Happy Sad Confused - Natalie Dormer

Episode Date: January 4, 2016

The lovely and talented Natalie Dormer joins Josh to kick off the New Year! They chat about Natalie playing twins in the supernatural horror film The Forest, taking her time to work on an accent for a character, working with Heath Ledger in her breakout film Casanova, and how Game of Thrones has helped her & the cast of the show immensely as actors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Get after him or have you shot What do you mean blow up the building From this moment on None of you are safe New episodes every Wednesday Wherever you get your podcasts Hey, guys, it is time for another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. I am Josh Horowitz.

It's 2016. Welcome to the future. We've made it. That's Sammy. I'm Josh. Truth be told, it's not even close to 2016. As I tape this, we're backing a little introduction to this week's podcast before the holidays. So, I mean, I assume we all made it.

Congratulations to all of us if we're hearing this. How dark would that be? Can you guys believe that the apocalypse that happened? And kudos to you for finding this podcast amid the apocalypse. Sometimes you just need to stay normal when crazy things happen. I'm glad to give you a little bit of normality in the dark times. Yeah, as the cannibals come closer. Watch your back, guys.

This week's show is with the very talented, the lovely Natalie Dormer. You know her from Game of Thrones. Jones. She is also, of course, she was in the last two Mockingjay films, the last two Hunger Games films. And she's now starring in her very own film alongside Taylor Kinney. Right that's the right Taylor? Yes, Mr. Lady Gaga. To you. Um, slightly attractive guy, I've been told. Um, and it's a, I get it. Whatever. Uh, the forest is a super duper creepy horror movie opening this Friday in which Natalie plays not one, but two characters. She plays for and Schwinn in this one. So are they both American or is one British? Is this really the parent trap? Yes, it's a parent trap. Parent trap horror version.

No, they're both American. One is brown hair to differentiate. It is, yeah, it's a really, it's, I guess there's like an actual forest in Japan where this is a really, this is really dark way to start out this conversation where people go to commit suicide, basically. Super fun. Soup's fun. And she goes in search, the main character goes in search of her missing twin.

Oh, it's about the suicide farce. Why did you just say that? Working title was The Adventures of Suicide Forest. But apparently they focused grouped it. Didn't play. So now known as the Forest, it opens this Friday. A huge opportunity for Natalie getting to headline her own film. She is indeed the lead character in this.

So we talk a lot about that. And her journey through acting. She, her big break was a film opposite Heath Ledger called Casanova years ago. RIP, but I loved that movie. Did you? Okay, nice. I can't believe she was in that. I got to go rewatch it. There you go.

And then she, of course, bounced around some television, the Tudors, and of course, Game of Thrones was a game changer for her. So yet another opportunity for me to reveal my ignorance about Game of Thrones with somebody. You honestly should be humiliated. Well, I am, just not generally but Game of Thrones. It's just other factors. I'm just seeing at this point in your career, in your life, and especially all the people you talk to from this show, the fact that you're so ignorant about, you're ignorant.

I'm ignorant about great many things. Well, Natalie and I, I will say, if you listen to the podcast, you'll realize that we have made a blood pact, a blood oath to each other now, that when next we meet, I think she has a movie come out next September. We promised each other, I will watch all of Game of Thrones, and she will watch all of the Sopranos, which she has never watched, and we'll compare notes. Not that I was in the Sopranos, but.

There's a slight different in, you know, connection to the project, but we're not going to touch on the side. What else worth noting? It's worth noting that, you know, it's always fun to look at January movie releases for me. I was just talking to Sammy right before we started this to look at like what's coming out this month. Because generally speaking, this is not when the best movies come out aside from the forest, which obviously is an exceptional piece of work. But coming out.

There's always an exception. Coming out this month, you ride along fans, ride along two is continues the epic journey. Been waiting for those two characters. We've got Dirty Grandpa with Robert DeNier. and Zach Ephron. Stop it. When you said that right before, I was thinking bad grandpa, too. That's actually what I'll see because Bobby De Niro takes his shirt off.

Yeah, I've seen this one, and I'm not going to say anymore because... It's too good. Yep. It's like you have... I'm not going to say anything. I'm just not going to say anything. You guys should see his face. Oh, that's a weird one.

Kung Fu Panda 3 opens this month. They're going to make a boatload of money for that one. Oh, boy. The finest hours, Chris Pine. does his Coast Guardy heroic best. So, I don't know, we'll see. For the Bravo fans out there, Chris Pine is dating Vail from Vanderpump Rules

last season. Half of those words meant nothing to me. I know. That's why, for the listeners, who care... There's a big cross-section of Bravo viewers and happy-sac-confused listeners. There probably is, and you're not hitting on it. I'm sorry. It's a wasted opportunity. I'm just excited because February brings Zulander 2, so all will be right in the universe. I hope so.

