Felicity Jones has said she was “covered in bruises” after filming her own stunts on The Aeronauts.
The actress plays a daredevil pilot in the 1860s-set movie about the battle for survival during a hot air balloon flight, which also features her Theory Of Everything co-star Eddie Redmayne.
Jones, who tackled some of her own stunts, said: “We had the balloon set up in a studio, we were shooting in a studio – it felt endless – for about eight weeks, and then I worked really closely with a stuntwoman that I’ve worked with before called Helen Bailey.
“But I would try and do as much as possible, that I could myself, probably to my own detriment.
“I think actually both of us were covered in bruises.”
Redmayne added: “They built this balloon, so it’s a gas balloon rather than a hot air balloon – there hasn’t been balloons like this, really, in this country for years.
“So they built one specifically for the film and we did go up and shoot in it, and Felicity was sort of swinging up and down in the ring.
“From my point of view it was quite terrifying, but (she) seemed so at ease with it.”
Jones said the pair were able to “hit the ground running” because they knew each other from 2014 Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory Of Everything and had already “built up so much trust”.
“And obviously we were in a really tiny space, for really long periods of time, so it was good to be working with someone who you really respect and admire,” she said.
Redmayne said: “It’s so lovely because obviously we didn’t know each other that well when we did Theory and then we became very close making that film.
“And then of course your friendship extends over that period, so as well as the work side of it, there’s also the kind of… there was just a lovely, well it’s more of an intense film for Felicity, but it really didn’t feel like going to work for me. It may have been different for her.”
The Aeronauts is out on November 6.