Rosamund Pike on Barney's Version and Pass-Out-Drunk First Dates

Have you ever had a first date that was remotely similar?

As far as passing out?

Or any other similarities?

Yeah, I have experienced someone being so nervous... [Pauses then laughs] I've experienced going away with somebody, and I had a meeting, and then they came back to meet me afterward. And they were so drunk they couldn't even stand up. So I have experienced something like that. That was in New York, actually.

Did your reaction differ from your character's reaction?

Well, again, the same thing, he passed out.

And you had to wait around?

Yeah, I did, I had to read a book. It was exactly the same thing! Funny, I did exactly the same thing.

Were you thinking about that while filming the scene?

No, I haven't thought about it since, until you just mentioned it. I haven't thought about it for years. [Laughs] And then, when he came around, we went to Coney Island. I remember that.

The Cyclone is a great way to cure a hangover.

I know! It's a test. Sober up! Or it will make him even more unstable.

I'm assuming this story doesn't end like the film version...

As Miriam and Barney, no. But I think what happens, of course, is that Miriam takes him up to his room and the Dom Pérignon and roses arrive and she sees that with her sense of humor. And then she finds his crib notes for topics of conversation. And I definitely was doing that. I remember writing down topics of conversations when I was about 14 and was going to make a phone call to the boy I really liked.

Do you remember your topics?

I honestly can't remember, but I'm sure they were quite interesting. I was sort of a weird, interesting... It probably put him right off.

I do want to ask about one of your past movies. Was it a risk at all to star in a James Bond movie [Die Another Day]? To get the "Bond Girl" label?

To tell the truth, I was so naïve about the whole film industry at that time that I wouldn't have known what that meant. People said things like, "Do you think this could ruin your career?" I didn't even have a career at that point. There's not much ruining that could be done. [Laughs] So I didn't think strategically in any way. It just seemed like a really fun part to play.

And you were really fortunate with the name.

Miranda Frost? I chose it! We worked on it together. Barbara Broccoli came and she said, "OK, we want something icy. Something to do with ice." Then she said, "We want something quintessentially English so pick a Shakespeare character and we will give her that name." So I think I suggested Arial, but they thought that was too weird. So I suggested Miranda and that's the one that stuck.

What I've always liked about your career is that I can't think of two movies that are as different as Pride & Prejudice and Doom.

[Laughs] I know! And I got the job in Doom... The only reason that I took it is because I was in a cornfield in a bonnet. My agent rang up and said, "They want you to be in Doom." And I was like, "Really? They should see me now. They should see me now!" And I thought that would be fun. But at the time that I signed on, it was going to be directed by somebody different and Ray Winstone was going to play the part that The Rock played. So the director fell out and Ray fell out, but I didn't really realize or understand at that point that that would turn the whole film into... a completely different thing.

[Top photo: WireImage]

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