Rosamund Pike defends her Now You See Me villain against ‘psychopath’ label – and talks ditching her English accent for role

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Rosamund Pike often plays complex characters who aren’t exactly heroes – think Amy Dunne from Gone Girl or Marla Grayson in I Care A Lot. Now, she’s fully embracing the role of a villain in the latest Now You See Me movie.

The latest installment brings back the original ‘Four Horsemen’ – Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco – who team up with a new generation of magicians to face their biggest challenge yet.

The danger arises from Veronika Vanderberg, the CEO of Pike’s South African diamond company – a wonderfully villainous name, as Pike notes. She’s working with various criminal organizations, laundering money and engaging in numerous illegal activities.

Veronika is definitely a problematic character, and one of the characters, Merritt McKinney, even calls her a psychopath. However, the actor who plays her, Pike, thinks that label might be an exaggeration.

Pike believes the character’s behavior stems from childhood trauma. She explained, “She was hurt as a young woman, and it seems like she has unresolved issues with her father, similar to what Woody suggested. It’s probably about trying to earn the attention and approval of a father who wasn’t fully present, and wanting to feel worthy.”

As a viewer, it’s pretty clear this character is deeply involved in some seriously dark activities. The real challenge for the filmmakers was balancing that menace – making her a truly intimidating villain – with the need to keep her entertaining. You want to be scared, but you also want to keep watching, and that’s a tricky line to walk.

Playing the character of Veronika was extra enjoyable – and definitely added to the over-the-top nature of the role – because the actress, Pike, had to switch from her normal English accent to a South African one. She felt this accent was key to truly embodying the character.

“I think she is the accent,” she explained. “Some of these lines, you think, ‘Thank God,’ because if I’d done them in an English accent it would have been much harder to get that sense that I was looking for – of someone who’s very pleased with herself, with an inflated sort of self importance and vanity through the roof.”

The character’s vanity is clear throughout the film, showing up in many ways. For instance, Pike particularly enjoyed how Veronika, despite owning the motorsports team, would pose for photos with them in a work jumpsuit, pretending to be one of the team members.

She’d never even been in a car before, but there she was, wearing the team colours,” she said with a smile. “It perfectly captured her spirit – always supporting the lead driver, right there alongside them.

It was clearly a very enjoyable experience for the Saltburn actor. She explained, “I really love playing characters who are vain – they’re so much fun!”

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2025-11-13 16:34