Rosamund Pike sometimes worried she was taking on a job "too big" when she was preparing to play late journalist Marie Colvin in A Private War.
In the drama, the Gone Girl actress plays American journalist Colvin, who worked as a foreign affairs correspondent for The Sunday Times from 1985 until her death in 2012, while she was covering the siege in Syria.
Rosamund had to change a lot about herself to transform into Colvin, and she admitted to Marie Claire magazine that she was daunted by the enormous responsibility of the role as she was preparing for the shoot.
"At the end of film, Marie says, 'Fear comes later when it's all over.' And now I've done it, sometimes I think, 'How did I have the audacity?'" Rosamund said. "There were definitely times I felt at a loss in the preparation; that it was too big, that there was too much to change. The voice, the smoking, the head gestures, her laugh, her walk, her brain... everything, really."
The British actress had plenty of insight from people who knew Colvin well, such as photographer Paul Conroy, who joined her in warzones, to journalist Rosie Boycott and politician Jane Bonham-Carter.
Rosamund explained that her and director Matthew Heineman gradually won people over by proving that they were staying true to Colvin's story.
"There's a horrible fear that you've dared to tread in their dear friend's shoes, and that can make you feel quite apologetic at times, although in this case, I'm not apologetic because we've made the film with the fiercest integrity," she continued. "Gradually, people trusted that Matt and I were committed to depicting their friend truthfully and not for any Hollywood-isation."
The actress has been nominated for a Golden Globe for her work in A Private War, but will face stiff competition from Lady Gaga, Melissa McCarthy, Glenn Close and Nicole Kidman for the best dramatic actress in a film prize.
A Private War, which also stars Jamie Dornan as Conroy, hits U.K. cinemas from 1 February (19).
