Annabelle Wallis is not keen to talk about her love life. “It’s better not to speak about personal things,” she says, flashing me a breezy smile. “I would just talk about it for the whole day, and you’d get bored...” Perhaps it’s no wonder that the 32-year-old British actress is reluctant to let the world in on her relationship. Although their romance has never been officially confirmed, she is reportedly “consciously coupled” with Gwyneth Paltrow’s ex-husband, Chris Martin. The pair were first linked as far back as 2015, and, as the Coldplay frontman stepped on to the stage in Manchester on Sunday- as part of the One Love tribute show for victims of last month’s terrorist attack in the city - his girlfriend should have been in the audience, cheering him on. And she would have been, if she wasn’t scheduled to be in Mexico for a promotional tour. She won’t confirm or deny any of this, adding that it’s important that she retain some mystery, “so that people can believe you on-screen. It becomes hard when you know about someone’s personal life - it’s just distracting. It’s a whole other job in itself if you go down that road.” Her latest role - in the soon-to-be-released reboot of The Mummy, in which she stars alongside Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe - is the reason we are speaking now, in a smart London hotel. At first glance, you would be forgiven for thinking Wallis was another run-of-the-mill LA blonde - willowy limbs, tousled mane, pearly white smile - as she sits there sipping (what else?) a green juice. But her road to fame has been far more varied. Born to British parents, she was raised in Portugal, speaks four languages and spent much of her youth on solo adventures - from a weed-cutting conservation project in Botswana, aged 16, to climbing up Machu Picchu. That she landed upon the acting profession is, however, not much of a surprise, given that her maternal uncle is the late Richard Harris and Mad Men star Jared Harris is her cousin. Wallis has an easy charm and is, by her definition, proudly “quirky” and full of “weird-isms”. She has long refused to “attach myself to other people’s opinions in life, because if you do that, you’re going to have a hard time”. She also retains a girlish excitement over working with her heroes; namely Madonna, with whom she starred in the 2011 historical drama W.E. - a critically panned film about the relationship between Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, which was directed by the pop star. When the pair cross paths today, Wallis says: “I always reintroduce myself, and she says: ‘Of course I remember you, Annabelle - stop doing that!’ “ That deference comes, she says, because “she’s Madonna and she’s amazing. She’s an incredible inspiration to me.” Wallis was “so blindsided by the experience” of making a major Hollywood film that any barbs refused to land - “I didn’t have to carry W.E.’s bad reviews,” she says simply. “People are going to say whatever they’re going to say. Especially when you’re a trailblazer, people go for you.” I wonder if this is an oblique reference to Martin.
Before their divorce last year, he and Paltrow were scarcely out of the headlines during their 13-year marriage. From unusual baby names (Moses and Apple) to their commitment to detoxing, veganism and what is surely the world’s most unique separation announcement, in which they coined the now-infamous term “consciously uncoupling”. Paltrow has since continued to occupy column inches, largely as a result of her lifestyle website Goop which, among other things, has advocated steaming one’s nether regions. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that Wallis is keen to stay out of the spotlight where her relationship is concerned. “I love the person I love, but it means so much to me that I like to keep it safe,” she says when I tackle the subject again, miming their relationship as a ball in her hands and kissing it jokingly. “I have nothing to hide. It’s just that when you have people in your life that you care about, you get very protective of them, and it’s not about you any more, it’s about other people, and the ones you love are the ones you protect like a lioness. “When something’s that close to your heart... there’s an uncomfortable element.” If Wallis has yet to become a copper-bottomed household name, hers will be a familiar face to many British TV viewers. Her first gig was as an East End showgirl in the 2005 TV series Jericho, in which she starred alongside Robert Lindsay. Later came a turn as Jane Seymour in the sex-drenched royal drama The Tudors; then as Grace Shelby, the Irish barmaid wife of a gang leader, in the BBC crime drama Peaky Blinders. Having now graduated to Hollywood blockbusters, she will soon be seen in a lead role opposite Jeremy Renner and Isla Fisher in road trip comedy Tag, in which she plays a journalist. “People are thirsty for female protagonists and anti-heroes - flawed, strong, fiery women as we see and know them. We’re moving away from stereotypes and into a space where women can be all shades of grey and a forcefield, vulnerable and smart,” she says. Wallis concedes, though, that such parts aren’t always forthcoming. “When you’re starting out, you’re so excited just to work that you don’t really have the confidence to say that you don’t agree with the way something is written.” She is enthused, however, by the fact that Tag is paying its male and female stars equally, something Wallis hopes will become “the new normal”. It is an issue that various Hollywood stars, such as Jennifer Lawrence (another Chris Martin ex...) and Meryl Streep, have spoken out about in the past few months. Earlier this month, House of Cards star Robyn Wright admitted in an interview that she had discovered she was being paid less than co-star Kevin Spacey. “Yet, even now, I feel like I’d do anything just to do my job, I love it so much,” Wallis smiles. “Going to amazing places and meeting amazing people? It’s not hard at all.”
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The Mummy releases in the UAE on June 8.
