How do you most relate to Julia? What traits do you most admire about her?
She has a real passion for learning and always expanding her mind, which I relate to.
What is the greatest lesson you learned on set?
I get the giggles quite a lot. I think I have a problem with corpsing. I do corpse quite a bit.
Wait, what is it corpsing?
Corpsing is when you get the giggles in the middle of a scene. So Tony, Karen, and I had quite a lot of corpsing going on. I think probably my best lesson was how to shut that down.
And how do you shut it down?
You just have to think of the saddest thing you possibly can. Or, I imagine myself not having the job anymore because I can’t stop laughing.
That’s so funny. What is your choice of snack or beverage on set?
I don’t stop eating. I can’t stop eating, like chocolate and nuts. And I drink a lot of black coffee. Slowly I’ve worked my way towards black coffee. I always begin a job being really healthy, and then by the end I’ve fallen off the wagon, for sure.
This might be hard to answer because it is a period piece, but is there any makeup or skincare products that you’ve been introduced to on set that you’ve incorporated into your own life?
Yes. Ilia has this lip tint…it’s a lipstick that goes with the color of your own lips, but it’s like a dark, reddish color. It’s very natural looking, and you can layer it and make it deeper. That’s what they’ve been putting on me for Julia.
If there was a superlative for you on set, what would it be?
Most likely to corpse.
I will never forget this word after this interview.
That’s a really good video of Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant, and it’s called The Art of Corpsing. They talk about getting the giggles on their own show.
What do you watch on TV when you want to decompress?
I would always try to reject reality TV and watch something interesting and highbrow and expansive, but if I’m feeling like I want to just switch my brain off, I will watch Love Island or Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, or something like that.
What did being a successful actor look like to you when you were little? And what is it now?
Like with anything, the goalpost is always changing. As a child it would just be getting on the TV in any capacity, whatever that looked like. And now you get to a point where you’re like, What kind of work do I want to do, and how do I explore different roles and different people? For me, success looks like doing a range of things, whether that’s TV, film, stage, whatever. That is what I think I’d want my future to look like.
Courtesy of Hermione Corfield
Courtesy of Hermione Corfield
As your star continues to rise, are there any charities or causes you’d like to use your platform for?