Right? I hope so. Oh my gosh. I really hope it's great. I mean, come on, it has to be right. Mugatu's back, Will Ferrell. All the key players are back. Right, because usually the sequels to really funny movies are so good. I trust in Ben Stiller. I mean, Tropic Thunder is one of my favorite comedies in the last decade, Zoolander as well. And Kristen Wiggs is in this one looking insane. So I think it'll be really fun. Debra. That's right. Bieber's in it. Benedict Cumberbatch. Controversy around that. That's our controversial voice. I promise I do not make that sound in the course of this next conversation with Natalie Dormer. I'm way too classy. I save that for the introductions. Do you talk to her in a British accent?

Yes. Hello, not late. Welcome to my podcast. And then you see, then there are five minutes of me chasing after her to bring her back into the room when she tries to run away. But then once she gets back in the seat, it's a great conversation. be back to the suicide forest. That's right. This whole conversation is kind of my own suicide forest.

I can't wait. It's much more entertaining than that, I promise you. Enjoy this first conversation of 2016's edition of Happy Sank and Fused. Sorry about the apocalypse, guys. But hey. Keep on soldiering on. You won't hear from us next week because we'll be dead. No, we're all going to make it.

We're in this together. Enjoy this conversation. conversation with Natalie Dormer. Natalie, it's good to see you. Hi. I think the last time I saw you, we spoke, we were doing shots on the red carpet for Mockingjay, Part 2. Yes, that's right.

That is the last time we saw each other. That's only a few weeks ago. I know. Have you recovered from that one shot three weeks ago? God, it feels like a lifetime ago. I'm obviously a busy person. Clearly are. You got a lot going on.

good thing. That was a crazy press store. We're going to talk about the forest, but I want just like reflecting on getting through that gauntlet, did it feel like a massive bit of insanity to get through Mockingjay? Yeah, it's always wonderful, the circus that is the hunger games. But yeah, it's been a bit weird these last few days to reprogram my brain to start talking about the forest. Right. And I would guess a relief in somewhat, well, I mean, that kind of press store maybe is a relief in that you're sharing the load of it with like a ginorium. cast. And this is... This is the other end of the spectrum. This is kind of mostly on you. Taylor is obviously your co-star, but this is your baby. It's an exciting. I would think it's an exciting

moment, isn't it? Yeah, it's really exciting. I had such fun shooting it. It's great to be, like, really in the thick of it and bonding with your crew, because you're there day and day out every single hour that God sends. So I had a lot of fun shooting this movie, and not just one role, but two. Like, how many, how many jobs do you get to be number one and number two on the call sheet. Did you get to decide on the, what would differentiate number one and number two in terms of like hair color obviously is one major point? Is there any other differentiating mark that you wanted to give?

Yeah, we had some fun. The costume designer and I had some real fun and the wardrobe and the look and the, you know, just separating the twins and giving them their own identity. Is that confusing? Like, are there days where you were playing both roles? It's funny because, you know, there were days when I was playing both roles, but there would be like the two-hour hair and makeup separations so I could sort of reprogram my brain. Right.

There was only, but there was one day when I was shooting at the beginning of the movie, there's a dialogue scene where the two women are talking to each other. Yeah. That was a bit of a surreal day. It screws up your brain a little bit. Yeah, when you haven't got anything, someone directly in front of you to, you know, respond off of it. It's just, you go schizophrenic. I got a lot of respect for Tom Hardy.

I was going to say. And legend now, because he did a whole movie of it. He's a masochist, though. He, like, gets off on just trying to, like, destroy himself. Apparently, from what my little experience of talking to myself in a scene, he really is a masochist. So talk to me. I'm always curious, we were joking about, like, I think this past weekend you were junketing, the greatest part of the job. Yeah.

Is that mind-numbing? Is that, what was the kind of, like, questions you were getting frequently throughout that? Well, it's interesting because after talking for two years about the Hunger Games and just having done that recently, when you start being asked about another problem, you actually genuinely have organic, you know, completely organic, spontaneous, like a conversation. Like a conversation. I know, because I genuinely be thinking about it on the spot. And to me, I'm really enjoying promoting the forest because I hope it's a thrill ride for like people who love the genre ordinarily. It's got the jumps and the scares. But it's also a thoughtful piece. It's kind of a thinking person's horror movie as well. It has this psychological element that,

that hopefully targets a slightly different audience that will enjoy it as well. Strangest interview or question of this press store thus far? Strangest, well, you know, I'm just being asked a lot about what my opinions are on like paranormal, supernatural, you know, events. Get rid of that card, sorry. I'm just like, I'm, yeah. You're an expert now. I wish I had a ghost story when I was 13 and, you know, I was like in a, some kind of old English house in the countryside somewhere.

