Infinite Star Sophie Cookson Talks Bringing an Eternal Action Hero to Life

While Mark Wahlberg might be top-billed star of Infinite, the new Paramount+ thriller from Antoine Fuqua, there’s no mistaking that Sophie Cookson is the film’s real hero. The actress plays Nora, a warrior who has lived countless lives and fights to keep the world from falling apart at the hands of other reincarnated beings who wish for it all to end. Wahlberg’s Evan is the character around whom the story revolves, but Cookson’s Nora is really the driving force behind a lot of the plot and action. She’s the leader of the Believers, and she’s the one that consistently keeps everything from falling apart.

We recently sat down to chat with Cookson about what drew her to Nora, and how she brought the new action hero to life for Paramount.

“She has such a gravitas about her,” Cookson told us. “And I think I was really drawn to the conflict between this incredibly steely, tough, determined exterior of Nora which we see, that contrasts with such heart and she’s clearly grieving for her soulmate and for all of the people she loses in all of her many lives. She’s an interesting contrast between incredibly tough and soft, and I think that’s what makes her a three-dimensional, real woman that hopefully audience members will relate to. But yes, she’s kind of in charge of saving the world, which is quite a lot of pressure. And because she’s so experienced with all these many skills, it was a very daunting task to take on. But very, very fun and challenging, particularly with the physical side.”

Not only is Nora tough on her own, but Cookson’s character is often the tough one in scenes shared with longtime action star Mark Wahlberg. “You don’t see that too often, do you,” Cookson proudly asked. “I have to say that was a very attractive part of the script.”

Before taking on Infinite, Cookson became well-known to most moviegoers for playing Roxy in the two Kingsman films, the agent that comes up alongside Taron Egerton’s Eggsy. While they have very different motives and personalities, Roxy and Nora do share a quite a few traits.

“They definitely share that determined, driven quality,” Cookson said of her characters. “They’re not going to let anyone else get in their way. They’ve got their eyes on the prize. But I think Nora’s actually much softer than [Roxy], as well. Even though she’s kind of tasked with such great things. I love how she’s actually that steely and cold because she’s kind of fragile on the inside. And she has to keep going for everyone else but also for herself. That fear that if you stop, you’ll just kind of crumble, so there’s no choice but to carry on.”

Infinite is now streaming on Paramount+.