British actor Lily James, best known for her turn as cousin Rose on
Downton Abbey, has cancelled a string of talk show appearances to promote her new film,
Rebecca. Director Ben Wheatley’s take on the creepy, classic story by novelist Daphne Du Maurier has a stacked cast that includes Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott-Thomas, and Sam Riley, and James was scheduled to make the media rounds alongside Hammer ahead of the film’s release later this week. The cancellations, however, come following the release of
photos of James looking quite cozy with another co-star.James and Dominic West were photographed by paparazzi in Rome where the two were filming
The Pursuit of Love for the BBC. The photos were so chaste as to almost be considered dull — but then West and his wife orchestrated a bizarre photo op of their own. In what might be the weirdest declaration of love since Tom Cruise professed his feelings for Katie Holmes by jumping up and down on Oprah Winfrey’s furniture, West and his wife, Catherine FitzGerald, appeared in front of their home to kiss for the cameras and present photographers with a hand-written note stating the solidity of their union.[video_embed id='2054243']RELATED: Lily James and married Dominic West caught kissing[/video_embed]West has not hid his past penchant for infidelity,
saying in 2016 that "women should be more indulgent of affairs," adding, "it's daft to kick someone out over a fling.” It’s entirely possible that his wife agrees, but it’s a tired narrative that paints FitzGerald as the victim and West and James as villains. Which doesn’t mean we can’t be amused by the irony in the fact that West starred in a show called
The Affair or that in
The Pursuit of Love he plays James’ dad.As for
Rebecca, it’s likely that the James/West photos will get people talking about the film just as much as her cancelled appearances would have.[video_embed id='-1']Lily James on getting caught up in a partner's romantic history (from her character's perspective) [/video_embed]
