Kate Beckinsale talks unique career trajectory

‘Love & Friendship’ star reveals how she came to star in upcoming film

British actor Kate Beckinsale – whose film Underworld: Blood Wars hits theaters on January 6 – has swiftly transitioned from starring in plays to foreign-language films and period pieces. The 43-year-old star reteamed with her Last Days of Disco writer-director Whitt Stillman for a period performance that is winning praise among critics and pundits alike.

Stillman’s film Love & Friendship has brought Beckinsale into the awards conversation which, until now, has eluded the actor although she has dabbled in dramas, romantic comedies and actions films. Her portrayal of Lady Susan Vernon, a widowed mother trying to secure a husband and a future for her teenage daughter, was years in the making. Beckinsale, herself a single mom to a teenage daughter, spoke about the film and her unusual career trajectory in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

“Shooting for the film was surprisingly hard I think, partly because of how short a time we had to do it. It really was the most daunting thing about it. Obviously, with Whit as a director, it was a dream job,” she said. Spilling the beans on her role, Beckinsale added, “In a society that wasn’t promoting sexual, financial and career freedom for women, Susan had a sense of her own rights that she was unshakable on. It was quite an oppressive society for a woman and I really dug that about her, her pioneering spirit.”



On the same note, the actor revealed it was a pleasure to work with Stillman again. “What I have  gathered after talking to him is that he really does spend so much time and care casting [his films] that he waits until he finds the person who seems to be the character for hi and then he just wants to get out of the way and let them get on with it.”

Unsurprisingly, Stillman had chosen Beckinsale for this role while they were shooting for Last Days of Disco back in 1997. “I found out during the press tour of the movie that he had been waiting for me to age to the point where I could have a 16-year-old daughter. It was very strange to find that out retrospectively and also incredibly endearing and unique.”

Beckinsale also shed light on her acting career and where it all started from. “When I became an actor, I was incredibly young. I started at 16 and was in my first film at 17. I felt I had a real choice to make: Am I going to go to drama school and study being an actor or am I going to go to university? And I ended up going to Oxford.”

Hailing from a family of actors and directors, Beckinsale thought it was a good idea to venture into acting. “I knew I would be spending my whole life with these people. And so I thought it might be a good idea for me.”

Known to be a versatile actor, she has tried her hand at films such as Cold Comfort Farm and starred in plays such as Much Ado about Nothing and The Seagull. “One of the things that has always been important to me is to not be too massively attached to whatever your persona is at any given time. Life is long and, hopefully, as an actor life is long.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29^th, 2016.

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