Vanessa Kirby’s fame shot through the sky ever since she starred in the series The Crown. With Ridley Scott joining hands with Joaquin Phoenix for Napoleon, Kirby was selected for the role of Empress Josephine.
Talking about the role in Scott’s latest magnum opus, Vanessa Kirby had no problem agreeing to the animalistic s*x scenes between Napoleon and Josephine. The director, however, had one problem with Kirby’s certain request that he outrightly refused!
Ridley Scott Did Not Allow Vanessa Kirby To Be On The Battle Lines!
Although there have been several allegations of director Ridley Scott being a misogynist, it seems that the director might be making fun of the situation at this point. With Empress Josephine taking charge while Joaquin Phoenix’s Napoleon goes to war, the story has a heavy focus on both the leads.
Well, during the shooting, Vanessa Kirby asked Ridley Scott that she wanted to see the battle from the sidelines. Although the reason hasn’t been stated, Scott refused the request, and in an interview with NME, Kirby revealed how she felt more like the actual Josephine!
“The battle scenes were [filmed] towards the end. But I felt very connected to the production. I was checking in with Kevin Walsh [the producer] and Ridley and Joaquin all the time and I’d text them, going, ‘Hey, how’s it going today?’”
She further continued,
“I felt very much like Joséphine would have felt, which was kind of removed from that. And yet always invested. And I would have loved to be there on the battle lines. I think I did ask!”
As the interview further progressed, Vanessa Kirby revealed that she wasn’t even sure how she got cast in the role of Josephine in the first place.
Ridley Scott Was Going To Give A Call About Something
Well, that’s what Vanessa Kirby’s agent called and told the actress, that Ridley Scott was going to call her. Talking about how she got into the role of Josephine, Kirby revealed in her interview with NME how Scott initially approached her.
“I couldn’t believe it, really, and it came up nowhere. My agent called and said, ‘Oh, Ridley Scott’s gonna give you a call about something.’ And so I answered and straightaway he said, ‘You know, I’m doing this film with Joaquin about Napoleon, and Joséphine, I don’t know if you know her, but would you like to play her?’ And instantly, I said, ‘Absolutely, I would love to.’”
With French critics hailing the movie as one of the worst biopics of all time, Napoleon, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby is currently sitting at a rating of 6.8/10 on IMDB and 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. Having a plethora of controversies to its name, the Ridley Scott-directed movie is currently screening in theaters around the world.