But it would have made all these interviews so much more colourful, but I'm afraid I don't. Or you're not the type to create an anecdote just for a talk show or a fun thing? I've talked to actors that have done that. Oh, really? Made up stories. Yeah. Or saved stories. I've had this where, like, I've talked to an actor that's coming here, and they started

to tell me a story, and they're like, oh, wait, no, I have to save that for when I go in a late night show. No. I swear to God. No, maybe I'm still, like, a newbie in the big scheme of the industry. I haven't, I haven't, I haven't, I haven't reached those heights, yeah. But, you know, we talked about this being like an important, you know, step for you. I would think, I mean, is this, is this your first lead in a film of the size being released in this wide scale?

Would you say? Yeah, it is. It's my first, I've been the lead on stage and I've been the lead in television a couple of times. But this is my first bona fide feature lead, yes. Do you feel happy in some ways that it came now or, I mean, could you have carried that? That load, 10 years ago, eight years ago, seven, whatever. I mean, I've carried the load, but I wouldn't have been as philosophical and understand the mechanics of the industry as well as I do now.

So I'm, you know, I'm kind of grateful that I'm fully informed now when I get to this point. What are some of kind of like, you know, being number one and number two on the call sheet? I often find that I talk to actors about sort of like that person who is at the top of the culturally kind of dictates sort of the tone of a film and tone of a set, is that something that you've kind of picked up on over the years and something you wanted to kind of like be sure that you act in a certain way or carry yourself in a certain way when you finally had this kind of opportunity. Yeah, I mean, the point is really, like I said, you just, you get to know everyone.

You know every single member of crew because in between takes and set-ups, you know, you're talking to everyone. So you know everyone's kids' names and you have the time to spend with them. And it really feels like a team experience. And, you know, you're one of the team leaders when you're leading a project. And, you know, when you're standing in a freezing cold forest at 3 a.m., being bitten to shreds by mosquitoes and rolling around in mud with some spiders and worms down your underwear, you need that camaraderie. Need a while. You need something.

You need to feel that bond with your makeshift family for a while. So where did you guys shoot this? Because it does feel like you went to some remote places for this, clearly. Yeah, we really did. We literally lost connectivity like Sarah does in the film. We were in Japan for a week. We went to Tokyo to do our external shots of, you know, the beautiful city and everything. And then we did some nice train shots and everything going up into the countryside.

I visited the real Okahara forest, but we couldn't shoot there. So we shot in Serbia on the Serbian-Bosnian border, high up in the mountains in a national park, which was stunningly beautiful, but like you say, it was the middle of nowhere. So are you okay with, like, losing service and connectivity to the outside world? Yeah, it's a bit traumatic when you can't get your email, yeah. But in a way, it's also liberating, and I was, anyone who watches the film will see, I was a little bit busy.

You weren't just spending time in your trailer, be like, tell me when you need me. Exactly. I wasn't sitting in my trailer, like, bitching about not. being able to like, you know, like Google. I had other stuff on my mind. And I would think one of the great byproducts of a film like this is you're now only one degree away from Lady Gaga. This is an important thing,

aspiration for any actor in your life. I mean, Taylor is obviously a great presence in the film. Was it fun to sort of, I assume you hadn't met him before this? I hadn't actually, and it was an absolute joy to work with Taylor. He plays the role of Aden so well. He walks this line of ambiguity and you're like, do I trust this guy? Do I not trust this guy?

The audience kind of share Sarah's. She's dealing with what's real and what's unreal, what's in her head and what's, you know, what's actually tangibly there. And so Taylor plays this line really well of he seems so smooth, he seems so charming, he's too good to be true. And you can't work out if he's dangerous or not. Right. We're talking about the character. So have you been doing like basically, have you had to do American accents from the very beginning of your career? Yeah, I mean, most British actors are, you know, that, you know, because there's so many projects, there are so many American projects with the opportunity to be a part of them.

So, yeah, you pick up that, you'd be an idiot not to pick up that skill pretty quick. Right. If you lack that skill, that's going to narrow your choices and your options quite a bit. So what was the first, what was the first kind of gig where you had to assume an accent and were you able to kind of assume that pretty easily? So the first time I did an American accent was for a movie that actually never came. came out called Fence Walker was a Chris Carter project that I did directly after the Tudors. So that's like a, that's a while ago now. Are you good with accents?

