Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Felicity Jones, who plays her in new film: ‘Do you think she’ll sign my Star Wars poster?’
- Both shy people, the US Supreme Court justice and the British actress who plays her in On The Basis Of Sex bonded when they met in jurist’s flat
- Jones says Ginsburg has ‘this almost movie-star-like quality’
British actress Felicity Jones was wandering through a museum exhibit when she noticed some black-and-white videos being projected on a wall.
She had seen the 8mm home movies from Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s personal collection before, but was nonetheless transfixed by the silent footage.
US Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg ‘up and working’ after fall
“She has this almost movie-star-like quality,” the movie star said, staring at the US Supreme Court justice on her honeymoon.
Even after getting to meet and subsequently play Ginsburg in On the Basis of Sex – the new biopic about the equal rights leader – Jones still seems genuinely starry-eyed. It was only a couple of years ago that she even learned who Ginsburg was. Growing up in England, Jones was unfamiliar with the 85-year-old icon until her mother heard a BBC radio programme about her.
“She said, ‘I’ve just been hearing about this extraordinary woman who’s a lawyer in the US, I think you’d be really interested in her,” recalled Jones, now 35. Within a year, the actress received the screenplay for a film about Ginsburg’s life and excitedly shared it with her mother: “Mum! This is the amazing woman we’ve been talking about!”
