by Brian Timoney, MovieScope, Volume 3, Number 1, 2009 (June 2009)

Helen McCrory is, without doubt, one of Britain's most powerful acting talents. Her acting range seems boundless. Helen has a very rare combination of personal qualities that she brings to her acting -- she is confident and assertive but also has a huge amount of compassion, which allows her to lace her characters with a sense of vulnerability as well as strength. Since her appearance in Interview With The Vampire (1994), she has appeared in a variety of roles but seems to excel in playing strong women. In 2006 she accepted the role to play Cherie Blair in Stephen Frears' The Queen (2006), a role she will reprise in Peter Morgan's new film The Special Relationship (2011). She has also been acting in the new Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2009), as the bloodthirsty witch Narcissa Malfoy.

When you are creating a character, where do you start?

I always start with script analysis. When I read a script, I'm asking myself questions such as, "Who was it written for?" "Why was it written?" "What is the writer trying to change?" Then once I've decided what the script is about and what my character's part in that is, I start to ask specific character questions from their perspective. For example, "What do I want?" "How am I going to get it?" Effectively building the essence of the character by looking at their inner psychology and external characteristics.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about working on camera?

That people are being themselves. They are still playing characters but the characterisation is just more suitable. Another misconception is that the camera doesn't lie, because it does on occasion. Believe it or not, you can end up working with people who can't remember a line, and they are playing the lead role. During a day's shoot, you watch them struggle to get their lines out and they shoot and reshoot, and finally the director is forced to cobble something together in the editing room. A lot can be covered up during the editing process.

Some actors like to stay in character while off camera. What is your opinion on that?

I've never met an actor that does it; I'd never do it myself. But I think if it gets the actor somewhere, then good luck to them. If it means that when the person walks into the scene, that they're absolutely electric to work with, then I really don't care how they arrive at that point. To be honest, an actor's personal life or personal approaches are of no interest to me. I have worked with some actors who have a spliff for breakfast before a shoot, and you're thinking that they're going to be all over the place, but they turn it on and they're brilliant.

Can you tell if a movie is going to be good or bad when you are working on it?

No, unfortunately, I can't even tell you if it's going to be good or bad when I've read it. I don't think you can. I think you can tell if you're working with good people, particularly a director; that's what, obviously, is your most important relationship, unlike on stage, where your actors are the most important relationship. I think, as you become more experienced, you realise what a director is trying to achieve just by choice of camera angle or where they're putting the lights, you start to understand what exactly they're doing in the scene. But, no, I don't think you can.

You were once quoted as saying that you can tell if a director is up to the job or not from your initial conversation with them about the project. How do you assess that from your conversation with them?

The way they treat me, their management of people, their control, their honesty and whether they appear to be self-assured. Also, if they're interested in my questions and are not phased by them. Good directors don't see that as a threat, but as a natural part of the creative process. They also need to be good problem-solvers, rather than panicking. If you have someone who panics with problems, everyone knows you're in the shit. During filming, a director will need to solve a series of issues, so you need a good problem-solver.

There are many new directors who are technically oriented but don't know how to work with actors. They seem almost afraid of actors. What advice would you have for them?

After you've prepared the scene and your shot, prepare the scene from the actors' point of view. Know the questions that the actors will need the answers to. You can't over-prepare, you can't over-imagine, because that detail and that precision will make the difference between a good performance and a bad performance, and also, always, always tell your actor when you want something else from them. You've got to be able to tell the actor why they need to do something, not what you want to see. There's nothing worse than a director going, "Uh, can you cry on that line?" I'm like, well, yes, I can, but should I choose to, is another thing; why would I?

When you approach a scene, do you go on your first impulses, or do you tend to go with your first impulses during the scene?

I think that when you read the script, you have an initial impulse towards a character, and then you research it to back it up, but sometimes during that process you change your mind completely, and you think, "God, this isn't right." And then on the day of the shoot, everything can change again when you start working with your fellow actors, lighting, cameramen, and props. It's such a collaborative process. If you don't let other people's work affect you and change your performance, it's actually just selfish, and it's just silly, because you'll be working with people better than you, and if you're not prepared to be influenced by their work, it's just crazy.