Can you like differentiate the myriad of crazy American accents and that kind of thing? Well, I can increasingly hear it. I think the more time you spend doing it, the better your ear gets. I don't have a natural, some actors have an incredible gift for accents. It's just part of their innate skill set. I have to really work hard at it. So, I mean, I've played a Russian before. I've played American.

I've done New York, done Californian. I've done generic American. Was it like thick New York? Was it like hardcore? Yeah, it was like Hell's Kitchen in the 70s. I did a play that was set in Hell's Kitchen in the 70s about four or five years ago. So that's hard learning to drop the R's in the different places when you spent so time, you know, when you spent so much time doing another accent. But, I mean, you have a whole host.

of accents in this country. It's a lot of fun to give them a go. I've never done a Southern. I'd like to try and give that a go at some point. It's interesting because, yeah, like you mentioned like, like I had Mark Strong did the podcast recently and he's on stage right now. Oh, view from the bridge. Have you seen that? Oh, what an extraordinary play. I haven't seen that production, but it's an amazing play. And this one is interesting in that it's very stripped down, but also, and that even goes to the accents. Like apparently in London, they were doing like kind of a thicker kind of New York accent. And they've lessened it. I think partially because, you know, you don't want to be judged by the New York audience.

on that kind of level. So it's just a funny kind of debate, I guess, actors always have. Okay, so let's go back a little ways. Okay, in reading about you, you can never believe anything on the internet, but let me ask you something. Okay, so you were vice captain of something called the netball team. Yeah, you guys don't have netball in this country. No, what is that?

What is that? So it's like basketball, only you can't move with the ball. As soon as you've got the ball, you can only pivot round on this, whatever foot you land on, it has to remain grounded. Seems like a lazier version of basketball. It's less running. And you don't have to be so tall, you know. But it's the same setup of the net at either end.

And just by passing or bounce passing is how you get it from one end to the other. Were you annoyed that you were only vice captain and you weren't solely, didn't have the whole captain thing on your own? What happened? I was, whenever Allison was ill, I was captain. So, you know, I never reached the lengths of poisoning her or anything or tripping her up. But, you know, I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder for a while. I can see. I can tell.

It's not quite gone. And what is a head girl? Head girl denotes what? Oh, that would be like your class president. Okay, or a valedictorian, that kind of thing. Yeah, it would be your student that is like head of your prefects. Sure. Student body president or something like that.

So it sounds like you were a good student. Yeah, I was like very much like Sarah in my movie The Forest. I was kind of like a little bit of an annoying overachiever. I obviously had some issues that I needed to work. Have you mellowed? Are you... I totally have. Now I'm more like Jess.

Now I'm more like the other sister. I've let it all go. All the angstas is gone now. I'm just kind of like riding the wave. Is that just from like going through the industry for a decade? That's from growing. Yeah. And from growing up.

Just let it go, guys. So it's interesting. I mean, looking at your career, for those that don't know, I think the feature film debut was Cassanova. Lassie Halstrom of my effort, right? Heath Ledger, of course. Which would seem to be, I mean, it's kind of fascinating. read about because like it would seem to be like okay that's apparently like glassy like expanded

your role like you were you know you obviously popped off the screen in that one and yet there was that didn't kind of lead to an immediate slew of other things no I mean it was weird it got me a three picture deal with with Disney but it was never exercised I don't even know that happened anymore that they do like studio deals it sounds like the old school like star system doesn't it studio system but no it did happen to me and it was one of the greatest lessons I ever learned because, I mean, to be perfectly honest with you, it was bad representation at the time and opportunities were missed that shouldn't have been. But I found myself unemployed as an actor for like nine, ten months.

So I had to go back and temp in an office and do like cold-calling jobs. And like my, you know, my heart sank. And I was... I can't imagine. I mean, like, you think coming off of this. It was really dispiriting. I remember making Christmas cards that year because I couldn't afford to buy my friends. Christmas cards. So I think really nice and early in my career, it taught me never to take

anything for granted. Never think you're home and dry because, you know, it's a capricious industry and, you know, anything could happen. What are your memories of working with someone who's obviously such a special talent like Heath? What do you, what was the impression of him? Heath was an incredible personality. He was just, he was the nicest, most grounded guy. Did you ever interview him? I did. I did our, sadly, our last interview with him here. It was for, I'm not there. And he was so sweet. He was, yeah. Yeah.

And he's one of those dudes that was just really unpretentiously good at everything. You know, he could play chess and he had, you know, an encyclopedic knowledge of music. And he surfed and he were like, you know, like, he was good at everything. But he had such an ease and a charm with it. He's a great loss to the industry. You go through this down period afterwards. And is it, I mean, what's the point where you felt some comfort? Was it until Tudors that you felt like you're still kind of finding your way?

