3 minute read
EVERY PART OF CINDY IS LAYERED WITH THESE CONTRADICTIONS THAT, AT FIRST, FUCKING TERRIFIED ME. THEN SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY I REALISED THAT WE HAD SO MUCH IN COMMON.
uncertainty and fear surrounding her and Gene’s escape from London that for her it’s not a holiday, it’s quite horrific.
BB It’s good to hear that you all got along. As much as a good script can make a good show, it’s really the chemistry between the people on screen that sells it. You’ve mentioned in the past, in particular working with Oliver Jackson Cohen on ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ that your preparation involved a lot of delving into that relationship together. Was that something you brought over to ‘A Town Called Malice’ with Jack Rowan?
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TS This was quite a bit different, actually. It’s a bit of a funny story. We met at the chemistry read and got to talking. We’re both from South London, not too far away — we even went to the same secondary school (at different times). Jack is such a nice person, a genuine person, and so easy to talk to. So, from the amount of stuff we had in common, we’d already built up this rapport before either of us had secured the part.
Jamie Donoghue, who directed the first block of episodes, was really nervous about the chemistry between Cindy and Gene because, well, if you don’t buy into their relationship, you can’t buy into the whole show. But Jack and I had instantly connected, and our acting styles are similar, so it was very natural between me and him and Jamie saw that. I think it was probably how instantly comfortable we were with each other that landed this job for us.
I watch stuff all the time and you can really tell when people just don’t have chemistry. You can see the greatest actors opposite each other but if they don’t have that rapport, everything just falls so terribly flat. It’s really off-putting. That’s something that I’m really aware of it when it comes to portraying relationships on screen. It’s the hardest thing, you don’t have a lot of time to do it, but it’s the crux of everything. I knew Jack and I would be fine however, and the rest of the cast too, we just got on really, really well. We trusted each other completely and it’s evident in what I’ve seen of the cuts of the show so far from a viewers perspective. I’m very happy with that.
BB To end on, I suppose, I’m always curious whenever I speak to actors, but has this particular experience changed the way that you view your work?
TS That’s quite a difficult question actually. But…I’ve said this to the creator of the show Nick — who’s pulled together these wonderful characters, this entire world — but this project has been, to date, the most rewarding and fulfilling project I think that I’ve ever worked on.
I don’t know if that’s because of, y’know, where I am in my life, my mentality right now and so on and so forth. This character, she just…I didn’t really have to do much digging for her. That might sound weird but, really, I feel like Cindy is so close to two different sides of me. Yeah, she’s a young black woman from South London who’s searching for belonging and dealing with a lot of shit. On a surface level, that’s probably relatable to a lot of people, but her vulnerabilities and her weaknesses truly feel like they’re pulled from my own experiences. But then she’s so tough. She’s a badass. She can handle herself. She doesn’t take shit. Every part of Cindy is layered with these contradictions that, yeah, at first, fucking terrified me then… somewhere along the way I realised that we had so much in common.
Obviously, there’s a load of things that she does that I’ve never done, but the bones of her are very much within me. It was just so freeing to be able to…—I don’t really know how to explain it without sounding silly — but I was able to completely inhabit a character without worrying about crafting a whole new person. I did that for ‘Bly Manor’. Rebecca was very much constructed off the page, there were some things I could relate to, but she was completely different. I sat differently. I spoke differently. I walked differently.
Sometimes that’s important and you have to do that for roles, which is really the graft of being an actor, but it was nice to feel more grounded and confident this time around.
It meant I could play a lot more, which was wonderful, and I could have a bit more fun, push myself further. I was so thankful for this entire experience and to have the opportunity to play this character because I, truly, adore Cindy. I can’t wait for everyone else to meet her.
BB All because you’ve made the unimaginable imaginable?
TS Yes!
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