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VANESSA KIRBY: Not really.
Then after I got off the phone, I thought, God, how interesting.
I wonder whether any of those are accurate, and where Ive picked them up from.
Vanessa Kirby as Josephine Bonaparte in ‘Napoleon’Aidan Monaghan/Sony Pictures/Apple Original Films
DEADLINE:What was your research process for this?
KIRBY: It was as extensive as I could possibly do.
I love most taking on things that scare me.
Vanessa Kirby as Empress JosephineSony Pictures Entertainment/Everett Collection
This was scary just because its hard to play a real person and its a different kind of process.
Youre not inventing their history, their lives, their childhood, their background, and their psyche.
Its a bigger stretch in that way.
I spent hours and hours reading every single book I could possibly find on both of them.
I went to Paris, went to her house in Malmaison, which was most iconically her.
It was very much an embodiment of her femininity in this very tough world that she was in.
Shed have seen that on occasion, she visited the front lines.
DEADLINE:During your research, how did you view the relationship between Josephine and Napoleon?
It definitely seemed a bit strange.
KIRBY: Im so pleased that you think its strange.
Its volatile, its needy, its mad infatuation and obsession, kinkiness, jealousy, longing, desire…
I mean, its all there.
KIRBY: Thats a really good way to put it.
Im going to start using that line.
DEADLINE:There is a really interesting power dynamic between the two.
How did you kind of navigate those scenes, because it seemed like that dynamic was constantly changing?
KIRBY: It was constantly changing.
I mean, that to me was the ultimate pain for her.
There could be many, many different versions of their story because of their nature.
Sometimes Id be shouting back at him, sometimes hed be crying…
It was really tempestuous, but really fun to play because of that.
DEADLINE:You mentioned the divorce, which happened because Josephine was unable to conceive an heir.
KIRBY: I know.
I mean, it was the experience of so many women in that time.
She had two children on her own, was hardly let out the house really into society at all.
It was just so fascinating.
She was a complete survivor.
I mean, she just withstood so much.
Actually, Im just going to go back to Martinique.
This is all just too much.
She just kept going.
The palm reader said, Oh, youre going to be greater than a queen.
What were you, as Josephine, thinking in that moment?
I just so felt for her.
I just so felt that this was the symbol of something that her body wasnt able to do.
When she looked at the baby, I so felt for her.
DEADLINE:Seeing the relationship on screen, I started wondering if they actually loved each other.
Do you think that they actually loved each other?
I was way more interested in exploring why.
You know when you cant quite get hold of someone and you want to?
I much prefer playing more expressive, outwardly dynamic characters than internally mysterious.
That psyche is really unique.
Its not like inGladiator, for example.
This is a completely different person.
DEADLINE:What are you shooting in Australia right now?
KIRBY: Im shooting a movie with Ron Howard, whos wonderful, and its like a survival thriller.
Were having a really nice time.
Were just in week one right now.
DEADLINE: Very different from shooting Napoleon, I assume.
Its a real story, and it really is the opposite of Josephine in many ways.
DEADLINE:Do you have anything else coming up that youre excited about?
KIRBY: Yeah, I do.
Im really excited about the next couple of years.
Its really exciting because theres so many spaces that havent been seen before, so thats been our aim.
Its been really, really great.
