HOTSEAT

IT was amazing. It was such a privilege and a delight to be living there for seven months. I would live there permanently if I could.

It’s just a lovely place in all seasons. Everything from the language and working with a French crew, to the food and the landscape, it was such an adventure. THERE’S a mix. There are expensive yachts and estates but there is also a middle class. There are also many people who seem to live very simply.

Nice is more diverse in terms of economics than some of the neighbouring towns but there is obvious wealth in the Riviera that I haven’t seen in America. There’s new money in the United States but there’s old money in Europe. I DID purchase some of the clothing and there was a store nearby that had beautifully curated designer clothing that would become my temptation.

I’m becoming interested in fashion more and more. I appreciate very well made clothing. I do appreciate beautiful design and really well-made manufactured clothing. I treat it almost like art. I WAS curious about how you price art and so I did some research in preparation for the show by speaking to some curators and dealers about how that works. That was really interesting to me. I FIND the business side of the art market interesting but it’s not what I would put in my home.

I really like pieces that have sentimental value to me. For instance I have a piece of graffiti art that I got from the last Jason Bourne movie. I like things like that, that provoke memories or are inspiring. I SPEND more of my money on experiences like travel, but I bought a piano, even though I don’t really even play the piano. I bought it with the intention of learning! The crime thriller has many great writers, including The Crying Game Oscar winner Neil Jordan and John Banville. What were your first impressions of the script? I REMEMBER thinking that it was very poetic in a way that I hadn’t seen in a screenplay before. It was I ONLY really build up a back story or flesh out details of things that I think are going to apply on screen and are relevant to the story we are telling.

So for, example, what happens to a character on her fifth birthday probably doesn’t matter, but in this situation, knowing where Georgina came from in terms of her education, her upbringing, wealth and class I thought was relevant.

Her relationship with her father was relevant because she talks about it a little bit and I think it affects her view, in hindsight, of her marriage.

So that was something that I thought through more with the writers than I would have perhaps done on another show. FRAUGHT. She’s not really welcome in the family. Her position is very threatened and there isn’t much love among the people who are forced to be together after her husband Constantine’s death. IT was fantastic. They’re all so talented. It was a delight working with Lena Olin in particular. She’s such a formidable woman. And the actors who play the Clios children were all unique and interesting. Everyone cared very much about the work we HER resilience. One question that would come up is ‘why doesn’t she just leave?’

Of course there would be no show if she did but she insists on fighting for her understanding of her marriage, her understanding of what happens and also her position in the household. I admire that. I think that takes a lot of strength and courage.