FIRST IMPRESSIONS: JULIET STEVENSON
What are you working on at the moment?
Happy Days by Samuel Beckett at the Young Vic. It’s a huge undertaking – a mountain to climb, but a wonderful mountain.
When were you at your happiest?
Probably when Hugh, the children and I took a holiday in Australia. We explored the northeast rainforest and went fishing for barramundi on the Endeavour River, surrounded by rainforest, crocodiles and exotic birds. My daughter, who was seven at the time, caught a huge fish; it was the most magical day. I remember thinking that it just doesn’t get better than this.
What is your greatest fear?
Something awful happening to my children.
What is your earliest memory?
Jumping off a little brick wall in the corner of the garden in Australia – we moved there when I was about three. I used to climb it and jump off ; I suppose I was celebrating my newfound, fully working legs.
What do you dislike about yourself?
Well, it is a long list! I think my tendency to hyperbolise and to overreact.
Who has been your greatest influence?
Probably my mother.
What is your most treasured possession?
My children’s drawings.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
The way my face moves and jumps around when I talk – it moves around so much.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Indifference to the suffering of others.
What is your favourite book?
George Eliot’s Middlemarch or Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.
Your favourite film?
I just can’t do this one so I’m going to say the best film I’ve seen recently and was blown away by was A Separation, an Iranian film. It got the best foreign language film Oscar in 2012. It’s absolutely wonderful, like an acting masterclass from everybody.
Your favourite piece of music?
That’s equally impossible, but if I had to choose I’d say Bach’s Sonata Number 3 for cello and piano.
Your favourite meal?
Breakfast. But, funnily enough, if I had to choose a favourite food it would probably be something like lemon sole.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
My dad, because he died before I had children, so he’d come to meet them. My brother because he also died. I’d love him to come back for dinner. And Shakespeare, obviously.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
Critics have said awful things. But I don’t want to repeat what they said because that gives them too much status.
What is your secret vice?
Late-night raids on the Nutella jar, to satisfy chocolate cravings at 3am.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Frequently. And I’ve brought up my kids to do it as well. I’m old-fashioned that way.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
‘Sorry.’
What would most improve the quality of your life?
Loads of things. Throwing every screen out of the house, or chucking away my iPhone.
Tell me something people don’t know about you.
I have a great passion for cricket, both playing and watching. I love playing family cricket.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘She put her money where her mouth was’ or ‘She was very good at loving’.
Juliet Stevenson plays Winnie in Happy Days at the Young Vic: 020-7922 2922, www.youngvic.org
Happy Days by Samuel Beckett at the Young Vic. It’s a huge undertaking – a mountain to climb, but a wonderful mountain.
When were you at your happiest?
Probably when Hugh, the children and I took a holiday in Australia. We explored the northeast rainforest and went fishing for barramundi on the Endeavour River, surrounded by rainforest, crocodiles and exotic birds. My daughter, who was seven at the time, caught a huge fish; it was the most magical day. I remember thinking that it just doesn’t get better than this.
What is your greatest fear?
Something awful happening to my children.
What is your earliest memory?
Jumping off a little brick wall in the corner of the garden in Australia – we moved there when I was about three. I used to climb it and jump off ; I suppose I was celebrating my newfound, fully working legs.
What do you dislike about yourself?
Well, it is a long list! I think my tendency to hyperbolise and to overreact.
Who has been your greatest influence?
Probably my mother.
What is your most treasured possession?
My children’s drawings.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
The way my face moves and jumps around when I talk – it moves around so much.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Indifference to the suffering of others.
What is your favourite book?
George Eliot’s Middlemarch or Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.
Your favourite film?
I just can’t do this one so I’m going to say the best film I’ve seen recently and was blown away by was A Separation, an Iranian film. It got the best foreign language film Oscar in 2012. It’s absolutely wonderful, like an acting masterclass from everybody.
Your favourite piece of music?
That’s equally impossible, but if I had to choose I’d say Bach’s Sonata Number 3 for cello and piano.
Your favourite meal?
Breakfast. But, funnily enough, if I had to choose a favourite food it would probably be something like lemon sole.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
My dad, because he died before I had children, so he’d come to meet them. My brother because he also died. I’d love him to come back for dinner. And Shakespeare, obviously.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
Critics have said awful things. But I don’t want to repeat what they said because that gives them too much status.
What is your secret vice?
Late-night raids on the Nutella jar, to satisfy chocolate cravings at 3am.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Frequently. And I’ve brought up my kids to do it as well. I’m old-fashioned that way.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
‘Sorry.’
What would most improve the quality of your life?
Loads of things. Throwing every screen out of the house, or chucking away my iPhone.
Tell me something people don’t know about you.
I have a great passion for cricket, both playing and watching. I love playing family cricket.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘She put her money where her mouth was’ or ‘She was very good at loving’.
Juliet Stevenson plays Winnie in Happy Days at the Young Vic: 020-7922 2922, www.youngvic.org