Claire Foy "read and reread" the ‘Millennium’ saga to prepare for her role in ‘The Girl In The Spider’s Web’.
The 34-year-old actress has taken over the role of Lisbeth Salander from Rooney Mara in the upcoming movie and though she was a fan of both the US actress and Swedish star Noomi Rapace’s performances of the character, she wanted to put her own spin on her portrayal of the hacker so turned to Stieg Larsson’s original novels for guidance.
She said: "I saw the films years ago as a regular fan. But, once you put yourself inside a character, you have to ignore earlier interpretations and create your own version.
"I found my own way into Lisbeth. It wasn’t so much trying to do something different from how she was portrayed before, but simply building the character and making her my own.
"I read and reread the books to make sure I didn’t do anything that was fake or contradicted how Lisbeth was originally described and I tried to stick to that as the basis for my approach."
Claire found her dramatic change of image for the role to be "liberating" and she loved undergoing a transformation every day.
She told Psychologies magazine: "It was liberating. I didn’t have to worry about being attractive or being liked or any of that nonsense that women often have to wake up thinking every day, how does the world see me?
"It was nice just to be like this. I got an undercut, which is something I never thought I would have. It was great!
"Then all her tattoos and just how she moves and the clothes she wears. I’ve always enjoyed wearing leather jackets and trousers, that kind of look.
"I loved being her every day actually. What you see is what you get. I quite enjoyed that."
Claire Foy’s reading preparation
