Why should young people care about Mary,
Queen of Scots?
This specific story did
happen over 500 years ago,
but the stuff that they were going through then is exactly
what we're going through now,
having people around you who doubt you,
and, sort of, you know, being brave enough
to come out the other side
and go, no I'm going to stick to my guns
They're people.
That doesn't change regardless of
what—of what era you grow up in.
And how are you able to, kind of, humanize her?
Because when I was watching, I saw her as a woman first before I saw her as a queen.
Right. All of the facts and all of the information on the time
period and everything we knew about her
was really, really helpful. But then at a certain point,
I had to, sort of, put that to one side
and not get wrapped up in the fact that
And instead, treat her like
any other fictional character that
I had played before.
Is it hard tackling historical
roles versus fictional characters,
or is there more pressure attached for you?
You do feel this, like, massive responsibility because
it's somebody that, you know, everyone has read about,
and everyone has opinions about, and
whilst also, you know,
playing your role and playing it the way you want to play it.
'I hope we might meet in person.
That I might embrace you.'
'But ruling side by side, we must do so
in harmony.'
She really believed in sisterhood.
That was, kind of, something I really got from her,
and it seemed like she really wanted to try
with cousin.
Do you think that was her downfall?
And what's so, like, feminist about her
is that she was in this position of power.
She was aware that she was a woman obviously
and what was expected of her in, sort of, producing an
heir and stuff. But she wanted everything that a man
would've had. And she expected everything that
a male ruler would have had.
Is that, kind of, the lesson you want young women in particular
to take away from this, that sense of empowerment?
Honestly it sounds really cheesy,
but she did, sort of, help me to grow
in that respect. So, like, while I was playing her—
I'm such a, kind of, people pleaser.
And at a certain point,
especially when you do have, you know,
a job or you have work that you do,
you're not going to be able to keep everyone happy.
And that was something that, I think, from the sounds
of it, she was really good at recognizing it.
So yeah,
I mean, I hope that girls can, sort of, take that
away from the film because I certainly did.
Yeah, I love that she rubbed off on you like that.
So you've been, like, more assertive in your own life
Yeah.
and career so far?
Yeah, like, as I was making it, I was having to make decisions
and I was like, well, f*ck it,
I'm gonna do what I need to do. And I can feel
myself growing as I was playing her.
It was brilliant.
'I shall meet force with force.'
You have been so fortunate in your career to play so
many incredible female roles,
so what has been the most memorable for
you?
I loved Briony when I was
in 'Atonement' 'cause I was young
and it was my first really,
really, really special project.
And Mary
and Jo March. I just finished playing
Jo yesterday in 'Little Women,'
and I absolutely
loved playing her. Like, there's so much that I got
to do that I've never gotten to do before.
And I don't think I would have had the guts to do it before.
And that's something that playing Mary has really helped me
with. Like, as an actor where I'm like,
I'm going to make it a bit messy
and I'm going to do this. And I never would've done that before Mary.
I love that!
Yeah.
So does that happen to you a lot? Like each character you play,
kind of, imprints in who you are moving forward?
It does, yeah. But there's some more than others that
really do that, and Mary was one of them.