Skip to content
  • News & Updates
  • Sophia
  • Career
  • Press Archive
  • Gallery
  • Media
  • Site + Online

Ingenue (US)

Sophia Myles

Autumn 2004   |   Written by Peter Whittle

Speeding along a fast-track career, this church minister’s daughter gears up to take on leading roles in three upcoming movies

Sitting across from her in a bar in London’s trendy Chelsea area, it’s hard to imagine Sophia Myles — poised, calm and self-assured — as a struggling young unknown.

But the 24-year-old actress, who’s now regularly tipped as Hollywood’s next big British star, and who just burst onto the summer blockbuster scene with her portrayal of Lady Penelope in Thunderbirds, has certainly had her share of what the acting fraternity here calls “resting.”

“I worked in a pub for a bit — that was disastrous,” she tells me, laughing. “I did go through a very hard time. All my friends had gone to university, and I was on my own in London. I spent nine months wandering around, doing the odd audition here and there. I used to think, with all these other people getting these jobs, is there some secret handbook with the rules that I’m not party to?”

It’s a cry heard by many a would-be movie star. She did, however, have excellent company during the lean times; one of her good friends was Keira Knightley. “Keira came round to my parents house four or five years ago,” she recalls. “We couldn’t get jobs, and thought, ‘What is wrong? Are we really ugly or what?'”

With her classic English looks, that seems most unlikely. She did, after all, beat out model Sophie Dahl and even Britney Spears for the part of the sophisticated Lady Penelope in Jonathan Frakes’ live-action movie adaptation of the iconic ’60s Thunderbirds TV show. In fact, her spectacularly speedy rise should have many of her peers drooling with envy.

Although now a veteran of eight movies — she caused a stir as a vampire in Underworld and played Johnny Depp’s wife in From Hell — Sophia (pronounced So-FY-ah) hadn’t shown the remotest interest in acting as a kid. A shy, straight-A student, she was all set to study philosophy at Cambridge University (the British equivalent of Harvard) with the intention of becoming an attorney.

But at 16, her performance in a school play was spotted by Julian Fellowes, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Gosford Park. This led to a small part in a BBC historical drama and a call from an agent asking whether she wanted to do more. The answer was yes, but only during school holidays. Corseted roles in more TV costume dramas followed, and an appearance in the movie adaptation of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park came just after she’d finished her final school exams.

By this time, there was no turning back. “I’d already completely fallen in love with it by then,” she says. “The energy, the people who are involved in this business, I just find them so fascinating across the board.”
As well as Thunderbirds, she’ll also be seen later this year in Tristan and Isolde, director Kevin Reynolds’ movie of the ancient mythic love story, in which she co-stars with James Franco, and is about to start filming Terry Zwigoff’s Art School Confidential. That means that more of her time will be spent commuting to Los Angeles. Not a problem for the London-based actress, who immediately warmed to the city when she first visited to explore the industry with just $300 in her pocket.

But wasn’t Hollywood just a bit daunting? Myles is matter-of-fact about it. “I’ve always found that the less I know about something, the less frightened I am about it. And when I started out in England, I had no idea with the first job I got, and the second, how strong the competition was. It was the same really in L.A. — it was so new to me, I didn’t put any pressure on myself. I just thought, ‘Well, I’ll see how it goes.'”

And it went well. The second day she was in L.A., she auditioned for Underworld, got the part, and was signed by powerful agency International Creative Management. Not that she believes she’s really experienced Hollywood yet. “I’ve never been to an American premiere — ever,” she adds.

That’s sure to change, but there’s an attractive lack of pretentiousness about Myles that should ensure she keeps her feet firmly on the ground. She describes how she read through the script of Thunderbirds on the subway on her way to meeting Jonathan Frakes at the audition: “I was skimming through it and I thought, ‘Oh God, too much to learn!’ so I blind-read it at the audition, and I just clicked with him instantly. It was the most enjoyable audition I’ve ever done.” And she would hardly call herself a Method actor. “Acting really is lying — it’s recreating reality,” she says.

