Lucy Drive
Outside Bet is a family drama / comedy set in the 1980’s. It is about a group of men who work at the print workers and after they get laid off, decide to buy a racehorse.
Lucy Drive, plays Erica who has a one night stand with one of the other characters, Jonny (played by Terry Stone) and then tries to move into his life, starting with decorating his flat.
I had a chat with Lucy to ask about the people she worked with, her exciting future and how she doesn’t want to be ‘pigeonholed’.
Lucy has a really bubbly and infectious personality. She praises the people she has worked with and sees herself as ‘lucky’ to be cast by Sacha Bennett in the Outside Bet.
It is really nice to work with people who believe in you.
Lucy commented “You see Erica bossing Jonny around and she really likes to wear the trousers. It was very comedic and was just really fun to play. There was a really nice atmosphere on set and everyone was always having a laugh and cracking jokes.”
Lucy doesn’t think Erica is like her though and when asked if Erica resembles her, she said: “No, no I don’t think so. I’ll have to ask my boyfriend.”
Working on set with some big names in British cinema such as Bob Hoskins,and Rita Tushingham must be daunting but Lucy said: “When you first see the cast list with all these big names, you think what are these people going to be like in real life? But they were really nice and down to earth. It is a learning curve watching them and seeing how they approach the scenes.”
Lucy has some big projects coming up including a boxing film ‘The Law Of One’ which is set in London. She said: “Yeah I’m really excited about that. There are two strong roles and I’m just waiting to hear about which one I have got.”
Lucy is also due to appear in Hard Shoulder which is a thriller about a family who are kept captive in a diner by group of undesirables.
Creating a believable character must be difficult but Lucy told me she watches other films to see how other actors have portrayed the role and to draw some inspiration from them. “Generally I go through the script and rehearse the scenes in my own time as much as I can and if I possible with other actors before filming.”
Going from the small screen to the big screen,Lucy Drive is fast becoming a new, fresh face in the business, she has stayed grounded though. Lucy told me: “I have been really lucky and have got some parts based on my showreel. It is just so nice to work with people that believe in you. I just hope that I can continue and get as much work as possible really, that mean I can take on a variety of roles.”
“The beauty and brilliance of being an actor is that you are taking on the mask of someone else and does mean you can escape into the role of somebody else and live their life as they do.”
As an up and coming actress, Lucy has high ambitions, she told me she would love to work with a lot of famous faces but in particular Sally Hawkins. “I would love to be cast in a project with her. I think she is amazing. I would also love to work with Kate Winslet, Ray Winston and Meryl Streep, there are just loads.”
Lucy really wants to show off her talent and said “I don’t want to be pigeonholed. One of my strengths is that I can be versatile and can play a number of different roles.” Lucy isn’t just talk though, her previous roles show off her versatility. “I am quite lucky in that I have had a range of roles that go from comedy to some quite dark and sinister characters.”
Not only does she act however, Lucy Drive has the voice to match and was recently part of a 1940’s pin up band. She told me: “It is something I would like to pursue, if a role came up that gave me the opportunity to sing, that would be amazing.”
Lucy only had supportive words to other actors and gave them some wise words, “just keep on and don’t take rejection to heart. It doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough, it just means you weren’t right for that role.”
When asked about her fan base, Lucy was taken aback with a sense of vulnerability and said: “I would just like to say, thank you for everyone that has supported me and urge them to keep getting involved in British cinema.”
FemaleFirst Emma Chaplin