Woman interview Helen Mccrory
Helen Mccrory is acting royalty – and she’s been to Buckingham Palace, too!
Meeting one half of a Brit acting power-couple might sound like a daunting prospect, but as we settle down to chat to actress Helen mccrory, married to Damian Lewis, we’re immediately put at ease. For, not only is Helen, 48, warm, engaging and witty, she’s also open to chatting about everything – from her latest ITV thriller Fearless to how she feels about growing older. But it’s when Helen talks about her late Harry Potter co-star alan Rickman that she speaks with most passion, choking back tears as she recalls their friendship. Helen and Damian live in London and have two children, manon, 10, and Gulliver, nine.
‘For Fearless, we shot 11-day fortnights in the UK and then I would fly to america to see the family, as Damian was filming there and had the children. After a few days, I’d fly back again. That went on from September to December, so it was pretty all-consuming! By the end of it there was no acting required – it was just about keeping going. But that was great! I would arrive with dollars in my back pocket and then I’d get out the wrong card and think, ‘Oh no, that’s my American subway card, and I need my Oyster!’’
‘I play a solicitor called Emma and the big difference between us is that she’s all consumed by her work. I, like most people, am consumed by my work until I have to pay my rent, and then I’m consumed by paying my rent. Then I’m thinking about having to pick up the kids, and doing the shopping. But the constant never stopping is something I completely relate to. That is my life. Have I mastered it? No! Everyone’s in the wrong uniform – it’s chaos! But this whole drive for perfection is so dull. And why want it?’
‘I grew up mainly in africa so I never went to the theatre, never saw television or a film. Then, when I came to this country, I started seeing films and watching the television. I decided I wanted to be a lawyer in the morning, an MP in the afternoon and then an actress on stage at night. Nobody explained to me at the age of 15 that this really wasn’t an option. So then I decided to act... and do all of them!’
‘Growing up in africa showed me the importance of not throwing things away. My children still have the same duvet cover I had when I was 14, I’ve still got towels from when I was 11 and I wash plastic bags and put them in drawers, because where I grew up everything was used again and again. It also taught me not to be influenced by who I thought I should be. I have great concerns for my daughter and son, being told what they should look like and be like. Everyone having this wonderful life that they’re Snapchatting and posting on Twitter. Thank God there are no photos of me at 15 when Colin from school wouldn’t kiss me!’
‘we got our house done up recently and just put our first mirror in
there – and we’ve been there for 10
years! I have friends who have been begging me to get a mirror for years, saying, ‘What the hell are you wearing?! It’s the pub and you’re in a ball gown!’’
‘I’m 48 but I feel the same as I did
when I was in my thirties. I still have the same energy and I don’t physically feel any different – it’s only your reflection in the mirror that reminds you of your mortality. I’ve just asked a photographer who works with only natural light to photograph me. You see every pore, every wrinkle. I think that’s beautiful. We’re all living a lot longer, so we can’t have a generation of people panicking about their age, because what a waste that would be of their last 40 years!’
‘I have met the Queen. What do you say to her? You don’t – you wait to be spoken to! I asked her for tips for the races coming up and she gave us a good one! I’d just been doing a film with the late, lovely Alan Rickman and had been rehearsing curtseys all morning, so I went into a curtsey that hasn’t been seen in Buckingham Palace since the 17th century! Everyone looked impressed and alarmed.’
‘what everyone remembers of alan
Rickman was his kindness. At his funeral, a Welsh choir came and sang. He had discovered this choir that were looking for a place to perform. Not only had he helped them restore the building, but he set up an evening called ‘Pints and Poetry,’ where he asked his actor friends to go there and read poems as people drank pints. All of these other stories came out of young people saying, ‘He sponsored me through two years of drama school’ or ‘Alan gave me the confidence to write a script.’
‘I was so excited when I was told I was
getting an OBE! They phoned me at home and said, ‘We just want to know are you going to accept your honour?’ I said, ‘What honour?’ and they told me they’d offered me an OBE. I said, ‘Have you?!’ I realised I’d taken the letter upstairs thinking it was a parking ticket, put it on Damian’s desk and completely missed it! My dad worked for the British Foreign Office and my mum is NHS through and through, so I was thrilled. Last year I got that and a doctorate, so I became Dr Helen Mccrory OBE. Get in! That is the joy of ageing – you don’t get that when you’re 18!’
Fearless starts this June on ITV