ROSE BYRNE, Cassie

ROSE_whiteAustralian actress Rose Byrne plays Cassie, the Pilot of the Icarus II. “Cassie is probably the most emotional crewmember in the sense that she wears her heart on her sleeve,” explains Byrne.  “I think the reason she is on board is because of her even temperament. She doesn’t have a breaking point, which gets her through the journey. The biggest adjustment for me was doing scenes that involve all those buttons, talking into microphones and looking at blank scenes and not addressing the person next to you.  You don’t get to react off anything real and the challenge is adjusting to technical and dramatic scenes when the stakes are very high. It’s life and death all the time.”

Byrne, too, was a huge fan of Boyle and Garland. “They are both fantastic artists who are so smart and subversive, interesting and dark. I was pretty excited to work with them both.” Boyle had been transfixed by her performance in TROY. “Rose is an extraordinary actress,” he notes. “As soon as the camera switches on she completely transforms and has an electric presence. She can instantaneously immerse herself in the part, which is a big bonus when working with an ensemble.” Adds Macdonald, “We felt she had an intelligence and intensity that we thought was right to play the part of Cassie.”