These Foolish Things - Zoe Tapper interview

Up and coming actress Zoë Tapper, is currently starring alongside Hollywood greats Anjelica Huston and Lauren Bacall in 1930s drama These Foolish Things. You may recognise Tapper from her critically acclaimed role in BBC drama Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky, as well as playing Nell Gweyn in the feature film Stage Beauty, starring alongside Claire Danes and Billy Crudup.

LOVEFiLM: You were in the presence of some Hollywood greats while working on These Foolish Things. What was it like working alongside the likes of Anjelica Huston?

Zoë Tapper: It was fantastic to work with her. I was quite daunted by the prospect of meeting her and lots of the other people in the cast, but she was wonderful. She was the first person to give us a big smile and give us a hug and we all went out for drinks. So yeah she was great, very down to earth and absolutely put me at my ease.

LF: There were problems with the production weren't there? Anjelica has said she had been tied to this project for a few years, has this been a long running project for you?

ZT: No actually, I wasn't aware of any of that. I knew that it was one man's dream to make this film though. Nigel Mill, who's one of the executive producers of the film, was reading the original novel on the train one day and he just knew that he had to adapt the book, but had no way to go about it. So he collaborated with director Julia Taylor-Stanley, and five years down the line they've got the funding and the cast assembled. So yes it was a long process but I only came in right at the end. I think I auditioned two months before I actually started filming, so it was all very quick!

LF: What was that attracted you to the film?

ZT: I was a year out of Drama school when I auditioned for the film and I absolutely identified with the character of Diana. She's a struggling actress, she's in London on her own and auditioning. And all of that was fresh in my mind, because I of course was going through it myself. So it was actually a lovely prospect to put that on film, and also I'm a bit of an old romantic!

LF: Do you emphasise with the love 'triangle' that your character Diana gets herself into?

ZT: I do in a way. I'm quite an old-school romantic, I believe that there is one person out there for you. She's in a difficult position, caught between two gorgeous men. She's also on the cusp of Womanhood; it's a bewildering time for her. She's confused with all these things going on in her life and then suddenly she's caught between these two lovely men!

LF: What was it like working with Andrew Lincoln, who plays one of your love-interests in the film?

ZT: Oh he was lovely, we had such fun. It must be one of the nicest, friendliest men ever. He's a true gentleman and he's a real practical joker on set, he sort of fell in love with his moustache! He was great, absolutely brilliant to work with, and when we actually stopped laughing we had fun filming as well.

LF: You got to were some fantastic costumes, which must have been fun?

ZT: I love all the dressing-up aspect of this profession. So yeah give me some nice, vintage 1930s clothes and I'm in heaven!

LF: Did you do much research into the period before you started filming?

ZT: Yes. Well its pre-war, 1939, and I very much looked into to the role of women in that time, and what was excepted of them. As well as people's reaction towards actresses. In that age, to go against the wishes of your family and to move to London to follow your dreams, young women didn't do it. And even then, the role of an actress was still not considered a suitable profession for women. So yeah I was very interested in that side of things.

LF: You've played actresses before in your previous film Stage Beauty, is this becoming a common occurrence - or can we look forward to seeing you in an action-thriller next?

ZT: Well who knows! I seem to do a good line in prostitutes at the moment and a good-line in good girls as well, so perhaps I need to look for the middle ground! I'm always drawn to characters that are different and I don't think you can get any different then Diana Shaw and Nell Gwyn!

LF: What are your plans for the future are you working on anything at the moment?

ZT: Well I've just finished a biopic on the painter William Hogarth, it's a Dustin Hardy film funded by Film Four and I play one of his muses. I'm actually off to L.A. next week, just for a month or so to see what happens over there. So it's quite an exciting period at the moment. I'm up for an award next week, for a TV show I did called Twenty Thousand Streets under the Sky, and I'm up for the Royal Television society award for best breakthrough artist, so it's all very exciting!

Helen Cowley

Original article here.