Fan Forum - View Single Post - Keeley Hawes/Alex Drake (A2A) #13: Both on Stage and Screen

**crazy_diamond** · 12-23-2013, 05:57 AM

Interview with AUDITION

Quote:

As star of Ashes To Ashes, she entered the national consciousness in a brilliant red quattro. Now the Audi-driving actress is back on TV as another cop in another time…

writer Johanna Derry photographer Alex Lake

Cops or robbers?

Cops. I love cops I’ve played a few! I’m in the new series of BBC2’s Line Of Duty, and I didn’t find out whether she’s a good cop or bad cop until the last episode, which made it even better.

Goodies or baddies?

Um… baddies, I suppose. Jack Nicholson’s a great baddie, isn’t he? There’s something twinkly about him.

Big screen or little screen?

Little screen. I really like working in TV because it’s different every single day. Sometimes it’s hectic, but I like that. It keeps everybody on their toes.

Book or film?

Book. You invent your own world when you read a book, while you’re at the mercy of someone else’s imagination with a film.

Tragedy or comedy?

Comedy, but I admire people who work in tragic situations. I went to Djibouti in East Africa with UNICEF, and what they do out there is amazing. Then I came home and put my fake lashes on! I suppose it’s easy to think acting is unimportant, but at the same time art does matter. My husband [actor Matthew Macfadyen] received a letter from a lady in the US who said she’d been having chemo and wasn’t sleeping. She started watching his work and said it saw her through some very bad nights, which makes you think that maybe what we do is important.

Online or offline

I love my iPad and my phone, but I’m offline in social situations. When I walk past a restaurant and see two people sitting opposite each other on their phones I want to bang on the window.

Feminine or feminist?

That’s a horrible question! It’s all right to be both. I feel very lucky to be working at a time when there are great roles for women in this industry, with more female leads on stage and TV. I try not to read magazines telling me I’m too old, fat, and a bad parent, but I am interested in other women’s hair. So if that means I’m not as feminist as I should be, then, well..

Career woman or yummy mummy?

I’m in the very luxurious position of being able to go to work without it impacting too much on my kids. When I read the script for my latest film, The Adventurer: The Curse Of The Midas Box, I thought my three would like it. I play the mother of the main character. This is what’s happening now - I’m playing mummies!

Barking or Belgravia?

Belgravia. I’m common though, so I can say that, although there’s a perception that I’m posh. I have noticed I get posher when I’m nervous. On chat shows I’m all ‘air hellair!’ and I think: ‘What on earth was that?’ But it has been liberating being an Essex girl in Barking In Essex. I get to run on stage and swear a lot.

Night out or night in?

Every night is a night out for me at the moment, so I’m desperate for my evenings in. In winter I like to light a little fire, have a bath - all those things. God, I sound so old and boring!

Country or city?

I like the idea of the country, but I’ve never lived outside London. Twickenham is about as far as I’ve got.

Drive or be driven?

Drive. My dad’s a London cabbie so it’s in the blood, plus I know all the shortcuts. If I’m honest, I’m a bit of a back-seat driver when I’m a passenger.

Cruiser or racer?

Racer. I’d love an R8. We’d all love an R8