Sienna Miller, who co-stars with Rupert Friend in the upcoming Netflix drama Anatomy of a Scandal, confesses that her personal history, particularly being a major tabloid target in the 2000s, made her hesitant to join the cast.
“I suppose I was apprehensive to possibly re-enter a somewhat familiar situation of the prying press and the sensations of dread when a very personal narrative is about to be made very public,” Miller told Yahoo Canada.
Miller’s personal life was widely publicised over two decades ago, most notably when her engagement with actor Jude Law came to an end after it was revealed that he was having an affair with the nanny of his children from a previous marriage. Miller settled with The Sun last year after suing the tabloid, accusing the publisher of hacking her phone to expose her pregnancy, and the tabloid surveillance lasted for years, into other relationships.
There are many parallels in Anatomy of a Scandal, which is based on Sarah Vaughan’s novel.
Sophie Whitehouse (Miller) becomes embroiled in a public scandal when word gets out that her husband, James (Friend), a British Parliamentary minister, had an affair with Olivia (Naomi Scott), a young political researcher in his department, and is now being accused of rape. Sophie is processing her personal reaction amid this enormous political scandal that has caused a media frenzy, as she tries to digest the breakup of a marriage she felt comfortable in and prioritise her two children.
Miller explained, “I kind of questioned why I wanted to do it.” “However, Sophie was such a unique character; she was nothing like myself.”
“At this point in my career, I’ve never really played anybody who is that proficient at masking their emotions, and that felt like a challenge.”
