Actress Rosamund Pike took to Twitter on Monday to relive a traumatic experience from 2006. It happened on the very first call, where she was chatting with her mom, Caroline Friend. The actress, known for her performances in Brown Sugar and The Best Man, was strolling along a London street. Then, out of nowhere, she became the target of a mugging.
While on the call, a man on a bike rode up to Pike and cold-clocked her in the face. The attacker grabbed the cellphone out of her hand, leaving her mom with no idea what had happened. The incident was frightening for both women. Especially Caroline Friend, who experienced “15 minutes of hell” before she finally received word that her daughter was alright.
Pike went on to write about the experience of the event. On one occasion, for example, he explained, “I was casually chatting to my mother on my cellphone while strolling down a sidewalk when I got robbed.” The sudden surprise of the attack made her mother lose her head. Pike said the phone was violently grabbed out of his hand. That’s all she was left with, me screaming, a big crash, and then the line went silent.
Instead, following the mugging, Pike courageously decided to walk herself to a pub down the road. There, she was able to contact her mother on another phone. It’s not only Pike’s story that’s inspiring—a simple answer to Pike’s ongoing battles with physical pain has transformed her life. Last year, she sustained serious facial injuries in a skiing accident. She reflected on her experiences: “I had an accident over Christmas, actually. I had a skiing accident,” noting the impact it had on her preparations for public appearances.
Pike caught the world’s attention again at the Golden Globes in January 2023. She wore her exceptionally brave walk down the red carpet, featuring her visible facial scars with pride. Talking about the pressure to attend events after her injuries, she said the following. “I had to think, shit, no, that is not what you want to hear when you know you’re going in to the Golden Globes on the seventh of January.”
Pike is the star of the upcoming film “Hollow Road,” opposite Matthew Rhys. In this documentary, they play the concerned mom and dad getting that scary late-night phone call from their teenaged daughter. The parallels between Pike’s real-life experience and her character’s storyline offer a poignant reflection on parental concerns and unexpected crises.
