Jan Anderson
Jan Anderson has enjoyed a career that has seen her move successfully between television and film.
And she is set to return to the big screen with new comedy The Fitzroy, which she has just finished filming.
We caught up with the actress to chat about the film, shooting on a submarine and what lies ahead.
- You have just finished filming on new comedy The Fitzroy so can you tell me a little bit about the movie?
It is a bit of a weird, wacky and wonderful world; it is very unique and it is very hard to explain. It is set in the 1950’s and it a post apocalyptic world - so a nuclear bomb has gone off - so the world is covered in poisonous and there are very few humans left.
The Fitzroy submarine is one of the very last holiday destinations where people can go to get away from the awful world outside.
The film follows a bunch of people who are on this submarine and they are all zany and crazy weirdoes; you couldn’t pick a more unusual bunch to be stuck together in the cramp surroundings of a submarine.
The film is mostly a black comedy but there are elements of murder mystery, thriller, drama, sci-fi, action and human drama (laughs). It is really really strange (laughs).
- You are set to take on the role of Sonya in the film so what was it about this character and Andrew Harmer's script that initially drew you to the project?
It was just so different. Not only is he a visual genius but he is also a comedic genius; he is so humble and I don’t think he has any idea how amazing he is.
Because a lot of comedy is between the lines and a lot of comedy is the visual you have read a comedy a script over and over again to really understand the humour and the jokes.
Honestly, with this one I was laughing from my belly from the second that I started reading it; I know that every single actor on board feels the same about this script.
This is his first feature film but he has got it. I constantly can’t believe that this crazy work that he has invented and all of the characters started in his head, it really is wonderful.
It was just so different and I love things that are off the beaten track and things that are a little rugged and wacky. There is so much generic stuff out there and this was as opposite from generic as you could get.
- So can you talk a bit about your character and how we are going to see her develop throughout the film?
Sonia is a bad bad girl. She is basically the submarine’s seductress and she is manipulative, a murderess and seductive; she is every girl’s dream role basically (laughs). She is a retired cabaret singer and she will do anything, or anyone, to get what she wants.
She earns her stay at the hotel by seducing the abusive owner of the submarine Cecil, played by the wonderful David Schaal from The Inbetweeners. She is a true femme fatale as her body and her charms are her weapons while her crocodile tears disarm anyone who gets in her way.
She is a massive drama queen and is way out there and over the top. I love her as being bad is so much fun (laughs).
- Filming has come to a close so how have you found the whole experience?
The only way I can describe it is that we have been twelve year old kids and our mums have said to us ‘here is a submarine, go and play’.
I think because the whole world that is created is supposed to be off key and weird the fact that we were all put together in such cramped circumstances it felt like a dream from day one.
We all got to know each other very quickly as within the first day of filming we had all had each other’s crotch in each other’s face; it has been like playing Twister.
Because it is a real Russian nuclear submarine there are missiles on there and there are a thousand buttons and knobs and there is no where comfortable. For most of the filming I had only one stiletto on because the submarine is on a slant and you are bent to one side in every scene. It was the most unusual job I have ever done in my life, but it is also the funniest. It was just wonderful.
- As you say filming on the submarine did pose some challenges but how exciting was it? I imagine that you have never filmed on a set like that before?
Never, never. We also filmed in the studio as well. I am just so glad that we got to film on the submarine first as it put us in the head space of this crazy and cramped world that he wanted to create.
For the first week of filming I just didn’t feel like I was in my body as it just felt like I was in a dream. It was wild.
I am just glad we weren’t filming a drama because all of us were in stitches the whole time because of the positions that we had to get into. But at certain points I did think ‘gosh, real men were on this submarine for three months at a time’ - I couldn’t do it.
- You have mentioned Andrew Harmer already and he is in the director's chair so how are you finding working with him as this is his feature film directorial debut?
All of us can’t believe how wonderful he is; he really is the coolest and calmest man ever. You would have had no idea that this was his first film and that he was working under such financial and time limits. He has been amazing.
Usually you do feel nervous, especially in the first few days, but straight away it felt like you were in a youth club and he was so open for us to play.
At the same time he has a clear vision and he gets it across to you without you feeling like he is being harsh or stressed out. He is brilliant and is one of the most wonderful directors that I have ever worked with.
- You have slightly touched on my next question as I was wondering how collaborative he was when developing your character?
He was open to being very involved. At the first read through he said ‘if anyone has any ideas or any idiosyncrasies that you want to bring to the characters come and talk to me’.
He definitely gave us that freedom to add little extra things, definitely. That is something very rare, especially with someone’s feature film as they want to be in control of it. He was insanely open with us.
- Kenneth Collard and David Schaal are just two of the other names on the cast list so how are you finding working with them? And what is the feeling like on set?
As we have got to know each other it has got harder and harder to keep a straight face. I think if you meet someone on the first day and shoot a scene with them then you only know them as they character.
Because everyone is so funny in their own rights it got harder and harder to keep a straight face and I am happy that we didn’t film for longer.
