Rose Byrne and her boyfriend are walking towards me hand in hand. Bobby Cannavale is wearing a scarf and a beanie but there’s no mistaking the American actor’s solid frame and pugilistic good looks. She’s petite, her fine-boned face framed by a well-cut sweep of chestnut hair and a pale yellow scarf knotted around her neck.
It’s a paparazzi moment: the Australian star of the 2011 hit Bridesmaids with the actor who won an Emmy for playing a psychopathic gangster in HBO’s acclaimed series Boardwalk Empire. But in this self-consciously hip photographic studio in North London, where Madonna and Lady Gaga are regulars and even the guy at reception looks like a pop star, no one gives them a second glance.
Byrne and Cannavale are grabbing a few precious minutes together, she explains. He’s on his way to catch a flight to New York; she’s preparing to shoot a campaign that will launch her as the face of the Australian luxury brand, Oroton. “I won’t be long,” she says and true to her word she reappears 10 minutes later, having dispatched Cannavale to the airport.
“In this business you have to grab your moments,” she explains. “You have to organise your life or the time apart can stretch into weeks and weeks and that’s no good for any relationship.”
At 35, Byrne knows all about the perks and pitfalls of life as a successful actor.
