Vanessa Kirby Says Ridley Scott’s Napoleon Is Epic and Extraordinary

Vanessa Kirby made the most of her limited screen time in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, playing the role of The White Widow in the 2018 action classic. Taking on the role of Alanna Mitsopolis, the character was changed in post-production to be the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave’s Max—one of the original 1996 film’s antagonists, whose shady dealings made her both a foe and a loose friend to our team of IMF agents. Now, she’s back for more in the sequel, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. Speaking with Collider’s Steve Weintraub at the worldwide premiere of Dead Reckoning Part One in Rome, Italy, Kirby’s enthusiasm was unbridled as she discussed what she was most excited about in the film after Weintraub asked her about the various thrilling aspects of the film. Kirby was effusive in her praise of her fellow women in the highly-praised film, Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, and Pom Klementieff, praising their impact on-screen, as well as her leading man Tom Cruise’s portrayal of “superhero“ Ethan Hunt, and the vulnerability he shows throughout the story. Kirby shared: “I think the character studies in it, honestly. You have Hayley, who’s got this whole backstory. You have Rebecca and her immense power. You have these amazing women in it. Pom being so fierce. Then you have Ethan, who is doubting himself and his life, and it’s all catching up with him. I think that’s really special because, as humans, I think we all feel flawed and doubtful, and you’ve got an Ethan Hunt who is the kind of superhero to me, and he’s really, I think, feeling the weight of the journey he’s gone on. So I’m excited for that.“ Soon She Will Be Empress Josephine Kirby will return as Alanna in Dead Reckoning Part 2, with the two Mission slices sandwiching her role as Empress Josephine in Ridley Scott’s historical epic, Napoleon. When asked what the differences were between working with her Mission helmer Christopher McQuarrie, who loves trying takes multiple times and finding what sticks, and Scott, the British knight with a taste for quick, multi-angle shots so the work can move on, she explained in detail the processes the two directors share, and how they differed. “They do. It’s completely polar opposite to Chris. You will do 40 or 50 takes, you can do anything, you know, play around, or it might just be in one single shot. He will ask so many different things of you, you’ll do that. Then with Ridley, he shoots with maybe six cameras and you’ll do a couple of takes because he catches from every angle. He says it’s like theater because you can shoot a scene and he’ll capture every single image, and then you can move on. So it’s almost the opposite, really.“ Kirby further expanded on her experience working on the film, which has been a passion project for Scott for decades now. At 85 years old, Scott is still churning out the big budget films, with Napoleon due for release via Sony and Apple TV later this year, before following it up with his eagerly anticipated sequel to Gladiator, which will be released theatrically next year. Praising her co-star Joaquin Phoenix, Kirby found it difficult to disguise her delight at her time working with both Scott and Phoenix, saying, “It’s epic. Joaquin is extraordinary. It’s Ridley’s finest historical biopic, really. It’s got incredible battles and an amazing character study, like Joaquin does. It was a pleasure. It was a pleasure to do it. I loved it.“ Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One hits theaters on July 12, 2023, while Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two comes on June 28, 2024. #MissionImpossibleDeadReckoning #VanessaKirby #Napoleon #JoaquinPhoenix For interviews, movie reviews, and more visit FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL