Andrea Riseborough: Movie Director Madonna Was 'Joy' to Work With

(AP)

Hollywood is about to get another full-lipped British beauty. Meet Andrea Riseborough, the 29-year-old who hails from England’s Whitley Bay and stars in one of the most anticipated films bowing at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, Madonna’s directorial debut “W.E.”

“I had no preconceptions about who she would be, I had no preconceptions about her because I think we all know in this age of media that people's public image and their private life, are two incredibly separate things,” Riseborough told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column. “I don't think we can know anybody or predict what anybody would be like, so it was just an utter joy to get to know somebody so strong, and fearless, and inspiring, and a joy.”

But the “Material Girl” isn’t the only the A-list lady this rising star has rubbed shoulders with lately. Riseborough also stars alongside Oscar-winner Helen Mirren in Rowan Joffe’s “Brighton Rock,” which opens in theaters Friday, and is based on Graham Greene’s chilling 1938 novel.

“Helen has been one of many people who have inspired me in different ways. It's incredible what film can do – I think the really enjoyable thing about it can be paralyzed when you're about to do a scene with her,” she said. “All memories of working with Helen were just wonderfully fond; she is just a joy to work with. I felt totally supported, inspired, and encouraged, and I also felt like she was totally not Helen Mirren, but she was Ida (her character) and I felt like I was Rose, so our relationship, when we were playing with one another in a scene, was almost a maternal one on Ida's part.”

And word of warning: what you see is not always when you get.

“I did so many junkets (for ‘Brighton Rock’) where so many interviewers said, 'What was it like to play such a weak character like Rose?' and it's quite the contrary. She is an active powerhouse internally,” Riseborough added. “Externally she may be meek and vulnerable but internally, she is grave and loves with all of the passion that somebody who falls in love with, is, and tenacious, and loyal and all of those things with a great deal of strength.”

Deidre Behar contributed to this report.