Was Tudors the turning point for you? No, I think in being able to breathe for five minutes and, you know, the freelance nature of our job as actors, it was Game of Thrones that really gave me all of us actually as a cast. And it happened incrementally, slowly year on year, the exposure and the hype for the show just got bigger and bigger. So we slowly got used to the fact that, The show meant so much to people.

And doors started to open for all of us because of the profile of the show. So it didn't just happen to me. As a family, we kind of held each other's hands and, you know, have this heightened experience. And now it's wonderful watching everyone go off and, you know, have all these exciting new projects that they're doing and the other six months of the year. Yeah, it's great. And it's also crazy to see, like, I mean, you can clearly see, you know, how Hollywood, quote-unquote, it's mindswork or casting directors, mindswork, where you see, like, all these other franchises

kind of grabbing you got, you know, whether it's X-Men or Star Wars or Hunger Games. It's like you guys have just kind of, like, fanned out across the industry. Hey, guys, time for a quick message from our friends over at Mac Weldon, one of the sponsors of this week's happy, sad, confused. This is all about two topics that, generally speaking, I don't like dealing with clothing. and shopping? Why does shopping have to be such a painful process? Why is it so tough to find

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That's fantastic. Is that a good thing? That wonderful. Isn't that weird? Do you know what? I've got a confession too. I never did the sopranos. Real?

That's pretty good too. Yeah. I never did the sopranos. I'm completely removed from that cultural phenomenon. Everybody's got gaps. But it's, you know, it's TV history. It's defining TV history. You and I, next time we get sick, we've both got some catching up to do.

This is what I say. I'm going to break a leg one day and I'll be fine. And then you're going to watch Game of Thrones. And I'm going to just treat waiting for me. Yeah. So, because it must be like a double-edged sword for you and that you're so proud of this. This has kind of, you know, changed your life. And yet I'm sure there's not a day that goes by that you're not inundated.

And it just with questions and whatever, does it ever feel like a weight that you wish kind of could go away for a period of time? No, but I know it's transient. I know it's going to, I know it's going to pass, you know, so I'm just, I'm very grateful because I'm just aware that it's a chapter in my life, and it's going to end. As I said, those nine months of unemployment, you know, have grounded me and given me some perspective, so, you know. So now that you know, I don't know anything about Game of Thrones, here's the one question that my folks told me I should ask you. I'm going to try and make it sound like I know what I'm talking about. Okay. Because I totally miss your character facing off with Circe, and I hope we're going to see more of that now that you both

are out of the slammer. Oh, that's interesting. What would you say to that? I would say Marjorie's not out of the slumber. And you play Marjorie. Yeah, Marjorie's keep going, keep going. You're doing fine. I'm the worst. I'm the worst. Yeah, no, I'm still incarcerated. Marjorie's still incarcerated. So. I'm sorry to hear that. Yeah, I know it's tough. So they give you a lot of room in the cell? It's better than running around a forest. I suppose. Being bitten to shreds by mosquitoes. Are you able to decorate your surroundings and make it homey at least? It's pretty depressing in that little room. Yeah, it is. But she's a wily one is Marjorie Terrell. She's doing her best to try and get out of there. I noticed in my research about Game of Thrones that the character

names are clearly a mouthful. I have a question for you. Do you know how to spell the character's names in the show? Oh, God, no. I mean, actually, it's really interesting. On the front of our scripts, they write the names phonetically. No, they actually do. It's like we get given our own glossary of this is how you pronounce everyone's name properly. Right.

Because when I first got it, when I first read the script and I hadn't read the books, I was like, oh, Marjorie. I'm going to play Marjorie. What a lovely otherworldly name. And it was like, no, you're going to play Marge. So I'm going to give you a test then. Can you spell your own character's name, Marjorie Tyrell? Yeah, I always, it's the A's come first. It's M-A-R-G-A-E-R-Y, and then Terrell is T-Y-R-E-E-O-L.

Okay, what about, did that? Because I said for years, I was going, for the first few seasons, I was like, you know, a Brit would say Tyrell, and then I say, and then I say Torrell, but a lot of people on the show say Tyraal. So it's kind of But then you know what we all say people's names differently in real life anyway So there's you go It's true

Do you want to give a go to DeNaris Targaryen It's just Danny D-A-N-Y That's not fair You can't do that Yeah that's exactly how I do it It's Danny Okay two more for you Joffrey

Barathean Baratian Yeah well Yeah Geoffrey is J O-O-F-R-E-Y Oh God I need to write it B-R-R-A-R-R-E-R-E-A B-A-R-A-T-H-E-O-N.

