Have you met our brilliant December issue cover star?

Enchanting on stage, compelling on screen, and equally intriguing in real life, Ruth Wilson is Marie Claire's December issue cover star

Marie Claire's December issue cover star is * drumroll please * the brilliant Ruth Wilson.

We've been fans of the British actress ever since her 2006 small screen debut in the BBC's Jane Eyre. Since then she's flexed her acting muscle in everything from big budget crime dramas (Luther) to theatre (including an already-sold out production of Hedda Gabler which starts at the National Theatre in December).

But arguably her most talked-about role to date is as Alison Bailey in The Affair, a role that has won her critical acclaim as well as a Golden Globe for Best Actress.

Meeting writer Jane Mulkerrins for coffee in New York, Wilson said the sheer intensity of the show almost wiped her out. ‘The first season was relentless and draining. I’m not someone who can ever do something half-arsed, but at points, I did think, “Oh my god I can’t go any deeper.” I didn’t know if I could sustain it.’

Wilson also discussed battling stage fright in a recent Broadway production of Constellations opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. 'It was like a boxing ring - the fear was so great each night' she said. 'We’d stand there, on opposite sides of the stage, and [I’d] just breathe and pray I’d get through it. That fear is so exhilarating - it is such a high that you get.’

Though she has remained very private about her relationship status, Wilson added that a big white wedding definitely isn't her bag. 'I hate the thought of walking down the aisle in a white dress - I think it’s just a horrible idea. And I’m just not that excited by the idea of a wedding day, or of a ring on my finger' she says, 'I’m not even interested in jewellery.’

Read the full interview in the December issue of Marie Claire, on sale now