Rosamund Pike Celebrates Partners Parenting Skills

Rosamund Pike has credited her long-term partner for his invaluable role in raising their two children while she balances parenthood with the relentless demands of her acting career. 

A household name thanks to her starring roles in a string of blockbusters, notably Gone Girl and thriller Die Another Day, Pike enjoys a life of comparative anonymity away from the spotlight with Robie Uniacke and their sons, Solo, 14, and Atom, 12. 

But she ensured her partner was acknowledged while accepting the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress - recognition for her performances in Suzie Miller's West End legal drama, Inter Alia - at London's Royal Albert Hall in April. 

Pike, 47, takes the lead in Miller's critically acclaimed play as Jessica Parks, a pioneering Crown Court judge whose soaring career is complicated by her domestic responsibilities as the wife of a less successful barrister and mother to their young son. 

And the actress says her parallels with the character prompted her to acknowledge the important role Uniacke, 65, has in making their relationship work.   

'A lot of women have recognised themselves in the play, and thought, "God, that is my life," but then I thought, well, the only reason that I’m able to have my career is that I have got an incredibly supportive man,' she told GQ Hype. 'So why should I pretend that that’s not the case? 

'Actually, I’ve got a man who at the moment has to do the bulk of the bedtimes while I'm doing the play. And the battles over homework, because that’s the point I’m out the door. And I think it’s important to acknowledge it. 

'And also my partner is a very sort of ... he values anonymity a lot. So I thought it’d be a nice moment to recognise [all that].' 

The fiercely guarded Pike embarked on a relationship with Eton educated former stockbroker Uniacke, who is some 18 years her senior, in 2009. 

Paying tribute to her partner as they made a rare public appearance together at the Olivier Awards in April, the actress referenced his unsung role in handling the finer details of parenthood while she manages her career. 

She said:  'The irony is, here I am doing a play about the juggle of being a woman, being a professional working woman with a family, and a job. 

'And the fact is, I'm only able to do this performance because I have a wonderful man at home who is looking after our children and that is the truth of it and the irony and Robie, thank you.'

But Pike says he didn't believe her turn as Parks would earn her an Olivier Award after being named alongside Cate Blanchett, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Julia McDermott and Rosie Sheehy in the Best Actress category. 

'It was such a moving, complicated feeling,' she told GQ Hype of her triumph. 'I’ve never been in a room and had that experience. 

'I didn’t expect to win. I think it was the warmth of… "Oh, people are pleased for me." You go back to when you were tiny, and you believed this is what you were and what you wanted to do with your life, and the certainty in that little girl, whenever I was taken to the theatre and thought, I want to be there.'  

The actress famously made her film debut as Bond girl Miranda Frost, . 

Brosnan's final outing as the secret agent, the film's fanciful premise and ambitious special effects -  at one point Bond improbably drives an invisible car - were lambasted by critics. 

'Well, it was the beginning of CGI,' Pike conceded. 'But it was kind of ridiculed, wasn’t it?' 

With current franchise owner's Amazon now searching for a new Bond, Pike believes her Saltburn co-star Jacob Elordi - a frontrunner for the role- would be the perfect fit.

'He’s a fantastic actor,' she said. 'He certainly looks like a great Bond. I mean, why not?'

Read the full feature online at GQ Hype now.