Felicity Jones is already a familiar face to many film fans, thanks to her Oscar-nominated role in 2014's Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything.
However, she looks set to become one of the most famous women on the planet when the first stand-alone Star Wars spin-off film, Rogue One – in which she plays Rebel Alliance hero Jyn Erso – is released in December.
Before then, she has another high-profile role in Inferno, the third film based on the Robert Langdon series of novels by Dan Brown.
The actress realises that nothing can truly prepare her for the level of fame that is imminent through her introduction to the world’s biggest film franchise.
“Am I ready for that fame? No, of course not, not at all,” she says. “I don’t know how you can be ready for that.
“There’s a bit of responsibility involved, I guess, when you make the decision to take these films on and you do them and people are going to watch them, and hopefully enjoy them. I’m just going along for the ride and taking each day as it comes.”
Before travelling to a galaxy far, far away, we can catch her in the distinctly more down-to-Earth setting of Florence, as the female lead in Inferno. How easy is it to switch from filming in real, historic, ancient buildings and digitally constructed sci-fi otherworlds?
“It’s good fun to go from one extreme to the other,” she says. “I enjoy doing both. It’s a very unusual experience when someone is shouting: ‘OK, now act like you’re in hyperspace’ – and you’re going: ‘Well, how do you act in hyperspace?’
"But that's the charm with Star Wars and having adventures in a galaxy far, far away. It's nice to do things that are different and refreshing, and both Ron Howard [Inferno's director] and Gareth Edwards [director of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story] have proved themselves to be really fascinating filmmakers."
cnewbould@thenational.ae
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
