Talking with Rosamund Pike was like going on a first date with someone completely out of my league. We chatted about her most recent role, and while she was perfectly polite, it became clear she was eager to leave the room and go out to dinner with her friends. An Oxford-educated actress, Ms. Pike has portrayed a Bond girl, a Bennet sister, and everything in between. In her follow-up to An Education, she stars opposite Paul Giamatti in Barney’s Version, an adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Mordecai Richler. She plays Miriam, the third wife to Barney, a hard-drinking TV producer who meets her on the night of his second wedding reception. Their marriage lasts for decades, and along with Giamatti, Ms. Pike ages convincingly in a subtle, warm performance. But before I could ask about Barney’s Version, she catches me off-guard with the name of this site.

BYT: So let’s get started…

RP: Yes, let’s. Hey, do I count as a Bright Young Thing?

Oh, certainly.

That’s good to hear. Do you?

I try. What first attracted you to the role?

Everything! God, it’s a brilliant, bloody funny book. The book has a brilliant device: as a man is losing his mind, Barney pieces together a rambling narrative instead of being despondent. And in the middle of that, he’s a great observer of characters. It’s an epic, intimate story – sort of like the way Woody Allen films used to be.

How do you think you’d personally react if a guy left his wedding reception to chase you onto a train?

I’d be incredibly amused and thankful I’ve got a good story to tell friends when I get home. I’m a storyteller through and through, so I’m always looking for the unexpected. Like, I don’t know, if someone asked me for directions and I ended up having lunch with them.

Wait, did that actually happen?

Well, yes. I didn’t know the location, so I thought I better follow the person instead. That sort of thing definitely happens to me.

How did your familiarity with the book help your performance?

It was good to play Miriam because my storyline was one from which very little was lost. The film chooses to focus on the love story between Barney and Miriam, which is great. My god, how often does a twenty-nine year old woman get to play a woman in her mid-fifties? Covering thirty years in a film is a big challenge.

Aside from a little make-up, what did else did you do to prepare for the role?

Lots and lots. It’s really hard work. You have to change your voice and not just the accent, but its timbre as well. Body position is important, too, because you have to find the right physical language for your character’s age. A lot of it is done through weight and projecting a heavy sort of feeling. You know, there was a lot of make-up. I had a full face of prosthetics by the end of the film. That’s fantastic, though, because the movie isn’t about the make-up. You obviously just bought it. When Barney is sitting on the sofa and he has a flashback to the wedding, my face is a totally different shape… It’s so interesting you didn’t notice! I had prosthetic pieces on my eyelids, on my cheeks, my neck, and my hands. It took three hours to prepare.

Wow. Maybe I need a better TV.

But that’s great! That’s why the make-up designer is short-listed for an Oscar. [ed. Note: the only Academy Award nomination Barney’s Version received was for make-up.]

Does a physical transformation help your performance?

Yes, it does. Whenever I’d catch a glance in the mirror, my face didn’t look the same. It feels different on your face, too. You feel this weight, this gravity, which is what I think people feel as they age. It certainly doesn’t make me excited for growing older. Then again, it does feel pretty good when you take [the make-up all of]. The labels for the make-up all say, “Do not get in contact with eyes. If you do, please phone a doctor immediately.” On a daily basis, all that stuff was being put on my face.

You also were in Pride & Prejudice, which is another successful adaptation of literature.

I love it when there is a book because more of the work is done for you. Instead of plucking inspiration from your brain, a back story is provided by someone whose brain is better than yours.

Are there any other characters in books you’d like to play?

Nicole Diver in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night.

Speaking of Fitzgerald, did you hear they’re doing a 3D adaptation of The Great Gatsby?

Yeah, I did! With Baz Luhrman, those big party sequences could be very cool.

True. It’s just that 3D movies are normally reserved for action and sci-fi. I recently saw The Green Hornet, and…

Oh, yeah? How was that?

It wasn’t very good.

What was it about?

It’s about a masked crime fighter, played by Seth Rogen, and his sidekick, Kato.

Wait, is the Green Hornet the name of the car?

No, it’s the name of the crime fighter.

So why is the poster have this car on it?

The movie has a lot of violent car chases. Machine guns and missiles launch out of it.

Oh, and I thought the movie was actually about the car. And is Seth Rogen good in it?

He’s ok. He plays an obnoxious jerk, a character he does well.

I wish I had that. When I find out what I do well, I’ll do it over and over again, too.

You say you haven’t such a role, but are there any ones you’re particularly fond of?

I’m fond of all of them, in a way. I’m fond of The Libertine, the one I did with Johnny Depp back in the day. I know no one really saw it because of distribution difficulties, but I quite liked it. But Barney’s Version will always be a big thing for me because I loved working with Paul. Did you like the movie?

Yeah, I did!

Oh, good. Did you watch it in a theater?

No, I watched it at home.

So you didn’t let it wash over you. You were bigger than the film. See, I always think a movie arrests you more when it is bigger than you. I love being in a movie theater. I go to films all the time!

Did you see anything recently that you liked?

I loved The Fighter. It’s a movie loads of people should see and enjoy. Christian Bale is phenomenal. I like seeing great acting like his.

What did you think of Black Swan?

It was like the inside of my brain! It was a meditation on creativity I could really recognize and relate to. It showed the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into our work. I don’t think people realize what goes on – they shouldn’t because it’s often invisible – but getting inside these people is often painful.

Can you talk a little bit more about working with Paul Giamatti?

It was always unexpected and exciting. He always gave great book recommendations. We both have such strange tastes that you may not suspect. We both like kooky weird museums and dive bars. We’re much more similar than you’d imagine.

DC has some great dive bars.

I was up until 6am for the New York premiere two days and I’m still recovering… Tell me anyway.

The first one that popped into my head is Dan’s Cafe. If you order a gin and tonic, they give you a glass of gin, a bottle of tonic, and a bucket of ice.

Perfect! I always order, “Gin and tonic, easy on the tonic.” What’s is the point when it’s diluted? Or is it lazy bartending? I don’t know.

Apart from Barney’s Version, what other upcoming films do you have?

This year I will have Johnny English Reborn. You might have seen the first one (I’d be surprised if you enjoyed it), but it’s is a totally different animal compared to the one we just made. In the first one, the storyline wasn’t centered around Rowan [Atkinson’s] character. But this re-imagining of the British secret service is one of the funniest scripts I’ve read in a long time. I also have The Big Year, which is a comedy about competitive bird watching. I know it’s been a topic long in the making. It should be funny. When we were on set, instead of everyone sitting around having a fag, everyone was reading these bird books. It’s good when you do a film and get educated in a different field.

I agree completely. Thanks for taking the time to meet with me!

My pleasure. It was nice meeting you.

Barney’s Version opens in theaters today.