Westworld’s Thandie Newton admits she’s shocked at her late-career boost

After spending two decades in the acting game, Thandie Newton is finally enjoying the kind of career boost she expected to have in her twenties.

The 47-year-old actress has become a household name thanks to the success of HBO’s sci-fi drama Westworld, with her character Maeve taking on a pivotal role in season three.  

‘Thanks to Westworld, I’ve become an action hero – at my age!’ she told The Sunday Telegraph.  

‘I’m flabbergasted! I feel like I’m in my prime, and my 40s are great, man, but why didn’t this happen in my 20s? It’s the complete reverse of what it should be,’ she mused. 

Thandie, who is also known for her roles in Crash (2004) and Mission Impossible: 2 (2000), went on to describe the physical requirements of playing her character in Westworld. 

Likening the experience to being in the military, the brunette explained that she has to remain as fit as possible throughout filming.  

Thandie’s character Maeve began the series as a robotic ‘host’ brothel-owner within the Westworld theme park.

Thanks to a glitch in her programming, the sassy saloon-owner begins to gain consciousness and eventually realises she’s part of a scripted storyline.  

This season, she manages to escape from the park, only to discover she has been under the control of the mysterious Serac (Vincent Cassell). 

Upon meeting Serac, Maeve is instructed to take down Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and foil her plans to destroy humanity.  

Westworld is based on the 1973 film of the same name which was written and directed by author of Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton.

The popular series is set at the intersection of the near future and re-imagined past as visitors to an American Old West-theme world where one can indulge in anything they would like without consequence – or so they think.