What kind of directors do you prefer working with?

I like directors who are very straight with me. I find honesty very relaxing, because that's how I work. I don't see criticism, in any way, as detrimental or personal, in any department; it's just how you get on. So that's what I like, directness; and luckily, I've worked with some very, very, I'd like to say, brutally frank directors. Sam Mendes, Stephen Frears and Roger Michell, they're all very direct in the way they work, and they trust their actors.

What would you say are the main differences between the UK and US approaches to film acting?

I find that the British actors are much more confident about what they're doing and why they're doing it. They don't confuse it with themselves, their lives or their personalities, or their home lives; it's a job. With America there is more of a crossover into their personal lives. The Americans do admire their actors enormously, and if everybody's treating you as a demigod, I imagine after a few years it's quite hard to not think that's true.

You have just filmed the upcoming Harry Potter film -- Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince -- where you play the bloodthirsty witch Narcissa Malfoy. Have you had to work with any special effects, and how does this affect your acting process?

Well, it gets slightly insane working with blue screen. I did a scene with Helena Bonham Carter where we are being witches, and cackling, and running across piles of mud that props guys were pushing out, with a great big blue screen backdrop. It is quite odd, because it's like you're suspended in a big void; you don't know what they're going to put at the back of you when they add in the environment digitally.

Of all the filmmakers you've worked with, who would you say has had the biggest impact on you and your career so far?

Jerry Wright, because he sees everything almost like a painter does, he's fascinated with every detail. He's quite punk with his mind, and anarchic, and he almost makes you feel like a dancer because he's so exciting. Karl Francis. I worked with him on a film called Streetlife (1995) and he has a wonderful guerilla filmmaking style that's great to work with. Stephen Frears, because of the way he talks to you, quite oblique, but brilliant. Alwin H. Kuchler, who I worked with on In A Land Of Plenty (2001). He taught me so much about camera.

How has acting affected your life?

I think it definitely allows you to explore ideas, philosophies, cultures, societies, personalities, and to concentrate intensely on it and learn about them. And therefore, you do empathise more and more. I think you're less judgemental as a result.

What is the most helpful piece of advice you've ever been given?

Just to leave yourself alone whilst acting. You do your research, you know why you're doing it and what it's all about, and then you just have to forget it all and act. You just have to listen.

What piece of advice would you give to young actors coming into the profession?

I'd never dare to give another actor advice! I think it's like when people give you advice about marriages or children. It's all so personal.

Do you do anything particular between takes to pass the time?

Usually, I'm reading around what I'm doing. Most of my jobs I'll always have a book, which has my research notes, images or pieces of newspaper relevant to the job. Also, I pass the time with others on the set. Harry Potter is the first job ever that I've had to sit in a caravan with Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Tim Spall and Mike Gambon. It's like sitting at someone's dream dinner party; fantastic!

Tell me about the new movie you are about to start shooting.

It's called The Special Relationship. It's directed by Peter Morgan and it's all about the Tony Blair and Bill Clinton relationship. Michael Sheen is playing Tony Blair, I'm playing Cherie Blair, Dennis Quaid is playing Bill Clinton, and Julianne Moore is playing Hilary Clinton. We start shooting in four weeks.

What is it like to reprise the role of Cherie Blaire who you played in The Queen?

I've never done it! And it's quite nerve-wracking because the first time I did it I hadn't seen the script and I just sort of said yes, and was doing other work. And at that time, she was the PM's wife and she really didn't do a lot of publicity. She made sure her opinions were not known, if she could possibly help it, on every subject, and so it was harder to find anything out about her. In a way, it was easier because you had to draw your own conclusions. Now she's written Speaking For Myself: The Autobiography By Cherie Blair, and has a website very much in the public eye. So it's far more difficult. One, because everyone knows a lot more about her and secondly, because you realise you're not playing your Cherie Blair, you're playing Peter Morgan's Cherie Blair. It's important to realise that.

Caption: Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

Caption: The Queen

Caption: Casanova

Callout: "I find that the British actors are much more confident about what they're doing and why they're doing it. They don't confuse it with themselves, their lives or their personalities, or their home lives; it's a job."