Correct. And finish strong. This is kind of a little curveball. Nikolai Kuster... Oh, Nikolai smells his name with a J at the end. Yeah. And then Kosta Wilder is how it's written how it sounds. There's a hyphen that it can throw you off.

Oh, okay. Yeah, there's a hyphen in there as well. Guys, just a jerk that way. Do we really need the hyphen in there too? Come on, man. Oh, I know. It's, you know, what can I say? He's Danish.

They're tricks, too. So are you happy with the kind of stuff that you are offered? I mean, are you finding you at a point where you're getting some choice and getting some opportunity that wasn't there a few years ago? Yeah, well, for me, absolutely. 2016 is, you know, now that my responsibilities towards the Hunger Games has ended, I have a little bit more of a blank canvas. So it's intro, I really haven't had the space with my commitments to Game of Thrones,

Hunger Games, Elementary, and some other projects that we fitted in. I haven't really had a lot of opportunity to be flicking wildly through scripts and being inundated with choice. So 2016 is finally giving me some breathing space. And yeah, I mean, at the beginning of next year, I'm starting to shoot a thriller, a psychological thriller that I co-wrote with my partner, Anthony Byrne. So I am sort of striking out in the fear factor of trying exciting, slightly terrifying new things. That's exciting to hear. I'm curious, like, does that come out of, like, a need to, like, like, inherently I've always written? or is it, you know, I know how this industry works and you need to kind of generate your own

material if you want to do, you know, cool work or a little bit of both or what? It's a little bit of both, but it's testament to how long, how damn long it takes to get independent film made that, Anthony and I actually started writing that project six years ago. Oh, wow. So it was before Game of Thrones. It was before the Hunger Games. It was before I'd been on that wonderful mad franchise ride. Right.

So, yes, I started writing a role with him, or in fairness to him, he was. invited me to help him write a film that he was developing. And it was to give myself a role that I thought I could really sink my teeth into and, you know, test myself in my acting craft. And then draft after draft, after draft, after draft, after draft, and finding producers and getting excited and landing cast and making sure that everyone's schedules align. And, yeah, at the same time, now being able to bring, hopefully, some audience with me

who know me from those two big projects. So I'm really excited, and I also get to sleep in my own bed because we're shooting it in London, which is a novelty. A wise writer, wise co-writer. So what are the things, whether it's in that specific script or other parts that haven't come your way, that you're dying to kind of explore, that you haven't gotten a chance to kind of get into yet as an actress? Yeah, I just want, you know, some real heavy. I would love to, I just want to do some really heavy lifting in the acting stakes. That's what I want to do. I'm classically trained.

I'm a theater trained actor. Right. So I kind of, you know, want to really give myself. a challenge in the acting stakes. Who are, like, on your pedestal? Who are the acting icons? Who's right up there? Yeah.

Oh, well, I mean, there's a... I'm even growing... Well, let's go growing up. Like, what were the movies or films or first performances that made you kind of sit up and say, oh, this is an art form, this is something I'm obsessed with you. Yeah, I mean, you know, stuff like, I don't know, Girl Interrupted. I mean, I was 17 when Girl Interrupted came out.

So, like, I was bang on the perfect, perfect age for that movie. for to have to be deeply affected by that movie. Sure. And now I see performances now by like Charlie's Theron in Mad Max and, you know, and, and, you know, and I've always been a big Cape Blanchett fan. I've said that before in interviews. And, yeah, I just, and Julian, hell, I just worked with Julianne Moore, who was probably my biggest heroine ever.

So, yeah, there's a, there's a long list of women who I profoundly respect in the industry. And Julianne's, like, another one from what I've heard from people talking about her is, like, that it doesn't have to be torturous on set where she can, from what I gather, she kind of turns it on and off and it's like the first one to laugh and enjoy herself. Yeah, absolutely. And she's a mom and a wife and a family.

