Lily James plays Whitney Wolfe Herd – Bumble’s founder and former CEO – in Swiped, and the actress has admitted she felt “guilty” and a “bit of a fake” by starring in the film because she has never used a dating app.
Lily James felt “guilty” and a “bit of a fake” starring in Swiped as she has never used a dating app.
The 36-year-old actress plays 36-year-old entrepreneur Whitney Wolfe Herd – Bumble’s founder and former CEO – in her biopic.
James is quoted by the Sunday People newspaper as saying: “I feel guilty and a bit of a fake playing this creator of these apps, having never really done it.”
To get an idea of what it is like being on a dating app, the star used her friend’s phone to “research” for the newly-released movie.
James added: “But I did steal my friend’s phone in preparation for this film, for research.
“A lot of actually doing this movie kind of speaks to people.
“One of the long-term producers on this film met their partner on Bumble, and it’s pretty profound.”
James – who dated former 42-year-old Doctor Who star Matt Smith from 2014 until 2019 – said she has always preferred to meet people in person.
The star added: “I am scared that we are losing this – a lost art of seeing someone in the bar and just catching their eye and going over.
“I hope that that doesn’t disappear.”
Elsewhere, James stars in the reboot of Sylvester Stallone’s 1993 action-thriller Cliffhanger as Naomi Cooper, after she replaced 79 year old Stallone.
She said of the upcoming film – which also stars Pierce Brosnan, 72, and is set to be released in 2026: “It is the most amazing film, and I guess Sylvester Stallone wasn’t available, so they just thought … Lily James.”
The original Cliffhanger was directed by Renny Harlin, 66, and it follows Gabe Walker (Stallone) as a rescue mission embroils him in a botched air heist by a group of international criminals.
James learned how to climb for the movie – and she loved the thrilling experience.
She said: “I was on holiday in Ibiza last year, and I suddenly remembered.
“So I found a teacher there and spent weeks and weeks climbing with him for five hours a day and fell completely in love with it.”
Pierce portrays mountaineer Ray Cooper, and James is his daughter Naomi, who has to “save her family” and “fight for survival in the Italian Dolomites”.
As well as James and Brosnan, the cast also includes Nell Tiger Free, 25, Franz Rogowski, 39, Shubham Saraf, 33, Assaad Bouab, 45, Suzy Bemba, 25, and Bruno Gouery, 50.
Jaume Collet-Serra is taking over to direct the flick, meaning Ric Roman Waugh, 57, is no longer taking the helm.
The synopsis of the Cliffhanger reboot reads: “In this reboot of Cliffhanger, seasoned mountaineer Ray Cooper (Pierce Brosnan) and his daughter Sydney run a mountain chalet in the Dolomites.
“During a weekend trip with a billionaire’s son, they are targeted by a gang of kidnappers. Ray’s older daughter Naomi (Lily James), still haunted by a past climbing accident, witnesses the attack and escapes.”
The original movie was nominated for three Oscars for Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects, but lost out on them all to Jurassic Park.
Lily James felt a ‘bit of a fake’ starring in Swiped
