Saucy spies! The Americans costars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys steam up the February issue of GQ with a provocative new spread.
The two actors, who play sleeper-cell Cold War Soviet spies posing as a suburban '80s American husband and wife in the FX series, share an undeniable chemistry in the new images taken by photographer Marco Grob. In one, Russell, 37, wears nothing but a metallic gold Burberry trench, sexy stockings and a pair of cap-toed Louboutin heels. Her right leg traps suit-clad Rhys, 39, against the wall while she holds a gun — a photo that apparently conveys what happens on set, too!
According to Russell's onscreen hubby, the gorgeous star implements a cheeky pump-up routine before the show's brutal fight scenes: "The smack usually comes the second before they say 'Action,'" Rhys said. "Basically I am starting every scene with a slightly shocked look on my face and a red handprint on my cheek." In the other racy photos, Russell straddles the British star — who remains helpless, on the floor and in a chair!
As the Felicity alum's rep confirmed to Us Weekly back in December, Russell separated from her carpenter hubby Shane Deary over the summer after seven years of marriage. Post-split, it's been rumored that the single mom and her costar have taken their onscreen romance offscreen. "He has spent time with her off set for awhile, one insider told Us. "They do really enjoy each other's company."
Brooklyn denizen Russell, a real-life mother of two young kids — son River, 6, and daughter Willa, 2 — also plays a multitasking mom in the espionage-fueled series: "I love that she's a mom who doesn't always get it right," she told GQ of her onscreen character. "She's making a bologna sandwich for her kids one minute and then blowing a guy in a hotel for intel the next."
During the The Americans TCA press tour in Pasadena, Calif. last Wednesday, Russell shared her thoughts on the intense amount of sex featured on the show: "It's not this big sweeping romantic movie where you have to be so in love and so beautiful and so sexy," she said of the Americans. "You're usually using the sexuality, at least in the spy end of it, to get something," she continued. "So there is kind of a freedom in that, because it's kind of messier or more direct than that."
The February issue of GQ hits stands Jan. 28. Season 2 of The Americans returns Feb. 26 to FX.
