THE LIGHT AND SHADE OF NAOMI

Sitting in a car in New York City, the rain pelting down on the roof, actor Naomi Watts is waiting for one of her children to finish ballet class. She’s that kind of mother: the multitasker who squeezes work meetings between the hectic demands of family life. She gets out of the car briefly when she thinks she’s being booked, and I wait to see if she’s recognised. She isn’t, and it’s not just because of the nonchalance of New Yorkers towards celebrities. “I don’t get recognised — hardly ever. Truthfully,” she insists. “People [might] come up to me and say, ‘Hey, has anyone ever told you you look like that actress Naomi Watts?’ Mood-based, there might be times where I’ll be like, ‘Oh, really? I’ve never heard that!’ Or another time, I’ll be like, ‘Yeah, they have said that, and that’s because I’m her!’ But then they ask, ‘What movies have you been in, again?’ and suddenly you have to list off your credits, which is even more humiliating. So I think I’m lucky that I can blend into the crowd easily. And I don’t think of myself as, Oh, I’ve made it, I’m a celebrity.”

This little slice of Naomi Watts proves to be very Naomi Wattsian. There’s honesty. There’s I don’t mind trying out fashion, but I don’t like it if I don’t feel comfortable. My brother [photographer Ben Watts] always uses the expression, ‘That’s a beekeeping outfit’ [if a look is too bold]. I don’t mind an edge and if I’m in the right mood I can pull it off, but not anything that’s super over-the-top.”