Vanessa Kirby's White Widow is on Her Majesty's Secret Service #MIFallout

Vanessa Kirby’s stunning performance in The Crown brought her to the attention of Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie when they were looking for their White Widow, a mysterious, enigmatic, “tarantula-like”rogue trader. But her talents also cross mediums - Variety in 2016 crowning her “the outstanding stage actress of her generation” - and a succession of smart choices have led to her most high-profile role yet.

“It’ll be amazing and daunting when the movie comes out,” Kirby says, “because a lot of the things I’ve done have been to small audiences in small theatres. With Fallout, I’ll be everywhere. There’ll be nowhere to hide!” Not that she’ll need to. No actor on the planet is on a trajectory half as hot as hers right now.

What can you tell us about the White Widow? The name conjures images of someone spider-like, and deadly. Is that a fair description?

Absolutely. She’s a trader, in all sorts of dodgy things. And her name is an enigmatic reference to somebody sort of tarantula-like - someone unpredictable, dangerous and hard to pin down. There’s a hint too in the film that she’s related to Vanessa Redgrave’s character (Max, from the first Mission: Impossible movie). And she’s very capable, very worldly and very deadly. She’s got real shades.

You’ve said McQuarrie gave you Lauren Bacall as a reference point. Which performances of hers did you look at, and what did you take from them?

That was an amazing reference point. A real treat. I basically went back and re-watched all of her movies, which was hardly a chore. She’s just magnetic, the way she commands a room. And she’s always captivating, but she never uses her sexuality to be so. That’s important.

On that front, Rebecca Ferguson says that one of the aspects she enjoyed most was that her role was written without the standard action blockbuster clichés when it comes to female characters. Does the same apply to the White Widow?

Absolutely. And actually, when you look back at all the previous Mission movies - with all the incredible actors in them like Vanessa Redgrave, Kristin Scott Thomas, Rebecca Ferguson, all of them - it’s never been a franchise to overly sexualise its female characters, and that’s just one of the reasons I think they’ve been so successful.

This is a series of movies synonymous with action. Did you have to learn any specific sets of skills?

Yes, fitness training, strength training and running. It was tough. I’d never run before in my life! My trainer was with me every day, literally kicking my ass. And then there were the knife skills, with a flip knife. The White Widow has this knife that’s up her skirt, so I had to learn how to use it. There’s a great fight scene, in which Tom takes out about 10 guys, and for that, I had to learn a very specific technique. People fight differently. My technique is very different from Rebecca’s, for instance. Learning that was challenging, but loads of fun and, crucially, not very dangerous. You know, I did the knife training, Tom did the hanging off the helicopters. I’m happy with it being that way around!

Vanessa Kirby as the White Widow on Mission Impossible: Fallout

PHOTO CREDIT: CHIABELLA JAMES

2018 PARAMOUNT PICTURES.

How did you become involved in Fallout?

Tom and Chris had seen me in The Crown and wanted to meet me. I remember, the night before I sat and watched all the previous Mission: Impossible movies, so I’d know what I was talking about. My boyfriend was lying there with me, and afterwards, he said, ‘I’ll never be able to get that theme tune out of my head now’.

Obviously, there was the issue of Tom’s broken ankle. What did the hiatus in filming mean for you?

On the one hand, it was difficult for Tom more than anyone. But the way he bounced back from it was just incredible. For me personally, it taught me patience, which is a really important attribute, in this business especially. It made me realise that whatever happens, things do work themselves out. It was a great thing to learn. Invaluable, really.

There’s arguably no one in the business who’s had a more astonishing run of form than you these past 18 months.

Honestly, I’ve no idea. If I did, I’d bottle it. But I am so grateful for it. You just sort of roll with it, and it’s only when you look back you think, ‘Wow - how the hell did all that happen?’ I can’t wait to see what happens next. Mainly, I just want to see the finished film. That will be a really proud moment for me. I can’t wait.

* Mission Impossible: Fallout is in cinemas