The 15 Best Rosamund Pike Roles

Rosamund Pike has built a career that moves confidently between major franchises, literary adaptations, prestige dramas, and sharp contemporary thrillers. Across film and television, she has portrayed real historical figures, complex anti-heroes, and genre characters with fully sketched inner lives, often anchoring projects adapted from acclaimed books or headline-making journalism.

This list gathers fifteen standout roles spanning leading turns and pivotal supporting performances. For each, you’ll find key context—creatives behind the camera, source material, notable collaborators, awards recognition, and where the role fits in the project’s larger story—so you can quickly see how each part contributes to Pike’s filmography.

‘Gone Girl’ (2014) – Amy Elliott Dunne

Director David Fincher adapted Gillian Flynn’s novel for this psychological thriller, with Pike playing Amy Elliott Dunne opposite Ben Affleck. The story tracks a missing-person investigation that becomes a media spectacle, structured around shifting perspectives, diary entries, and the mechanics of public narrative management.

Pike’s performance earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, along with BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild recognition. The production emphasized meticulous design, nonlinear storytelling, and precise editorial rhythms, pairing Flynn’s screenplay with Fincher’s procedural approach to evidence, timelines, and televised perception.

‘I Care a Lot’ (2020) – Marla Grayson

Writer-director J Blakeson casts Pike as court-appointed guardian Marla Grayson, whose business model extracts assets from elderly wards through legal channels. The plot pivots when one target has criminal ties, bringing in Peter Dinklage, Eiza González, and Dianne Wiest as key players in a conflict that blends paperwork with underworld leverage.

Pike won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for this role. Released primarily via streaming, the film foregrounds guardianship proceedings, conservatorship documents, and jurisdictional tactics, juxtaposing financial maneuvers with the operational risks of crossing organized crime.

‘A Private War’ (2018) – Marie Colvin

Based on the article “Marie Colvin’s Private War,” this biographical drama from director Matthew Heineman follows war correspondent Marie Colvin through assignments in conflict zones. Pike’s portrayal charts Colvin’s reporting methods, embedded logistics, and collaboration with photographer Paul Conroy, played by Jamie Dornan.

The film reconstructed locations and equipment to reflect field conditions, including communications workflows and protective gear used during deployments. Pike received major nominations for her performance, and the production consulted journalists and archival materials to depict editorial processes, source verification, and post-mission debriefs.

‘Radioactive’ (2019) – Marie Curie

Directed by Marjane Satrapi and adapted from Lauren Redniss’s graphic novel, ‘Radioactive’ follows scientist Marie Curie’s research career, focusing on laboratory practice, conference presentations, and the collaboration with Pierre Curie, portrayed by Sam Riley. The narrative presents scientific milestones alongside institutional hurdles and public reception.

The film intercuts discovery sequences with later applications of radioactivity in medicine and industry to map Curie’s legacy. Production design recreated period laboratories, apparatus, and documentation methods, while the script incorporates professional disputes, prize committees, and publication records that defined Curie’s academic path.

‘Pride & Prejudice’ (2005) – Jane Bennet

Joe Wright’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel features Pike as Jane Bennet, sister to Elizabeth Bennet, portrayed by Keira Knightley. The production integrates choreographed long takes and ensemble blocking to stage social rituals, proposals, and family negotiations across country estates standing in for the story’s major houses.

The film received multiple nominations at major awards ceremonies and introduced a new screen interpretation of Austen’s world. Within the ensemble, Pike’s Jane connects with Mr. Bingley—played by Simon Woods—through letters, visits, and community events that mirror and contrast the central relationship’s arc.

‘Die Another Day’ (2002) – Miranda Frost

In this James Bond entry directed by Lee Tamahori, Pike plays MI6 agent Miranda Frost opposite Pierce Brosnan’s Bond and Halle Berry’s Jinx. The role integrates fencing training, undercover assignments, and internal security dynamics within MI6 as the plot moves through mission briefings, surveillance, and high-tech set pieces.

The production blends practical stunts with visual effects across ice-bound locations and gadget-driven sequences. Frost’s operational cover and shifting allegiances are positioned at key narrative turns, tying character decisions to the franchise’s espionage framework and climactic confrontation structure.

‘Jack Reacher’ (2012) – Helen Rodin

Christopher McQuarrie adapts Lee Child’s novel, casting Pike as defense attorney Helen Rodin opposite Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher. The case centers on a sniper attack with seemingly conclusive evidence, prompting Rodin to probe contradictions in witness statements, ballistics, and motive while coordinating with Reacher’s independent investigation.

The film balances legal procedure—depositions, discovery, and strategic filings—with action sequences and pursuit logistics. Pike’s character operates as the legal conduit for the audience, articulating the case’s moving parts as the narrative threads connect city bureaucracy, military records, and organized-crime interests.

‘A United Kingdom’ (2016) – Ruth Williams Khama

Directed by Amma Asante and based on true events, the film chronicles the marriage of Ruth Williams and Seretse Khama, played by David Oyelowo, and the diplomatic crisis that followed. The story moves between London and Bechuanaland, detailing correspondence with officials, legislative maneuvering, and international negotiations.

