British-American actor Hayley Atwell‘s storied résumé has been full since 2005, with not even the pandemic provoking a gap between roles.
The 41-year-old Golden Globe nominee has appeared on-stage, behind the microphone and in front of the camera across a myriad of productions ranging from the independent to those with blockbuster budgets, notably achieving global fame after being cast as Agent Peggy Carter in Marvel‘s Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).
It’s a role she’s played on and off in the years since, though the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One star is no one-character wonder, and she deliberately chooses to share the vulnerable side in conjunction with the strong in her portrayals
It’s with this nuance in mind that she has advice for women and young girls who are looking to succeed in the unforgiving pit of Hollywood.
Watch the video above.
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“Study your craft,” Atwell tells 9Honey Celebrity at the Sydney premiere of the seventh Mission: Impossible installment. “That’s always a great focus.”
“If you’re just focusing on getting better at the skill that you’ve chosen to dedicate your life to, it’s a real feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment if the work comes before your own ambition for some sort of personal gain or success,” she continues.
“Really study and be really committed to being good at what you do, and you have a skill set that can’t be taken away from you regardless of how many job opportunities come your way or roles you manage to get.”
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Atwell also emphasises the importance of “trust[ing] your instincts”.
“We have intuition, it’s built to take care of us,” she says. “We know we can feel things that are right for us and wrong for us and to really trust in them and developing that instinct is important.”
Stars at the Mission: Impossible Sydney premiere
The Avengers: Endgame actor isn’t the only Marvel star to have joined the Mission: Impossible franchise recently – French actress Pom Klementieff, 37, who plays Mantis in the Guardians of the Galaxy sub-franchise, stars as Paris in the upcoming action flick.
Like Atwell, Klementieff is no one-character wonder. She may have achieved worldwide recognition for her role in Marvel’s action comedies, but she’s also an alumna of one of France’s most prestigious drama schools – so it’s safe to say she’s got range.
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The realities of shooting on-location rather than in-studio with CGI added in post-production also meant playing Paris, for Klementieff, could not have been anything other than a unique experience.
“I got to do some action but also on-location, and not just in a studio with green screens,” Klementieff tells 9Honey Celebrity in Sydney.
“So it was really special to get to shoot in these beautiful cities in Rome, in Venice, in Abu Dhabi, in Norway,” she continues.
“And also, I got to at some point run on top of a moving train and you never get to do that in other movies other than Mission: Impossible.”
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is exclusively in Australian cinemas from July 8.
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