I mean, that's how she fell in love with the Hunger Game series is because she was reading her daughter's book. Right. So she's like, she's a really grounded human being. She seems to have got the balance between work and life well. It seems also like, so in looking at the film work that you, you know, did for like a period of time, it was like a lot of them were kind of like one or two scene kind of things where you, you frankly had like a function to play. It seemed

like in the narrative. And often they, sometimes frankly, they were kind of like the seductress, right? Did it feel like at that time it was like a frustrating period or an exciting period? Like we're roles like the council or Captain America each. I mean, you're working with great directors. There's that. Well, that's the point. I mean, you're earning your stripes. Yeah. I mean, that's what you're doing. You're earning your stripes. If you work in any industry, you know, you're going to start off making the tea or taking the minutes in the meetings. I mean, yes, there are those straight to fame examples,

but they're few and far between, and you have to understand that they're the anomaly. So you pay your dues, you shut up and you listen. And hell, like you said, I mean, I was bored of playing the femme fatale. I was like, I've done this enough. And then you get a course in Ridley Scott once you play the femme Fatal in his new movie. And then you'd be an idiot to turn the opportunity

of being on a set with Ridley Scott down. So you'll take a project for different reasons. You'll take it because you think it's a brilliant writer or it's a brilliant director or a brilliant producer or it's a member of the talent that you really want to work with. And you just take each job on a case-by-case basis is really what I'm saying. Well, it's also, I think, a skill for an actor.

I mean, as much as it's a skill to carry a film and be there from day one to the end, to fly in and out, basically, to kind of like keep the tone correct and to stay within the narrative and to, you know, hit it out of the park as best you can in one or two moments. I mean, is that something that feels like, I mean, I'm always curious, is that like a high-pressure kind of opportunity when you're on set for a couple days on a high-profile project like that? And you know, like, I only got a couple swings at bat here. I'd better make it count.

Yeah, no, that's true. But, I mean, you know, it's, that kind of makes it exciting. And sometimes when the pressure is on is when you perform the best, right? And when you step out on a stage, which is my, like, that's my first discipline. That's my first art form is stage acting. There is no second take. Right. So it's like you get an adrenaline.

There's no warm-up act. No, you get an adrenaline rush from that moment. And, yeah, I mean, basically, you have to rise to the moment. And you know what? You eff up sometimes. And then you learn from that experience, you know. Have you worked on the stage here in the sense? States yet? No, and I can't wait to find an opportunity to do so. I love New York and there's

nothing I'd rather do than get on stage. I'm sure you're getting some opportunities. I'm sure something's going to come up here and... Just need to find a window in the schedule, maybe. So what is there, is there a dream kind of stage role? Oh, there's many, but I'm not going to say them out loud because I don't want to jinx them. Okay, okay. Play musical, you sing, right? I don't say, oh no, see, there you go. That's internet? That's a piece of misinformation on the internet. Wikipedia is never wrong now. Okay, you don't sing. No, I danced.

I was a dancer. Okay. So I was a dancer until about 17. But, no, I do not sing. But, you know, there's some musical roles where you don't have to have a really strong voice. So I would never say no. Yeah, let's not limit your opportunities. Yeah, exactly.

What is you know, cabaret I saw last year? Sally doesn't need to be the best singer. Sally doesn't need to be a great singer. A little night music, there's a role in there that it doesn't have to have a fantastic singer. in it so yeah you never say another over the years um in auditioning for things are the kind of actor that will pretend you have whatever talent is listed whatever skill is listed for the job that's what you do when you leave drama school you write you know skiing horse riding like uh you know archery i can i can jump out of a plane sure you know whatever you need yeah you fall of that if you do

that or you do you enjoy the auditioning process is that as an opportunity or hell on earth it's um it varies it can be hell on earth um but you know i like to think um this is what you know what you i was saying to you earlier about earning your stripes i've walked into a fair few audition um rooms in my time and the best way to try and it was um who was it i think it was james darcy that said to me once when i work with him he was like you when you're walking to an audition room he said you have to think they've got a problem and you're the solution to their problem. So you're just going to walk in and go, I am the solution to your problem. And if you can't see that, that's your business. I was like, that's a very grounded, philosophical way of

thinking about the day. I'm sure he went through hell for years before you arrived at that. Do you have one flashback horror audition thing that reverberates in your brain to this day that you never want to relive? What's the worst scenario that you had to go through? Oh, yeah, it's when the director is in the meeting, is eating or, or, you know. Not even giving you any attention. You know, it's when they're halfway through lunch and they've seen 25 actors in the last three hours and, you know, they're checking their phone. I mean, you know, you can tell, you can tell when they're not in it. Right. And these two minutes mean the most for you and absolutely seems nothing for them. Yeah. So I have, so now I'm in this interesting place within

darkness of, you know, deciding on actors that we're going to work with in the movie. I have a lot of, you know, sympathy and empathy for that, for that process. And it's helped me realize that, you know, what, it's not personal. It's just a subjective choice. And it's all part of the mechanics of it. It's not a personal rejection of your inner self, you know. It's like, but there have been times when I've gone and bought myself a vodka at 2pm because an audition didn't go well, but those days are gone. So you're saying for the upcoming film, you're not going to be gnoshing too much while I won't be eating in the audition room when people come in, no. Directors in the course of the careers that's far that you've learned from, is there one

particular that stands out just from how they ran a set or how they directed actors or... Oh, well, I mean, you know, Ron Howard and Ridley Scott and Francis Lawrence and, you know, and Lassa Holstrom, I mean, I really have worked with some fantastic people and, um, you just, yeah, you just, you just shut up and you watch when you're around those kind of people. Right, the ones that actually know what they're doing. That's a safety net that you must feel as an actor. You also had the opportunity to correct me if I'm wrong. You were in W.E., right?

