Earlier this year, she was spotted locking lips with Naomi Watts as they shot passionate scenes for their Netflix show Gypsy.
But on Monday, Sophie Cookson, 27, travelled back in time as she stepped out in period costume for her titular role in the World War II-era spy drama Red Joan.
Clutching a hot water bottle to keep herself warm between scenes, the British actress covered up in a stylish long coat as she got into character on the decidedly chilly streets of Cambridge.
She was seen wearing a stylish outfit that included a long lilac coat, flowing grey skirt, knitted striped scarp, green gingham blouse and a burgundy beret.
In between takes – which saw her character attend a rally – she shielded her face from the notably chilly climes while walking through the streets and sitting on an outdoor bench as she read through her script.
Clad in a green coat, her co-star Tereza Srbova, 34, also appeared to be struggling with the cold, clutching a water bottle as to her chest while wrapping her body in a powder blue bathrobe and covering her head with a knitted grey beanie hat.
In the movie, Oxford School of Drama graduate Sophie plays the young Joan Stanley, a woman who went on to become the KGB’s longest-serving British spy.
The script is an adaptation of Jennie Rooney’s eponymous 2014 novel, which itself took inspiration from the true story of Melita Norwood, whose role within the Russian organisation wasn’t unmasked until she was 87 years old.
Dame Judi Dench, 82, will play the elder Joan, whose peaceful life as a retired physicist is turned upside down when she receives a visit from the MI5 in 2000.
Sophie’s portion of the film shows her as a student at Cambridge University, who falls in love with a communist and is later torn between her loyalty to her home country and serving the KGB as she joins Britain’s secret nuclear programme.
While his role in the film has not been officially announced, it is believed that Victoria heartthrob Tom Hughes, 32, portrays Joan’s love interest.
Despite her busy roster of screen projects – and winning acclaim in her psychological thriller Gypsy – Sussex and Suffolk-raised Sophie recently revealed that she holds a strong desire to tread the boards of London’s West End.
‘In the next five years, I’d absolutely love to do theatre,’ she told Interview magazine for its June issue. ‘I went to drama school and that’s where the focus lies. I’d definitely like to do that before the fear sets in.
‘We studied so much Shakespeare in drama school and I’d like to go back to that. I’d really throw myself into something that would probably petrify me. Tennessee Williams. Something juicy.’
