Ricci has shared screen time with Hollywood heartthrobs her entire life—Depp (on three separate occasions), Justin Timberlake, and Orlando Bloom—but the collective scream reached fever pitch earlier this year when she filmed Bel Ami, an adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s story of corruption and social climbing, with Twilight superstar Robert Pattinson. Featuring a stacked deck of formidable actors, including Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott Thomas, Bel Ami tells the story of George Duroy, a scheming, power-hungry womanizer brought to life by Pattinson. Ricci plays Clotilde de Marelle, one of Duroy’s many conquests. “I read the book when I was 13,” she says. “It was one of my tutor’s favorite stories, so there was a lot of discussion about it my entire life. Getting the part was one of those things that made me sort of believe in…” Realizing she’s stumbled dangerously close to earnest territory, she cuts herself short, and then, with a slight eye roll, says, “Well, fate. But, yeah, Rob’s fans are crazy. We filmed in London, and they were always around base camp, gathered at the barriers.”
