five years, plays Mrs de Winter in the latest adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel.
Talking about women’s infidelity in a video interview with Harper’s Bazaar, she added: ‘The character of Rebecca, she went against all norms as a woman – disobeyed her husband, had affairs, was basically just brilliant and that was only in the 1930s. People are afraid of women when they’re unleashed. Women are warriors and that’s intimidating.’
After dating Captain America actor Chris Evans, 39, since splitting from Smith, James said she is happy to buck the trend on how she is expected to behave. ‘I feel I’ve rebelled in that way, I was always a rebellious teenager and I think it’s important to rebel in that way,’ she added.
‘Criticism can be good if it’s constructive, but I feel like if it’s attacking you or a vendetta that’s really difficult but I’m still learning... I’m still figuring it out but I do think I can grow and develop a thicker skin.’
Her comments came as West, 50, and his aristocrat wife Catherine FitzGerald, 49, reportedly left their Wiltshire home for her ancestral seat, Glin Castle in Ireland.
The actor, who starred in Sky TV’s The Affair, flew back from Italy on Tuesday to publicly declare their tenyear marriage is still on track, kissing his wife outside their Chippenham home. He and James have become close since working on a BBC show, The Pursuit Of Love, in Somerset.
The Wire star West previously shared his own views on infidelity, saying: ‘I think women should be more indulgent of affairs. It’s daft to kick someone out over a fling.’