I’m from the West Midlands originally, so it was a rare pleasure for me to see a local accent on the big screen! How did you manage to find the accent? Was it a difficult one?
As an actor, you do a lot of work on accents all the time and so you kind of get used to it. I have a couple of really good mates who are from that area and they helped me when I first auditioned, so I have to thank my Brummie mates. This accent, in particular, is tricky because it’s not just a general Black Country accent. The lovely White Dee [Deirdre Kelly, from documentary series Benefits Street], who played the older Liz, had already shot her stuff and there was documentary footage of the original Liz too, and I was trying to merge between them. I wanted to sound a little bit like the woman on the videos and also like White Dee, with that beautiful, rich tone she has got. I was trying to slot in the middle of those two accents.
But also, when you hang out around Cradley Heath, you just need to go to a pub for two hours and the intonation is everywhere. You can hear it in laughter actually. It’s a musical thing and once you get working on it, it stays with you. Because we stayed up in Birmingham the whole time, and all of the kids had Birmingham accents, it was great to be around that. Once we were on set, it came naturally.
You mentioned White Dee there, and I’d like to talk a bit about her. I remember reading about this project a few years ago when it was essentially just her and Richard involved, so what was her part in the project?
They made the older part of the film two or three years before they made the feature, as a short film. They had been looking to cast an older Liz for those scenes and I think they were struggling. Jacqui Davies, the producer, had seen White Dee on Benefits Street and pulled her up. Richard said that she had his mother’s passion and said yes. She had never acted before, but did an amazing job. I was sent that short film as a reference point for my meeting with Richard and I thought ‘goodness me, what an amazing impression she gives’. I think she should get herself an agent and start acting. I’ve not met her yet unfortunately because our paths have not crossed. But I bow at her feet.
For me, it’s just another element. You’ve got the documentary footage, you’ve got the photographs, you’ve got the fact she has already been planned. How much of this performance was about going your own way and how much was pulling this stuff together?
It’s a combination of all of it. It’s a combination of using your own instincts and being inspired by Richard’s photographs. There’s the presence of filth and anger and sometimes blood that’s so visceral. Those photographs are still, but there’s so much movement and life in them. Usually when you get a role, you start delving through archives to look for photographs but, for this one, it was such a rich tapestry to draw from that you didn’t need to do any delving. I’d say that eventually, once you’re on set, you can’t think directly about the research and you have to use your own craft as a lens through which to filter it all. It was quite exciting to do something so big.
I guess there’s a risk, if not done properly, that a film like this could descend into caricature. Was that something you were cognisant of when you were making the film?
As actors, we weren’t worried about that. All you are trying to do is work with your director to help put their vision on screen. You just collaborate and you have to trust your director. Richard is a wonderful person with a distinct way of looking at the world, and that went a long way for us. It felt quite precious. Like I said earlier, these characters are a bit like baby birds that you have to really nurture into flight.
It’s interesting with caricature, because you want your characters to be full and vibrant and big. If you think about the people around you, they are big. There’s a bit of a trend now with acting to just mumble and not do much, but it’s actually harder I think to create a character that’s quite gargoyle-like and find the truth of them. I’ve always thought that. If it starts to feel untrue, everyone will know instinctively. There’s such a fine line between good acting and bad acting in terms of how far you push it. I think you know yourself if it doesn’t feel true. There were a couple of shots where I didn’t feel like I’d done the right job and I’d ask to go again. They’d let me go again and that meant they cared that I cared about giving the right performance.
And in terms of the ‘poverty porn’ aspect, people have very kindly been saying this film breaks that stereotype. It has empathy and there’s nothing about it that’s for show. It’s just a catalogue of moments in someone’s life that were very real. Some of the things I know about Richard’s story don’t make it into the film and they’re even more heart-breaking perhaps, but they don’t make it in. I think that’s because Richard is not interested in making people feel sorry for him or the people in the story. He just wants to recreate moments from his past in a way that moves people, and he doesn’t care which way they’re moved.
As a final question, I’d like to ask you about a very different film – The Voices – which I absolutely love. Looking back on that, what are your memories of working on that? It’s an absolute joy to watch, so I feel like it must have been the same to make?
Wow! That was fun. We shot it in Germany and it’s completely wacky. The cast were very lovely and sweet and it was a bit of a bubble of an experience, with us all out there together shooting some outrageously naughty scenes. They had a humour to them because it was a dark comedy. I had fun playing a completely different role, as a downtrodden accounts girl with a crush on Ryan Reynolds.
Who doesn’t?
Well, yes exactly. Especially in those kind of white-washed denim jeans! He’s a very nice, normal human being and so working with him was a real charm. And then having another film with dogs and cats on set. It’s obviously a bit of a theme in my life. [laughs]
I think I try to do films where you don’t quite know what the project is going to be and how it will turn out. Those are usually pointers that the film is going to be good, or at least interesting and fresh. If you know exactly what the film will be, even if it’s good, it’s usually a sign that you shouldn’t do it. If you’re intrigued and you’re confused by a script, and it’s good, you should probably take the leap.
SEE ALSO: Read our Ray & Liz review here
Ray & Liz is out in UK cinemas now.
Tom Beasley is a freelance film journalist and wrestling fan. Follow him on Twitter via @TomJBeasley for movie opinions, wrestling stuff and puns.
