AS 'THE DIPLOMAT RETURNS KERI RUSSELL

ON HAVING FUN WITH RUFUS SEWELL, MEETING THE U.S. AMBASSADOR AND BEING STRAPPED TO TOM CRUISE

-  KATY ELLIS

It’s almost 20 years since award winning actress Keri Russell shared the screen with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III, and now she’s back on our screens for series two of Netflix’s tense political thriller The Diplomat.

Keri, 48, plays lead character Kate Wyler, the US ambassador to the UK, who spends her days defusing international crises and forging alliances.

Off screen, the star is a mother to two children – River, 17, and Willa, 12 – with her former husband Shane Deary, and also has eight-year-old son Sam with her partner, the Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, 50.

Here, she reveals how filming in the UK has become a family affair, talks about her special relationship with screen husband Rufus Sewell and remembers her first day on the Mission: Impossible set.

Keri, The Diplomat is shot in the UK. How do you find that?

“It’s a long way to come for someone who has three kids who are still at school. It’s a long time away – but I love it. We all love it. My husband is Welsh, so it’s great family time for us. We get to visit a lot of his family there.”

How much do you enjoy working with Rufus?

“Rufus is an absolute joy to work with. He is so talented, so generous and so much fun. He’s perfect as Hal and any scene I get to do with Rufus is always just the best.”