Helen McCrory, actress

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 28 June 2020

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Helen McCrory shares the eight tracks, book and luxury she would want to take with her if cast away to a desert island. Helen McCrory OBE is one of the most versatile and critically acclaimed actresses working today. On screen she has played Anna Karenina, Cherie Blair (twice), Harry Potter's Narcissa Malfoy and the Peaky Blinders matriarch Aunt Polly. Her theatre roles range from Yelena in Uncle Vanya to Euripides' Medea. A diplomat's daughter, she spent her early childhood in Africa before continuing her education in the UK. After a bruising and unsuccessful audition at the Drama Centre in London - she was instructed to find out more about life before learning to act - she travelled to Italy where she discovered art and love and came back to try again. This time she passed the audition. In 1993 she made her mark in Richard Eyre's production of Trelawny of the Wells at the National Theatre and went on to perform leading roles on some of London's most prestigious stages, winning two Olivier Award nominations. She was awarded an OBE for services to drama in 2017. She met her husband, fellow actor Damian Lewis, when they both starred in a play called Five Gold Rings. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic Helen and Damian, together with the comedian Matt Lucas, co-founded the Feed NHS campaign which raises money to provide hot meals to frontline NHS workers. Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Paula McGinley

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts
0:04.8	Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Deser Island Disks Podcast.
0:08.4	Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take
0:13.2	with them if they were cast away to a desert island.
0:16.3	For right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.
0:20.5	I hope you enjoy listening.
0:30.4	Music Radio Music
0:44.8	My cast away this week is Helen McCrawary, one of the most critically acclaimed actresses
0:49.5	working in Britain today. Throughout her 30-year career, she's won rave reviews for her theatre
0:55.2	performances from Chekov's Uncle Vanya to Euripides Medea.
0:59.3	On screen, she's played Anna Karenina, Sherry Blair, Twice,
1:02.9	Harry Potter's Narcissum Malfoy and Peggy Blinders,
1:06.3	Matriarch and Polly. Her performances have been remarkable both for the emotional insight she
1:12.2	brings to characters we might otherwise struggle to understand and for the transformation she undergoes
1:18.3	while playing them. A diplomat's daughter, she spent her early childhood in Africa, where family
1:24.1	concerts honed her skills as a performer. She married fellow actor Damian Lewis after falling
1:29.5	for him at first sight and today they make a formidable acting duo. About her craft, she says,
1:35.9	I'm much more comfortable subjugating my personality to someone else's. I'm an interpreter,
1:41.4	that's my job. Acting isn't about you. I'll say all about you today, Helen McCrawary,
1:47.1	welcome to desert island discs. Thank you very much, thank you very much. Acting isn't about you
1:52.6	then, Helen, but I know that when you approach a character you do start by making a list of the
1:57.2	similarities and differences between you and them and I wonder who's been most like you that you've
	...

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