Early on in the making of “The Favourite,” which Lanthimos also directed, Weisz and her co-star Olivia Colman, who played Queen Anne, were rehearsing a sensitive scene. The script called for Weisz’s character, Lady Sarah, to put her hands between the legs of the queen in an act of sexual possession. Colman had assumed that Weisz would merely gesture toward her for the purposes of rehearsal; there they were, in jeans, just trying to get the feel of the roles. Instead, Weisz unexpectedly made the grab, just as the script dictated. “I roared,” said Colman, who at the time started laughing uncontrollably. “I nearly pissed myself. We were all laughing. I’m quite square — I don’t normally play these kinds of parts. But right there, my fear went away. She was utterly brave, so I didn’t have to be scared. She was brave enough for both of us.” (Weisz, it’s worth noting, doesn’t see herself as brave: “I’m shy in real life,” she said. “But if I have a role in the script and a story to tell, I’m not going to shy away.”) 

Wouldn’t it be great, I say, if she were a real super heroine who could sweep down from the skies to sort out the current crisis? "Wouldn’t it just!" she says wistfully. "But I’m not a nurse or a doctor or a dustman or a teacher. They’re the real superheroes. I’m useless. I can’t help save anybody’s life right now – but I can maybe help to cheer people up."

- Rachel Weisz