The Girlfriend star teases 'explosive' romance with Robin Wright in must-watch thriller

The Girlfriend star Waleed Zuaiter has hinted his on-screen relationship with Robin Wright will be "explosive" in the new Prime Video thriller.

The six-part series is led by the Hollywood star, who also directed the first three episodes, portraying wealthy and overprotective mother Laura who becomes suspicious of her son's new partner.

When Danny (played by Laurie Davidson) brings home working-class estate agent Cherry Laine (Olivia Cooke), it sparks a rivalry that will expose dark secrets from both women's pasts.

Zuaiter portrays hotelier Howard, who explained why his relationship with Laura could be seen as a "loveless" partnership.

"It's one of those relationships where the convenience of wealth seems to delay and dampen the problems, to dilute it," he told the Express at The Girlfriend's London premiere.

"So it just builds and explodes to where you find out, like 30 years later, that you've been living so much of a lie."

In the first episode, releasing on Prime Video this Wednesday (10th September), viewers will discover a tragedy that has thrown a shadow over Laura and Howard's family.

"They just haven't had any kind of healing for their trauma of losing their first child," Zuaiter continued.

"So, just throwing money at stuff seems to be the way they deal with their problems, or avoidance.

"And that avoidance is something that he subconsciously passes on to Daniel. It's a really interesting relationship, and one of the band aids is they have an open relationship. There's no love there, it's just a kind of an object."

The actor has also opened up about the strange yet rewarding experience of being directed by his scene partner.

"It's really odd sometimes," he admitted. "This is my first time working with someone who's an actor who's also directing.

"It's impressive on one hand, but on the other hand... I'm used to hanging out with my scene partner between set ups and takes.

"Whether it's uncovering something new about the dynamic or you find something in that, and I was often looking for Robin and she was behind the monitors working, dealing with setting up the shot or talking to her crew.

"I was impressed because she's just constantly working. And then it didn't take anything away from what we did in the scenes because every take was different.

"She was giving me something new, I was giving her something in response. So it was a very cool... it seemed effortless, is the best way to describe it."

Wright, best known for appearing in beloved films such as The Princess Bride and Forrest Gump, has more recently turned to directing, including helming her feature debut Land released in 2021.

She has also received acclaim for directing episodes of Netflix's House of Cards and Ozark, so fans can be sure of a riveting binge-watch when her latest project hits streaming.

The Girlfriend premieres Wednesday, 10th September on Prime Video.