So who on the current scene does Myles admire? Well, she eulogizes about Depp: “He’s amazing to watch on film. He completely transforms himself.” She thinks Angelina Jolie is “brilliant,” and Scarlett Johansson “mesmerizing.” But, if given the chance, there’s one person she’d really like to work with — Woody Allen.

“I just love his work. I love working as part of a team, and all of his films are very much a collaborative effort, ensemble pieces,” she says. “I don’t know whether he reads Ingenue, but…” she trails off, laughing. It’s likely that along with everyone else, Allen will be hearing a lot about Myles in the year ahead.

Powered by MND Press Library
Share

Welcome Message

Welcome to Simply Sophia Myles, the official fansite and your best source for the incredibly beautiful and talented actress Sophia Myles. 


Here you will find the most comprehensive information on Sophia's life and her career, an extensive photo gallery, multimedia features and a whole lot more!

Current Projects

  • Decrypted
    Decrypted (2020)
    Beth Barnes
    Releases December 1, 2020
    An outrageous and provocative dark comedy about a mismatched NSA team who kidnap the creator of Bitcoin - Satoshi Nakamoto - and attempt to torture him for the information they need to destroy crypto-currencies.
    Info
    News
    Photos
    IMDb
    Official
  • A Discovery of Witches
    A Discovery of Witches (2018-)
    Rebecca Bishop
    Season 2 airing January 2021
    Diana Bishop, historian and witch, accesses Ashmole 782 and knows she must solve its mysteries. She is offered help by the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, but he's a vampire and witches should never trust vampires.
    Info
    News
    Photos
    Videos
    IMDb
    Official
  • Disarm
    Disarm (2020)
    Megan Granger
    Filming
    A small town girl who moves to the city in an attempt to get away from the tragic loss of her parents. With no family or friends around her, the city breaks her spirit and leaves her feeling overwhelmed, outcast and lonely. She longs for companionship and desperately seeks solace from Sean who offers her a way out.
    Info
    News
    Photos
    IMDb
    Official
  • Listen
    Listen (2020)
    Ann Payne
    Screening at Film Festivals
    In the outskirts of London, Portuguese couple and parents of three, Bela and Jota, struggle to make ends meet. When a misunderstanding arises at school with their deaf daughter, the British social services grow concerned for the safety of their children. LISTEN portrays the tireless battle of these immigrant parents against the law to keep their family together.
    Info
    News
    Photos
    IMDb
    Official

Twitter Feed

Simply Sophia MylesFollow

Simply Sophia Myles
sophiamyles_orgSimply Sophia Myles@sophiamyles_org·
31 Dec

Wishing all our followers a Happy New Year!

Love the Simply Sophia Myles Website xx

#happynewyear #goodbye2020 #hello2021 #sophiamyles

Reply on Twitter 1344760871164272643Retweet on Twitter 13447608711642726434Like on Twitter 134476087116427264322Twitter 1344760871164272643
Retweet on TwitterSimply Sophia Myles Retweeted
DISARMshortfilmDISARM@DISARMshortfilm·
31 Dec

Some BTS shots to finish 2020. Thank you all for. Making this project happen and for your support.

Wish you all a very happy New year full of love and blessings. ❤️

Reply on Twitter 1344713739082358786Retweet on Twitter 13447137390823587865Like on Twitter 134471373908235878613Twitter 1344713739082358786
Load More...
© 2020 Simply Sophia Myles • Theme by MonicaNDesign • Header by Gratrix Designs • Powered by WordPress
'Simply Sophia Myles’ is an official fansite which means it is endorsed by Sophia Myles but it is NOT her official site. It has been set up by fans, for fans. While we strive to verify it, information taken from public media outlets may not always be completely accurate. All images contained are copyright of their original owners. No infringement ever intended. This site’s intent is to provide fans with content related to Sophia Myles and is operating within the terms of ‘fair use’ to the best of its knowledge. If the owner of the copyrighted material would like them removed, please contact us with details.