the directed by none other than that's where i met james darcy yes there you go um must be a fascinating experience to be in that company it is and i absolutely can't tell you anything about it because the confidentiality agreement was that fit and my business contract was that fit that's fascinating i can't talk about it wow interesting um you also should mention um we'll be seeing you relatively soon i think in patient zero right september next year so not relatively close i know you're promoting it at comicester felt you're to watch game of thrones by the time we're talking about patient zero Do I have to? I mean, I want to, but that's a lot of pressure.

There are a lot of hours. If you watch Sopranos, I'll watch all of Game of Thrones. Okay, that's a deal. We'll meet in September. Okay, next September, you have to watch Game of Thrones and I have to have watched Sopranos. We're going to test each other. Okay. Was that an enjoyable experience?

Can you tell me about Patient Zero? Oh, yeah. I mean, Matt Smith is a great actor, and I had a lot of fun with him. And Stefan Ritzvitzky is the director that won the Oscar for Counterfeiter many years ago. So it's going to be interesting, I think, having an art house director doing very much a genre piece. I think that's a stroke of brilliance, to be honest. Are you obligated by birthright to care about Doctor Who in the company of Matt Smith? No, I'm actually one of those Philistine Brits that has never really been into Doctor Who, but I didn't tell Matt that.

I would add that to both of our lists because I've never watched Doctor Who. But that's like 30 years of TV. Yeah, you've got no chance there in catching up in time before I next see you. Um, next time, uh, after this press door is over, do you go back to Game of Thrones or a little rest? I've wrapped Game of Thrones, uh, season six personally. Um, I go to, uh, Christmas shopping and then promoting the forest coming out January the 8th. There you go. Here, uh, I'm going to be in California for the, for the, the big reveal of that on January 8th. And then home to London to start pre-production for In Darkness. Nice. And, um, uh, enjoying the, the fall movies. So I saw the, you.

You and I were both at the premiere for Joy last night, both enjoyed David O. Russell's latest film. It's a good time of year to enjoy some amazing directors doing their thing. Yeah, I'm a massive fan of David's work. David's work, I think he's brilliant. Anything else this year that has resonated with you? I'm really looking forward. I've got all my BAFTA screeners because I'm a BAFTA member, so I'm going to be rushing home to watch all my screeners. I'm very much looking forward to Bridge of Spies.

It's a good one, yeah. Yeah, I haven't seen that yet. You mentioned my favorite Mad Max. I'm obsessed with that movie. Yeah, so good. It's really well made. Congrats on The Forest. A long time coming and getting this kind of a vehicle for yourself, well-deserved.

Thank you. As I said, we've got a few months, but we've both got some homework. Yes. Who's got more episodes? I don't know. I don't know. I think I do. I think I got the short end of the Stick.

How many seasons were there of the Sopranos? Anybody know? Six or seven, I feel like. Oh, maybe I've got more to do then. Good. Good luck. Congratulations for the Arts. Good to see you, Natalie. Thank you very much.

This is a wolf, whoa, whoa. Pop, pop, pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. This has been a Wolfpop production, executive produced by Paul Shear, Adam Sacks, Chris Bannon, and Matt Gourley. For more information and content, visit wolfpop.com. Goodbye, summer movies, hello fall. I'm Anthony Devaney. And I'm his twin brother, James.

We host Raiders of the Lost Podcast, the Ultimate Movie Podcast, and we are ecstatic to break down late summer and early fall releases. We have Leonardo DiCaprio leading a revolution in one battle after another, Timothy Salome playing power ping pong in Marty Supreme. Let's not forget Emma, Stone and Jorgos Lanthamos's Bagonia. Dwayne Johnson, he's coming for that Oscar in The Smashing Machine,

Spike Lee and Denzel teaming up again, plus Daniel DeLuess's return from retirement. There will be plenty of blockbusters to chat about, too. Tron Aries looks exceptional, plus Mortal Kombat 2, and Edgar writes The Running Man starring Glenn Powell. Search for Raiders of the Lost Podcast on

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