Cynthia Addai-Robinson's People We Hate At The Wedding Character Is Like 'An Alternate' Self - Exclusive

Cynthia Addai-Robinson is an impressive actress with credits across many genres. She's played Marybeth Medina, the incredibly smart FBI agent tracking down Ben Affleck's character in the 2016 thriller "The Accountant." Fantasy fans will likely recognize her for her role as Queen Regent Míriel from "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." She's taken on an entirely different role in the raunchy and hilarious film, "The People We Hate at the Wedding."

The story, based on a book by Grant Ginder, follows the dysfunctional family dynamics between three siblings and their mother (Allison Janney) at an English countryside wedding. When American siblings Alice (Kristen Bell) and Paul (Ben Platt) are pressured to go to the wedding of their estranged, wealthy half-sister, Eloise (Addai-Robinson), they're able to reconnect and learn from each other.

Her prim and proper character Eloise is quite different from most of Addai-Robinson's previous roles. During an exclusive interview with The List, the actress explained how she was able to dive into the character and see the many different layers of her. While in this role, she started to see Eloise as an alternate version of herself.

Speaking about Eloise, Cynthia Addai-Robinson said, "I got the opportunity to play the kind of character I feel like I never get asked to play. She's prim and proper, well-to-do, successful, marrying the perfect guy, and getting ready to have the perfect wedding." While Kristen Bell and Ben Platt play the crass American siblings who seem set on ruining the wedding, Addai-Robinson is the much more proper bride-to-be. But, as the actress went on to explain, there's a lot more to her character than the careful facade she puts on.

Part of the fun of this movie, along with the hilarious moments, is seeing the many layers of each character. As the siblings reconnect, the fronts they put up slowly give way to their more honest realities. Speaking of Eloise again, Addai-Robinson said, "She is somebody who is trying to keep up appearances, but there's a lot more going on. If anything, it should be her family that she can confide in and be honest with, but she is still trying to keep up appearances for them, as well. There's definitely that tension of her siblings resenting her, resenting her perfect life."

Although she hasn't typically played British characters, Cynthia Addai-Robinson was born in London. She moved to the U.S. at a young age. Because of those roots, she said she felt a unique connection to her British character, Eloise. "It's interesting for me to even get the chance to film in London. This movie was the first time I filmed in London. I'm not normally asked to play British characters, even though it is a part of my sort of upbringing, I suppose," she said. "It was just an interesting opportunity to play a character that feels like maybe an alternate version of who I could have been, perhaps, if I'd stayed in the U.K."

Filming on location in London added to the energy of the film. As a viewer, you can watch the family drama play out in front of the city's most beloved landmarks. For the actress, the location added to her feeling she was exploring a part of her past or an alternate version of herself. "It did feel like a full circle moment to have left London all those years ago and find myself filming on location there," Addai-Robinson said. "It was really a special moment when I would pause and think about it."

"The People We Hate at the Wedding" is now available on Prime Video.