David Schaal plays one of my lovers, one of many, and he had to bash me about a bit but he is a genius. So is Kenneth Collard.
We have all gelled so much. We feel like a quirky travelling pantomime every time we do a take. The feeling onset has been amazing and there hasn’t been one bad egg. After the first read through we all went out drinking afterwards and got in at about 4am.
- Throughout your career you have moved between TV and film so how do the two mediums compare/differ? And how easy it is to move between the two?
It is very easy as it is just the nature of the business. I did Casualty for six years and then on to London’s Burning and a bunch of other series.
With TV it is a lot fast as you are churning out new episodes all of the time and you are working with different directors. With a film it is so much more detailed and you get so much more time to play.
There is a beginning, a middle and an end and you have more time to build up a character and see where she goes next. TV is really about being in the moment and you never know where you character is going to go next. I love them both.
This film has been the most fun for me because of the content of the story and how wild it has been. I did a film with director Joseph Cook and comedian Dane Cook and that was a brilliant experience as well. I would say that films do concentrate more on detail and you get the chance to do so many more takes.
- You spent some time in the U.S. and you worked in U.S. TV and films so how did you find your time out there?
My first plan with America was just to study; I had worked since I was fifteen and I got lucky but I felt like I had never gone to college and I had never done that training thing. I wanted to go to the best gurus in the world.
The first four years in LA were just studying as I was working with the best teachers and learning that the American market is so different than the British one. Then I had a teaching job as I taught with the Los Angeles Film School before I went on to become a jobbing actress.
It was wonderful and I am glad that I did it at the age that I did it. It is a place where everyone is so fiercely full of passion and dreams and they are not afraid of everything.
But it is all absorbing and no one has another life; what I love about this country is that life is about families, friends, hobbies and travelling. But in LA because it is so hard and so saturated life for virtually everyone I knew over there was just about that one thing and that can become very exhausting.
So my time out there was brilliant but I am glad that I got out when I got out. I am so happy to be back in Britain as when you get older other things become important to you as well. I feel much happier now I am home.
- You have worked in TV and film here in the UK as well as in the States so where does your heart lie; do you want to stay in TV or branch out into even more film work?
I am open to everything. I would love to do theatre as I haven’t done theatre for years; it was where I started as a child. I am just open to everything and I really don’t have a preference.
I love different things about all the different styles so for me it is just about working. It is just about getting up every day and doing what I love in whatever form that exists in.
- Finally what's next for you?
I have no idea yet. We do have a few more days filming on The Fitzroy in July, so I will be back on the boat. But I am back waiting for the next audition.
has enjoyed a career that has seen her move successfully between television and film.
And she is set to return to the big screen with new comedy The Fitzroy, which she has just finished filming.
We caught up with the actress to chat about the film, shooting on a submarine and what lies ahead.
- You have just finished filming on new comedy The Fitzroy so can you tell me a little bit about the movie?
It is a bit of a weird, wacky and wonderful world; it is very unique and it is very hard to explain. It is set in the 1950’s and it a post apocalyptic world - so a nuclear bomb has gone off - so the world is covered in poisonous and there are very few humans left.
The Fitzroy submarine is one of the very last holiday destinations where people can go to get away from the awful world outside.
The film follows a bunch of people who are on this submarine and they are all zany and crazy weirdoes; you couldn’t pick a more unusual bunch to be stuck together in the cramp surroundings of a submarine.
The film is mostly a black comedy but there are elements of murder mystery, thriller, drama, sci-fi, action and human drama (laughs). It is really really strange (laughs).
- You are set to take on the role of Sonya in the film so what was it about this character and Andrew Harmer's script that initially drew you to the project?
It was just so different. Not only is he a visual genius but he is also a comedic genius; he is so humble and I don’t think he has any idea how amazing he is.
Because a lot of comedy is between the lines and a lot of comedy is the visual you have read a comedy a script over and over again to really understand the humour and the jokes.
Honestly, with this one I was laughing from my belly from the second that I started reading it; I know that every single actor on board feels the same about this script.
This is his first feature film but he has got it. I constantly can’t believe that this crazy work that he has invented and all of the characters started in his head, it really is wonderful.
It was just so different and I love things that are off the beaten track and things that are a little rugged and wacky. There is so much generic stuff out there and this was as opposite from generic as you could get.
- So can you talk a bit about your character and how we are going to see her develop throughout the film?
Sonia is a bad bad girl. She is basically the submarine’s seductress and she is manipulative, a murderess and seductive; she is every girl’s dream role basically (laughs). She is a retired cabaret singer and she will do anything, or anyone, to get what she wants.
She earns her stay at the hotel by seducing the abusive owner of the submarine Cecil, played by the wonderful David Schaal from The Inbetweeners. She is a true femme fatale as her body and her charms are her weapons while her crocodile tears disarm anyone who gets in her way.
She is a massive drama queen and is way out there and over the top. I love her as being bad is so much fun (laughs).
- Filming has come to a close so how have you found the whole experience?
