KATE BECKINSALE
If you only read one thing this month, make it the enormous-bra story.
What’s the first thing you do when you get to set?
Like a ritual? Do I bring my healer and my crystal blesser? [laughs] It very much depends on the movie. I always have headphones, because sets can be incredibly distracting and moodaltering. Sometimes, you want to have a soundtrack.
Hot lunch or cold lunch?
I’m incredibly self-sufficient, and I always bring my own food. I’m allergic to enough things that it’s pointless for me to try the curry. I have to just make sure I have protein every few hours or I’ll keel over.
Do you ever sleep on set?
First of all, I would never, ever – I’ve thought about this – I would never fall asleep in front of other people. That’s very risky. You could wake up with no eyebrows or a moustache or a sanitary towel stuck to your head. But when it’s very early mornings… Sometimes when you’re working at 3am in the morning, I don’t care so much about eating but I really need to sleep.
What’s the longest day you’ve ever spent on set?
Twenty-four hours. We were doing a French film. It was very low budget, and I was about 19. I think I probably started hallucinating. You really get quite giddy after 24 hours. It was very low budget, and we were shooting in Paris in locations that they hadn’t paid for. [laughs] I think we were in the Gare du Nord, but completely illegally. We had to wait until nobody was looking.
‘WE HAD HUGE BOOBS THAT WERE MADE OUT OF DRIED LENTILS THAT WENT IN THIS ENORMOUS BRA’
Worst on-set experience?
I know my worst first day was on Contraband. It was a real boys’ movie. Mark Wahlberg was the lead. You didn’t want to come in and be the girl who’s all wet. My first scene was towards the end of the movie, and the first day was being wrapped up in a tarpaulin as a dead body, and then covered in liquid cement. I have got four brothers, and I’m very capable of being in a boys’ club. It’s just that I am claustrophobic. You don’t want your fear to be exposed on the first day. So I did think, “Oh no, I’m going to have a panic attack on the first day!” [laughs]
Best on-set experience?
Pretty much any time I’ve ever been asked to do a stunt, because I would never think anyone would ask me to do that. But also, my first ever movie was really fun. It was Much Ado About Nothing. I thought all movies were shot in Tuscany, running up and down hills, having the best time ever. It’s terrible to be disabused of that. [laughs]
Have you ever stolen anything from a set you’ve worked on?
I’m incredibly obedient. I’d never steal anything. Sometimes you ask properly. On this movie [Farming] – because once they say “go” on an independent movie they’ve been trying to make for 15 years, it’s quite quick – I definitely wanted [my character, Ingrid] to be considerably heavier than I was, and there’s only so many chips you can eat in a few weeks. So we had huge boobs that were made out of dried lentils that went in this enormous bra, and also these cycling shorts that were incredibly padded. I really wanted to keep those, but they wouldn’t let me.
Do you have a most embarrassing on-set moment?
Yes, but I’m not saying what that is. Let me think… Nope, can’t say that one either. Oh my God! It’s so frightening these days – you can’t say anything. And a third one, again, you can’t say. Shit! It’s terrible. There have been so many. There’s another one, a fourth one, I can’t… So sorry. It’s a really good question. I had four really good answers as well… [laughs] MM
ETA | 11 OCTOBER / FARMING OPENS IN THE UK THIS AUTUMN.