Shirt by HOLLY FULTON.
Do you still consider a particular place ‘home’?
To be honest no, I travel so much so it’s rare for me to be in one place for more than a couple of weeks. I split my time between London and Paris and I love both cities for different reasons, but I find it hard to stay in one place for too long. I think the place I feel most at home is with my family, that’s where you can truly relax and feel safe and I guess that’s the definition of ‘home’.
If you could send a 2 x 2 package to your past self, circa 2007 but it couldn’t include any specific warnings, instructions, investment opportunities etc, what would the package contain?.
I would probably send myself a couple of round the world tickets for a time when I now know I wasn’t working, and force myself to take a year off and enjoy the world.
Is there anything you once regretted but now feel thankful for?
Oh god so so many things. It’s that old saying if it doesn’t kill you it makes you stronger, and I think it’s true. I have regrets about work, about loves and mistakes, but they all got me to where I am today so I suppose I should be thankful for all of them.
If you had to take a one-year hiatus from working professionally, but you would be financially secure, where would you go and what would you do with your time?
I’d travel the world on boats, planes and trains. I have been lucky and travelled a lot with work but you never get to see much, so although I’ve been to a lot of places I wouldn’t say I’ve really experienced them. I just got back from Mexico City which is an amazing vibrant place so I would start there, then head down to South America. I’d also like to take the Orient Express, The Flying Scotsman. And I have always wanted to go to Tokyo. The list is endless…
What is the ideal view from a bedroom or living room window?
I love waking up next to water, especially a lake because it’s so calm. I went to Lake Cuomo recently for work and it was everything I had hoped – this serene beautiful place, and the light is incredible. I also once did a shoot and we stayed by a lagoon in Vietnam in one of the houses on stilts in the water, I woke up early because of jet lag and watched the sunrise and it was the most beautiful moment. I will never forget it – I love a good sunrise/ sunset.
Is there a particular positive experience or memory where you wish you had a photograph for posterity’s sake?
Nothing ever looks as good in photographs. There are so many memories. The thing is nowadays it’s so easy to take pictures and we document everything. But they just provide triggers for the real memories.
What is one of your favourite collaborations?
A friend of mine passed away last year, he was a photographer and I used to love working with him. He was so fun and made you totally relaxed and the pictures always reflected that. We kind of ‘grew up together’ professionally. I remember bumping into him at JFK. We sat in the Virgin Lounge getting massages and drinking champagne, we were quite proud of ourselves for where we had got to from when we had first met. Back then, he was on the door of a club and I was 19 and starting uni. He was a victim of mental health problems and I think it’s something we all need to talk about more as it’s a silent killer. It’s such a shame to lose such an amazing talent and friend like him.
What critic, publication or site (if any) do you frequent to keep up to date or learn more about film/ TV/ theatre?
I don’t really, I seem to have a lot of vocal people on my Facebook who always recommend films, TV shows etc so I just steal their suggestions.
Anna Brewster can be seen in the second season of Versailles from April 21 on BBC2 (UK).
As told to Paul Vaughan for TPJ
Creative Director & Photographer: Jessie Craig
Stylist: Harriet Byczok
Hair: Tracie Cant
Makeup: Gia Mills