The only way I can describe it is that we have been twelve year old kids and our mums have said to us ‘here is a submarine, go and play’. I think because the whole world that is created is supposed to be off key and weird the fact that we were all put together in such cramped circumstances it felt like a dream from day one.
We all got to know each other very quickly as within the first day of filming we had all had each other’s crotch in each other’s face; it has been like playing Twister.
Because it is a real Russian nuclear submarine there are missiles on there and there are a thousand buttons and knobs and there is no where comfortable.
For most of the filming I had only one stiletto on because the submarine is on a slant and you are bent to one side in every scene. It was the most unusual job I have ever done in my life, but it is also the funniest. It was just wonderful.
- As you say filming on the submarine did pose some challenges but how exciting was it? I imagine that you have never filmed on a set like that before?
Never, never. We also filmed in the studio as well. I am just so glad that we got to film on the submarine first as it put us in the head space of this crazy and cramped world that he wanted to create.
For the first week of filming I just didn’t feel like I was in my body as it just felt like I was in a dream. It was wild.
I am just glad we weren’t filming a drama because all of us were in stitches the whole time because of the positions that we had to get into. But at certain points I did think ‘gosh, real men were on this submarine for three months at a time’ - I couldn’t do it.
- You have mentioned Andrew Harmer already and he is in the director's chair so how are you finding working with him as this is his feature film directorial debut?
All of us can’t believe how wonderful he is; he really is the coolest and calmest man ever. You would have had no idea that this was his first film and that he was working under such financial and time limits. He has been amazing.
Usually you do feel nervous, especially in the first few days, but straight away it felt like you were in a youth club and he was so open for us to play.
At the same time he has a clear vision and he gets it across to you without you feeling like he is being harsh or stressed out. He is brilliant and is one of the most wonderful directors that I have ever worked with.
- You have slightly touched on my next question as I was wondering how collaborative he was when developing your character?
He was open to being very involved. At the first read through he said ‘if anyone has any ideas or any idiosyncrasies that you want to bring to the characters come and talk to me’.
He definitely gave us that freedom to add little extra things, definitely. That is something very rare, especially with someone’s feature film as they want to be in control of it. He was insanely open with us.
- Kenneth Collard and David Schaal are just two of the other names on the cast list so how are you finding working with them? And what is the feeling like on set?
As we have got to know each other it has got harder and harder to keep a straight face. I think if you meet someone on the first day and shoot a scene with them then you only know them as they character.
Because everyone is so funny in their own rights it got harder and harder to keep a straight face and I am happy that we didn’t film for longer.
David Schaal plays one of my lovers, one of many, and he had to bash me about a bit but he is a genius. So is Kenneth Collard.
We have all gelled so much. We feel like a quirky travelling pantomime every time we do a take. The feeling onset has been amazing and there hasn’t been one bad egg. After the first read through we all went out drinking afterwards and got in at about 4am.
- Throughout your career you have moved between TV and film so how do the two mediums compare/differ? And how easy it is to move between the two?
It is very easy as it is just the nature of the business. I did Casualty for six years and then on to London’s Burning and a bunch of other series.
With TV it is a lot fast as you are churning out new episodes all of the time and you are working with different directors. With a film it is so much more detailed and you get so much more time to play.
There is a beginning, a middle and an end and you have more time to build up a character and see where she goes next. TV is really about being in the moment and you never know where you character is going to go next. I love them both.
This film has been the most fun for me because of the content of the story and how wild it has been. I did a film with director Joseph Cook and comedian Dane Cook and that was a brilliant experience as well. I would say that films do concentrate more on detail and you get the chance to do so many more takes.
- You spent some time in the U.S. and you worked in U.S. TV and films so how did you find your time out there?
My first plan with America was just to study; I had worked since I was fifteen and I got lucky but I felt like I had never gone to college and I had never done that training thing. I wanted to go to the best gurus in the world.
The first four years in LA were just studying as I was working with the best teachers and learning that the American market is so different than the British one. Then I had a teaching job as I taught with the Los Angeles Film School before I went on to become a jobbing actress.
It was wonderful and I am glad that I did it at the age that I did it. It is a place where everyone is so fiercely full of passion and dreams and they are not afraid of everything.
But it is all absorbing and no one has another life; what I love about this country is that life is about families, friends, hobbies and travelling. But in LA because it is so hard and so saturated life for virtually everyone I knew over there was just about that one thing and that can become very exhausting.
So my time out there was brilliant but I am glad that I got out when I got out. I am so happy to be back in Britain as when you get older other things become important to you as well. I feel much happier now I am home.
- You have worked in TV and film here in the UK as well as in the States so where does your heart lie; do you want to stay in TV or branch out into even more film work?
I am open to everything. I would love to do theatre as I haven’t done theatre for years; it was where I started as a child. I am just open to everything and I really don’t have a preference.
I love different things about all the different styles so for me it is just about working. It is just about getting up every day and doing what I love in whatever form that exists in.
- Finally what's next for you?
I have no idea yet. We do have a few more days filming on The Fitzroy in July, so I will be back on the boat. But I am back waiting for the next audition.