FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Tamzin Outhwaite
What are you working on at the moment?
I am working on How The Other Half Loves – Alan Ayckbourn at his finest, I think.
When are you at your happiest?
At home with my children, dancing around the kitchen with the back doors open on a very sunny day.
What is your greatest fear?
Not having enough time in life to do all the things I want to do and to spend time with all the people I want to spend time with. It’s quite scary how quickly it goes.
What is your earliest memory?
I remember this from a photograph, which is me in my parents’ house when I was two or three. I’d painted the orange carpet black and I’d got it all over my face and my arms. The orange carpet was pretty bad, so I can understand it, but the colour I’d chosen was a bit dark.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
I am impatient. I’ve always been someone who, if I want something done, I do it quickly. I’m impulsive; I like to say that the impatience is the flip side of being impulsive.
Who has been your greatest influence?
For the first 18 years, my parents, but once I turned 18 there’s an awful lot, too many to think about. My nan was a massive influence on me as a child. As I’ve got old, it changes, all sorts of people have influenced me, some through work. As an adult, I would say it’s my large group of girlfriends.
What is your most treasured possession?
My children and my home.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Narcissism. I think maybe my industry creates a few; it draws people to it who are narcissistic because of the nature of it.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
For some reason I always think I’ve got a six-pack, and then when I look in the mirror I don’t.
What is your favourite book?
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
What is your favourite film?
West Side Story.
Tamzin’s favourite things include The Alchemist, West Side Story, Black Beauty, and sushi and sashimi
And your favourite music?
Denis King’s music for The Adventures Of Black Beauty. It brings back memories of watching it as a child.
What is your favourite meal?
A mixture of sushi and sashimi.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Mother Teresa and Marvin Gaye.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has said to you?
You can hear 100 nice things but you only remember the nasty one. It’s the same with reviews: you don’t read them because the nasty one sits with you, so you can’t read the good ones either. If you read nothing about yourself, then it doesn’t touch, hurt or scar you.
Do you believe in aliens?
I believe in something else that’s not just us on this Earth.
What is your secret vice?
I like to drink wine and eat food.
Do you write thank-you notes?
I do.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
When my children were young they started speaking like me and would say, ‘how about’ or ‘how beautiful is that?’, so everything beginning with ‘how’.
What would improve the quality of your life?
More sleep.
Tell us something people might not know about you.
I’m part Italian.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘She was all about the journey and not the destination.’
How The Other Half Loves is on until 25 June at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London SW1: 020-7930 8800, www.trh.co.uk
I am working on How The Other Half Loves – Alan Ayckbourn at his finest, I think.
When are you at your happiest?
At home with my children, dancing around the kitchen with the back doors open on a very sunny day.
What is your greatest fear?
Not having enough time in life to do all the things I want to do and to spend time with all the people I want to spend time with. It’s quite scary how quickly it goes.
What is your earliest memory?
I remember this from a photograph, which is me in my parents’ house when I was two or three. I’d painted the orange carpet black and I’d got it all over my face and my arms. The orange carpet was pretty bad, so I can understand it, but the colour I’d chosen was a bit dark.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
I am impatient. I’ve always been someone who, if I want something done, I do it quickly. I’m impulsive; I like to say that the impatience is the flip side of being impulsive.
Who has been your greatest influence?
For the first 18 years, my parents, but once I turned 18 there’s an awful lot, too many to think about. My nan was a massive influence on me as a child. As I’ve got old, it changes, all sorts of people have influenced me, some through work. As an adult, I would say it’s my large group of girlfriends.
What is your most treasured possession?
My children and my home.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Narcissism. I think maybe my industry creates a few; it draws people to it who are narcissistic because of the nature of it.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
For some reason I always think I’ve got a six-pack, and then when I look in the mirror I don’t.
What is your favourite book?
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
What is your favourite film?
West Side Story.
Tamzin’s favourite things include The Alchemist, West Side Story, Black Beauty, and sushi and sashimiAnd your favourite music?
Denis King’s music for The Adventures Of Black Beauty. It brings back memories of watching it as a child.
What is your favourite meal?
A mixture of sushi and sashimi.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Mother Teresa and Marvin Gaye.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has said to you?
You can hear 100 nice things but you only remember the nasty one. It’s the same with reviews: you don’t read them because the nasty one sits with you, so you can’t read the good ones either. If you read nothing about yourself, then it doesn’t touch, hurt or scar you.
Do you believe in aliens?
I believe in something else that’s not just us on this Earth.
What is your secret vice?
I like to drink wine and eat food.
Do you write thank-you notes?
I do.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
When my children were young they started speaking like me and would say, ‘how about’ or ‘how beautiful is that?’, so everything beginning with ‘how’.
What would improve the quality of your life?
More sleep.
Tell us something people might not know about you.
I’m part Italian.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘She was all about the journey and not the destination.’
How The Other Half Loves is on until 25 June at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London SW1: 020-7930 8800, www.trh.co.uk