The Herald - The Herald Magazine
FIVE MINUTES WITH ....
ANNA PAQUIN
Set in the world of London PR, the hit Flack is about to return for a second run, with Robyn (Anna Paquin) at the centre of all the drama once again. At the start of episode one, we see her off the booze and drugs, trying to get her life back on track.
But when she finds out she’s pregnant, it sends her off the rails again. Here, she tells us about storylines ....
Robyn’s personal life seems to be bleeding into her professional life more this series...
For someone whose job has so thoroughly capitalised on some of her less-thanmorally-perfect traits as a human being, it’s a bit of a vicious cycle.
It’s quite hard. She’s no one without her job. She’s married to her job and that’s really all she has, but, in order to do her job, she has to draw on parts of herself that turn her into a bad person some of the time.
What can you tell us about episode three, in which we learn more about Robyn’s mother?
As Robyn’s personal life and psychological damage start to bubble to the surface, she starts having memories and flashbacks of the period of time she spent with her mother after she got out of a mental health facility, leading up to the time she killed herself.
We get a glimpse into what that relationship was like and just how psychologically complex, screwy, manipulative and damaging that person is to have as a mother.
What was it like recreating New York for that episode?
Honestly, recreating New York, as someone who lived in New York a very long time, I’m always a bit sceptical about how it’s going to actually look. But we found a bit of a park that you really wouldn’t know. We brought in the correct garbage cans as set dressing and I think it looks great.
We see Sam Neill, who was your co-star in the piano, join the cast...
He plays the previously unseen silent partner of the PR company, who is Caroline, Sophie Okonedo’s character’s ex-husband, and he has a very cool cameo supporting role.
It’s really lovely seeing him again and working with him. It’s kind of funny because I instantly felt I was about nine years old again, and as if I’m not really sure what I’m doing. It puts you right back, transports me into feeling like a little kid again. But he’s wonderful and so talented and I’m really excited he wanted to come play with us.
You have quite a lot of harrowing scenes to shoot as well...
I’ve been in all the projects we have produced as a company, and I kind of only do harrowing material.
We’ve got our routine of how to protect my acting space – while I don’t miss anything from the other perspective – down pretty good. That’s the good thing about working with people who are basically family. And my own husband [her True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer], obviously, but he’s my hero.
Do you think the show shines a light on the dark side of being a celebrity?
Sure, but I think at this point, because of social media and the way the press works and how much access we have to it, people are more aware of some of the less flattering and less shiny, bright, polished aspects of celebrity culture.
Flack, W , Monday, 10pm