<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\nThe minute Andrea Riseborough graduated from RADA in 2005, she was anointed \u201cOne to watch”, landing her first three TV jobs while still a student. Since then, she\u2019s done her alma mater proud, winning the 2006 Ian Charleson Award (for exceptional performances by British actors under 30) for her epic double-bill turn in Sir Peter Hall\u2019s productions of Measure For Measure<\/em> and Miss Julie<\/em>, and making an unforgettable impression with her acutely clever take on the young Margaret Thatcher in BBC Four\u2019s 2008 TV biopic The Long Walk to Finchley<\/em>. <\/p>\nBlessed with an uncanny facility for sharp-eyed character detail, Riseborough is now getting to flaunt it on the big screen. She is following up smallish parts in the Brit-star-studded adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro\u2019s dystopian novel Never Let Me Go<\/em> and real-life crowd-pleaser Made in Dagenham<\/em> with the two biggest film roles of her career: waitress Rose in a 1960s updating of Graham Greene\u2019s classic Brighton Rock<\/em> and British royal family scourge Wallace Simpson in Madonna\u2019s second directorial outing, W.E. <\/em><\/p>\nWhen Wonderland<\/em> meets her at London\u2019s Groucho club, the petite, bird-like actress looks in danger of being swallowed whole by her winter wardrobe, bedecked as she is with thrift-shop jewellery, vintage fashions and a shimmering green Aquascutum raincoat. She would appear frail if it weren\u2019t for her astute, voracious intellect (she\u2019s always got five books on the go). Riseborough, it transpires, knows her mind and isn\u2019t afraid to speak it. <\/p>\nYou seem to move around a lot. Weren\u2019t you in LA for a while?<\/strong>
\nFor the past two years, yeah, but I haven\u2019t really been there. I lived in New York this year, too [doing off-Broadway play The Pride<\/em>]. And I spend a lot of the time of the year in Idaho, which is where my partner Joe\u2019s [Appel, American street artist] family are from. But I am moving to Paris.<\/p>\nHow come? <\/strong>
\nIt is purely fuelled by wanting a home. You mustn\u2019t let life slip by because you\u2019re available for everyone all the time. The thing that I love doing is reflecting on life \u2013\u00a0if I can\u2019t enjoy it myself, then I\u2019m fucked. I\u2019m not sure what Paris will hold for me. If it doesn\u2019t work out, I\u2019ll move somewhere else. <\/p>\nRose in Brighton Rock <\/em>is a wallflower, but also strong and tenacious. Was she tricky to play?<\/strong>
\nThis is always a difficult question to answer. Because what you\u2019re asking me is, is what I do easy? With Rose, I just had an immediate response. She is not the centre of her own world and the importance of her happiness isn\u2019t particularly pivotal in terms of her existence. But nor is she a victim. She\u2019s the strength. She has all the bravery of someone who\u2019s in love for the first time.<\/p>\nHave your parents always been supportive of your path?<\/strong>
\nTotally. My parents aren\u2019t people who have fear of not succeeding. I suppose I only realise that by saying it to you now. There were times when we had a lot and times when we didn\u2019t but they wouldn\u2019t let that impede them and didn\u2019t pass that on to me. <\/p>\nThat must help in an insecure profession.<\/strong>
\nIs it more than any other? I\u2019ve never worried about it because I don\u2019t feel like I can\u2019t survive if I don\u2019t have nice things. <\/p>\nYou seem to like nice things \u2026 you\u2019re dressed very fashionably today.<\/strong>
\nThanks, although it\u2019s slightly different when I tell you where everything\u2019s from. This top is my best friend\u2019s grandma\u2019s from 1960. We\u2019ve had it for years \u2013 most of our clothes are recycled. I think my fashion sense is just a case of putting lots of colours that don\u2019t go together together and then people thinking it\u2019s quite chic afterwards. [Laughs] I like my clothes to be old friends.<\/p>\nTalking of dressing up, how was it playing Wallace Simpson?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s funny, I know she was such a style icon but that\u2019s probably the furthest away thing in my mind. To me, the clothes and jewellery were just an outlet for her perfectionism … I did get to wear her jewels in the film. I had six bodyguards following me all the time, even when I had a wee. And Galliano did the costumes. I wear 72 different dresses \u2013 the aesthetic is insane. But for me the interesting thing is, Who the hell was she behind all of that? She was so demonised, thought to be ugly, called a man \u2026<\/p>\nYou really vanish into your characters so we can\u2019t wait to see what you do with Wallace. Do you ever get fed up being called a chameleon, though?<\/strong>
\nAll I can say is that it fulfils me to really explore people. I would get quite bored otherwise.<\/p>\nPhotography: AJ Numan
\nFashion: Julia Sarr-Jamois
\nWords: Matt Mueller
\n
\nThis article first appeared in<\/em> Wonderland #25, February\/March 2011<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How the rising British star took on the Iron Lady, hooked up with Madonna and decided Paris is the place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3632],"tags":[404,400,401,50,392,260,403,79,105,402],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Andrea Riseborough | Wonderland<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n