The Picture Journal

Andrea Riseborough

You’ll be appearing soon as Svetlana Stalin – Joseph Stalin’s only daughter – in Armando Ianucci’s The Death of Stalin. This will be one of Ianucci’s first projects not only using a real contextual setting but also ‘real’ historical figures. What can you share about the way this project (and you through your character) approached the balance of reality and creative license? I watched the moving images of Svetlana available, read one book in particular, Rosemary Sullivan’s Stalin’s Daughter, which was comprehensive. And used all the stills of her available. Then made an effort to forget it all and embrace…

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Ronan Raftery

What do you think would be the most inconvenient phobia for you to develop at this stage of your life? A fear of interviews. Which cinematic villain or antagonist have you always felt the most empathy for? Beetlejuice, he just wants the house to himself! I usually empathize with the bad guy. Good movies rarely have a villain with no redeemable characteristics or moments where they question everything, however briefly. I’m thinking of Charlize Theron in Monster or Jack Nicholson in The Shining, Darth Vader etc. Moments when the armour cracks and we catch a glimpse of the person that…

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Samuel Barnett

In the theme of your new series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency – since everyone will be asking you about the mysteries you’ve solved – what is a historically significant or famed mystery that you find completely uninteresting… or, likely possesses the least intriguing solution? An enduring mystery lies around Shakespeare. Did he really write all of those plays…?!?! Yep. He did. Mystery solved. What moment in your life did you feel the most like a tourist? I visited the giant bronze Buddha at a monastery on Lantau island. All the monks there were silent and dressed in their orange…

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Ruth Bradley

You’ve recently appeared in Humans, the highly acclaimed television series depicting a contemporary world with sophisticated android (Synth) servants. If in real life robots took over, how would you make yourself useful to our automated overlords? I would write some poetry. The ramblings of a lesser being might be amusing to them considering they wouldn’t have much else use for us. Scary prospect. Where is your favorite place or type of place to people-watch? Coffee shops all over London. What science fiction film did you find the most ‘realistic’ either in terms of the basic concept or the depiction of…

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Fady Elsayed

How do you distract yourself when you are procrastinating a task or chore of some kind? There are too many distractions! Music, Playstation, going to the gym, reading and sleeping being a few examples. What part of aspect/ event of modern culture/ civilization are you most happy you were alive for? A tricky question but I’d probably have to say equality. We live in a society where equality is becoming more of a forefront idea and although there’s more to be done, we’ve made huge progress. I have some strong women in my life and so for me, it’s incredibly…

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Morfydd Clark

You’ll soon be appearing in Interlude in Prague about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Discounting Mozart, which child prodigy do you find most fascinating? Rimanujan or William Gadoury, the 15-year-old Canadian boy who discovered a lost Mayan city using Google Maps. Describe your taste in music by way of a film soundtrack. Thelma and Louise Cast your favourite Shakespeare play with a contemporary cast/ director. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Puck – Patsy Ferran Oberon/ Theseus – Idris Elba Titania/ Hippolyta – Hayley Atwell Helena – Lydia Leonard Hermia – Anna Kendrick Demetrius – Simon Manyonda Lysander – Sope Dirisu Bottom – Michael…

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Inside Look: Bethan Cullinane

We spoke to actress Bethan Cullinane about her role as Innogen in Royal Shakespeare Company’s Cymbeline. What line from Cymbeline did you look forward to saying the most on opening night? “A large Gin and tonic, please”. My second favourite was probably my first line of the second half. It’s the first time I directly speak to the audience. I walk out, disguised as a boy and say “I see a man’s life is a tedious one”. It tends to get a laugh, and after a very emotionally heavy first half it’s a nice refresher. It is a moment of…

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