This role was a spicy role, it was more of the antagonist, it was somebody who had some very ruthless ways of getting what she wants. And it was just like ’wow this is really great’ and it was wonderful to not be typecast and to be able to go into each film and show a different range - and it was good because I hadn’t done something where I had played someone with really strong agendas but ruthless intentions; so I was really grateful to get the opportunity to work with such a fantastic cast.
- The movie is an epic romance/adventure film so how did you find the shoot?
I was shooting in Australia, it was my first time there, as I mentioned Roland has a specific way of working so while you are using imagination you are building a backstory and he is helping building layers, and layers, and layers; I thought that that was a really interesting way of working.
Each project you have a different approach to and so building a backstory is something that I do because it gives layers to the characters; who they are, where they are from and certain events that have happened in their lives to know who they are now - so it was really interesting working with Roland and understanding who my character was before the shoot took place.
It was a very interesting concept because you have the period piece, which is the story that I am involved with, and then you have the present day piece; which is actually a little more in the future and it’s about how the two worlds combine together. So it was a very intellectual storyline but very well thought out.
- I was reading that the film has already been selected to be screen at the Cannes Film Festival next year - so how excited are you about that?
I am so excited (laughs). I have never been before so that is very very exciting (laughs) - as you can tell I get excited about lots of things; my motto in life is to just laugh all the time and have fun.
- You have been filming Argo so how did that going?
It has been great, yesterday was just phenomenal. Just working with Ben Affleck, I have always admired his work as an actor, I was really fascinated at how he wears his actor hat and his director hat and it was really fascinating.
But he had such a great team that he collaborates with and they were all on the same page and it was such a tight team. I was filming my scenes with him yesterday and it was like a dream come true if I am honest, one of the first films that I loved watching was Good Will Hunting and to suddenly be working with Ben was awesome.
It is a really interesting storyline, which is based on true facts, and the hairs on your arms come up because it is based on a true story.
- Ben Affleck is a fairly new filmmaker so how did you find him as a director?
He knew exactly what he was doing, he was very calm and it was like everything was planned out and it was almost like a dance, like choreography and you know everything that is going to happen and when it is going to happen, so the dynamics of making things happen were seamless.
And it was so interesting watching because obviously he is in the scenes and acting too - I said to him yesterday ‘Ben how do you do it, you are wearing a director and actors har? Are you not stressed?’ and he was like ‘No’.
And I was like ‘really?’ and he went ‘Yeah. Before the shoot I’m thinking about the storyboards and about how it is going to happen so when you start shooting you just let that go and it’s just happening.’
- You spend a lot of your time in LA now so how have you found the move to America?
At first it was hard (laughs). London has a different rhythm to it you are very much on your toes, in the rat race and you are go, go, go. Here it is a different lifestyle and feels like you are stepping back a few paces - there is space to walk and you don’t interact with people because you are in your car all the time as there is not much public transport.
So in terms of that it is a bit of a culture shock but what I do love is that the sun shines - it makes a difference; I get grumpy in a morning when it is dull and grey and raining.
- And you have appeared in some big shows out there such as Heroes, NCIS and Undercovers so how does TV compare to working in movies?
It is a very interesting question that you have asked me because, once upon a time, there was a difference but you now you find that a lot of A list movie stars are now working in TV; Kathy Bates, Lawrence Fishburne and Ted Danson are all doing TV.
There is a very thin line now the likes of Tony & Ridley Scott do The Good Wife, which has won so many Emmys, and it is very filmic because they take their time and create proper moments - and you find that people who are movies, in terms of the crew, are also doing TV.
But the two differences that I would say is that TV work is a lot faster - so in terms of where the script is set you stick to it and there’s not much chance to improvise or go anywhere because it is very tight and structured.
But with film there is a bit more ability to improvise and you can slightly veer off the beaten path, without annoying the likes of writers, just to push the movie forward and add a few lines.
- You have also worked in the UK television and film industry so how have you they two differ?
First of all I have to say both in UK & America… for example when you are on a film set it’s very much like being in a… how do I say this? There is a lot of discipline and there is a lot of respect so in terms of the UK and here that is exactly the same.
Out here there are more unions, the likes of SAG & AFTRA, and everything has to comply fully. In England it is equity but out here it’s very strong to uphold the unions in terms of everything has to be very regulated and regimented.
But I really can’t say that there is much difference because you are still creating an environment and a set and in terms of how the structure and the streamline works it is very very similar.
- You are a trained violinist as well as having a degree in Computing and Business to how did you get into acting? Is it something that you have always wanted to do?
In my secondary education I always felt lucky that the arts were pushed in a very very strong way and so drama was something that was… every time we did English literature or humanities we would incorporate drama into it, the teachers did.
At that time I didn’t know that I wanted to be an actress, that wasn’t in the game plan, but for my GCSE
I got an *A for my drama - and I was like ‘Great, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with that but it’s good to have.
Music was something that was very strong in my life, playing musical instruments was something that I had a great passion for, so my natural progression as I got older was to stay more on the music side. I did computer science and marketing and business more as a back up plan - and it was good to have a degree and show that for three years that you were committed to.
So when I finished university and I was back in London I continued with the music side of things, but more as a singer songwriter rather than the classical side with the violin and the viola. But then I needed to make some money (laughs) so I contacted an agency and the agent there asked me in for a meeting. So I went in and had the meeting and he said ’I don’t want to take you on for commercials’ and I was like ’Oh, I’m so sorry to waste your time then.
But he was like ’No no no I would like to take you on as an actress’ and I just looked at him and was like ’what? I don’t think that’s going to work because I have no idea.’
But he told me that it was something that I needed to consider - so it took a few weeks of me umming and arrring before I rang him up and ’Right let’s try this and see if it goes anywhere.’
- We also saw you serve as producer on Writer's Block so how interested are you in roles behind the camera?
I am very interested. I love organising things, I guess it is my Virgo side that’s very analytical, I like to create things, not have control but to be able to manoeuvre things to have a finished project.
So in terms of the production side I seem to be able to find good scripts but I always hand them on to other people - so I sat back and I thought ’this could be interesting why don’t I think about developing and start to think about how to move this forward?’
So I created a production company and I have a few projects simmering away in the background as the ideas form they will get bigger and bigger - this is something that I am still learning about; and being on set and talking to other producers and just being really nosey is a good way to learn.
- Finally what's next for you?
I actually start filming a new project in Israel in the second week of October so I am very excited because I haven’t been to Israel before. The project is called Amazing Love and I am really excited about going to film that.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw