Gold Digger
Film star Julia Ormond on playing a wealthy divorcee who falls for a man young enough to be her son
TUESDAY / BBC1
It’s nice to see film star Julia Ormond back on home soil for this six-part thriller, as a wealthy divorcee who has a whirlwind romance with a man 26 years her junior. Julia tells us why she found the role so liberating…
After spending nearly two decades in America, Julia Ormond returned to British screens with a memorable cameo in BBC1’S lavish adaptation of Howards End two years ago.
Now the Emmy-winner is back on home soil for another relationship saga, this time set in the modern day, as she stars in BBC1’S Gold Digger.
The six-part thriller sees Julia play Julia Day, a wealthy divorcee who worries that life has passed her by, until she meets Benjamin (The Chronicles of Narnia star Ben Barnes), a man 26 years her junior.
The couple embark on a whirlwind romance, but Julia’s three grown-up children wonder if Benjamin’s love for their mother is genuine – or if he’s after her money.
Eldest son Patrick (Broadchurch’s Sebastian Armesto) is convinced he’s a gold-digger, but younger siblings Della (Trauma’s Jemima Rooper) and Leo (rising star Archie Renaux) try to understand their mum’s choice.
Adding to the drama, all three have their own problems and are haunted by sinister memories connected to their father, Ted (Unforgotten star Alex Jennings).
Here Julia, 54, whose Hollywood hits include Legends of the Fall, Sabrina and My Week with Marilyn, tells TV Times why she found the role so liberating…
How would you describe Julia? Julia’s a 60-year-old woman who gave up her career for her kids and has now been left by her husband of three decades. What happens when a person comes out the other side of that with nothing to show for it?
Julia feels invisible, so it’s exciting when she meets Benjamin and he takes an interest in her. Hopefully she’ll provoke some debate.
How closely could you identify with Julia’s story?
I’ve had my own experiences of age gaps in relationships that I drew upon, although I’m not going to go into details on that!
But I remember thinking that if we manage to get the tone right, the audience should be rooting for this relationship, while also feeling that something doesn’t quite add up.
The drama is more than just a love story, though, isn’t it?
Yes, it’s set within a dysfunctional family who made dysfunctional choices around a history of trauma.
Then this new person arrives and reawakens something from their past. Each episode is told from a new perspective within the family and people remember things differently, which was a fantastic dynamic.
How rare are roles like this for women in British TV?
Parts that have something important to say in a compelling way don’t come along too often. It’s liberating to be telling a female story without pandering to clichéd requirements of a male audience. But it’s also an exciting story that doesn’t lag, keeps you questioning and keeps delivering!
Is it a coincidence the lead characters share their first names with you and Ben? The producers swore that wasn’t deliberate, but it was quite weird at first. Ben and I went for a meal before filming started and had a laugh about it. He’s based in America as well, so we both wanted to get a pub roast with plenty of Yorkshire puddings while we had the chance!
Do you have any plans to move back to Britain?
LA is my home, but I probably come to the UK twice a year. I believe in finding the right balance.
My daughter has a lot of Brit in her which is nice. One of her favourite TV shows is Doctor Who. There’s a month in LA when it buckets rain and we are the ones going, ‘Okay, wellies on, rain can’t stop play!’