As Lily James has been open about the “emotional turmoil” of playing a character in Netflix’s new movie Rebecca, the actress has seen a bit of additional turbulence in her personal life. After photos came out revealing she’d spent an intimate weekend in Rome with married actor Dominic West, James ultimately decided to cancel some of her Rebecca press appearances. Now, following her exit from this week’s The Graham Norton Show, her co-star has stepped in.
In Rebecca, Kristin Scott Thomas plays the housekeeper for the de Winter family. When James' character enters the fold as the second Mrs. de Winter following the death of first wife Rebecca de Winter, the housekeeper does not make it easy on the newcomer. In real life, however, it seems that Kristin Scott Thomas is a sweetie and did a solid for her co-star this week.
For Friday’s appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Kristin Scott Thomas stepped into the red hot seat to talk to Graham Norton about Rebecca. Obviously, Norton’s a man known for asking cheeky questions, but with no Lily James around, the two stuck to the Netflix movie in terms of topics, at least mostly (Four Weddings and a Funeral was touched on). Kristin Scott Thomas gleefully talked about being a good antagonist and not realizing how frightening she could be before she saw her performance in Rebecca. Per The Daily Mail:
I had no idea I was so frightening. I couldn’t understand when people kept saying, ‘Kristin Scott Thomas, she’s a bit frightening,’ and it turns out she is! I did enjoy it – it was great fun.
Lily James’ brief interlude with married actor Dominic West came earlier this month when the two were seen canoodling in Rome. They had been working on a project together, a BBC production of The Pursuit of Love, before their romantic jaunt. Obviously, Kristin Scott Thomas wasn’t involved in that project with James, so her stepping in was really a solid under the circumstances, likely both for James and The Graham Norton Show, which still needed a guest.
Also set for the episode is The Boss himself Bruce Springsteen, Matthew McConaughey – who is promoting his new book Greenlights – Sam Smith, Stephen Mangan, and Mawaan Rizwan. The episode comes after Lily James also canceled at least one other appearance, though she did keep a gig on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon earlier this week.
Press for Rebecca should be dying down soon and Dominic West and his wife have already presented a united front in terms of the liaison, so this story may be winding its way to an end. Meanwhile, as Lily James recently broke up with her partner Matt Smith, she may be keeping her options open in the future. Though we’ll let you know if she’s spotted out with someone like Chris Evans again.
