Rosamund Pike was eager to star in 'A Private War' because she thinks the real-life story is "inspiring".

Rosamund Pike

Rosamund Pike

The 39-year-old actress plays the role of war correspondent Marie Colvin - who was killed in 2012 after illegally crossing the Syrian border - in the Matthew Heineman-directed drama, and Rosamund has revealed what attracted her to the project.

She shared: "I think it's a combination of things. Marie was a woman who I greatly admired, but I also thought it would be a story that other people, if they didn't know her already, would find inspiring.

"Precisely because there's the trope of the fearless war reporter, but here [in this story] is someone who is not fearless, who has tremendous fear, but also has tremendous belief and goes through that fear in the name of the cause she believes in."

Rosamund - who previously starred in 'Gone Girl' - also revealed she was excited by the prospect of working with Matthew.

Speaking to Deadline, the actress explained: "When I heard that Matthew Heineman was going to direct it, I thought, 'Well, this seems perfect,' because I'm sure he's someone who would have made a documentary about Marie had she lived, and I thought, 'He's going to be fearless. Or at least he is going to be ruthless in his examination of the subject matter.

"'He's not going to shirk from a very real portrait of both Marie and Paul [Conroy, a photographer] and the war zones that they were covering.'"


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