Production shot on location in Botswana and the UK, employing historical research to depict government hearings, local organizing, and exile periods. Pike’s portrayal situates Ruth within legal and social pressures, illustrating how personal decisions intersected with constitutional debates and regional self-determination.

‘Wrath of the Titans’ (2012) – Andromeda

Jonathan Liebesman directs this sequel to ‘Clash of the Titans’, with Pike as Andromeda alongside Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, and Ralph Fiennes. The plot follows an alliance to prevent a mythological catastrophe, combining on-location work with large-scale visual effects and extensive stunt coordination.

Andromeda’s leadership role places Pike in battlefield command scenes, military councils, and coordinated assaults, linking character beats to the film’s action geography. Production built practical sets for temples and strongholds while VFX facilities extended environments and creatures to expand the franchise’s mythic scope.

‘The Wheel of Time’ (2021– ) – Moiraine Damodred

Amazon’s epic fantasy series adapts Robert Jordan’s novels, casting Pike as Moiraine Damodred, an Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah seeking the Dragon Reborn. The show defines its magic system through Ajah politics, oaths, and channeling rules, with Moiraine’s Warder bond to Lan Mandragoran central to mission planning and combat support.

Production draws on large-scale location shoots, original languages, and integrated VFX to differentiate nations and factions. Pike also serves as an executive producer, aligning casting, costuming, and fight choreography with the series’ world-building and serialized quest structure.

‘State of the Union’ (2019) – Louise

Created by Nick Hornby and directed by Stephen Frears, this short-form series situates a couple in a pub before weekly therapy sessions. Pike co-stars with Chris O’Dowd in compact two-hander episodes that emphasize timing, callbacks, and evolving conversational rules within a single-location setup.

The show received multiple Emmy Awards, including recognition for its short-form format. Pike’s season uses fixed runtimes and recurring structural beats to build character arcs through incremental shifts, focusing on how pre-session dialogues frame the issues addressed off-screen in counseling.

‘An Education’ (2009) – Helen

Lone Scherfig directs this adaptation of Lynn Barber’s memoir, with Pike as Helen in the social circle around the central relationship played by Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard. The film maps the intersections of schooling, nightlife, and family expectations, with Alfred Molina and Olivia Williams in key supporting roles.

Pike’s character provides a lens on aspirational living—fashion, travel, and etiquette—contrasting with academic pathways presented by teachers and administrators. Production design and a curated soundtrack locate the story in a specific cultural moment, while the script structures choices and consequences across home and city spaces.

‘The World’s End’ (2013) – Sam Chamberlain

Edgar Wright concludes the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy with a science-fiction comedy about a hometown pub crawl that collides with an otherworldly discovery. Pike plays Sam Chamberlain, sister to a core ensemble member, rejoining the group as they revisit old haunts mapped into the film’s escalating set pieces.

The production is noted for precise visual rhythms, coordinated fight scenes, and repeated motifs that evolve as the plot advances. Pike’s role connects interpersonal histories to the story’s reveals, linking character dynamics with location-based choreography and the film’s final reconfiguration of its small-town setting.

‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ (2016) – Jane Bennet

This genre mash-up adapts the parody novel that overlays Austen’s plot with a zombie outbreak. Pike reprises the Jane Bennet role in a reimagined Regency setting where social calls, training, and engagements coexist with defensive tactics and battlefield etiquette, alongside Lily James, Sam Riley, and Bella Heathcote.

Production integrates wire-work, fight choreography, and altered costume design to accommodate action within period silhouettes. Script and staging retain the original relationship structures while introducing patrols, fortifications, and martial disciplines that recalibrate familiar scenes into combat-aware encounters.

‘Beirut’ (2018) – Sandy Crowder

Directed by Brad Anderson from a script by Tony Gilroy, ‘Beirut’ follows a former U.S. diplomat, played by Jon Hamm, drawn into a hostage negotiation. Pike portrays CIA officer Sandy Crowder, managing interagency coordination, briefing materials, and field tradecraft as competing interests converge on a high-risk exchange.

The film focuses on negotiation protocols, cover identities, and the logistics of arranging meetings under surveillance. Pike’s role operates at the junction of embassy channels and covert operations, aligning intelligence assessments with on-the-ground contingencies that shift as new information emerges.

‘Saltburn’ (2023) – Elsbeth Catton

Written and directed by Emerald Fennell, ‘Saltburn’ centers on an outsider drawn into an aristocratic family’s orbit during a long summer at their estate. Pike plays Elsbeth Catton, the matriarch whose management of household routines, guest access, and social codes frames the visitor’s integration into the family.

Pike won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for this performance. The production uses location-driven design and a curated soundtrack to shape tone, while the screenplay tracks shifting alliances through dinners, parties, and confidences that reveal the family’s vulnerabilities and boundaries.

Share your favorite Rosamund Pike performance in the comments and tell us which role you’d add to the list!