IN CONVERSATION WITH ANNABEL SCHOLEY
interview by JANA LETONJA
With a career defined by intelligent, compelling performances, Annabel Scholey continues to establish herself as one of Britain’s most versatile screen talents. This autumn, she leads the highly anticipated new ITV crime drama Winter, starring opposite Richard Armitage as DI Lauren Bell, a meticulous detective whose unconventional partnership with a forensic pathologist tackles some of the country’s most complex murder investigations. Alongside Winter, audiences can also look forward to seeing Annabel return in Part 2 of Disney’s hit series Rivals. Best known for standout performances in The Split and the BAFTA-winning The Sixth Commandment, Annabel joins us to discuss her latest projects, her approach to complex characters, and the career that’s made her one of the UK’s most exciting acting talents.
photography by DAVID REISS
Winter introduces audiences to DI Lauren Bell. What was it about her that immediately made you want to take on the role?
I’d worked with this team the year before, Eagle Eye and Happy Duck, on The Couple Next Door, so I knew the team really well and they’re such an incredible team to work for. It’s so collaborative and I always feel so in the heart of things, which I feel is really important. At my age, with my experience, I like to feel right in the centre of the team. It’s the best. So, I knew what I was getting myself in for and I knew the French show was already a success.
I’ve admired Richard for a very long time. We had a great chemistry read where it felt like we were on the same page, which felt really exciting. There were lots of different factors. I haven’t played a detective before. I’ve played a lawyer, a surgeon, a scientist, but not a detective and it was something that I was really interested in exploring. Lauren has a real sarcasm and dryness about her personality. She’s not an open book, she hides a lot of how she feels and for me, I’ve played a lot of roles where the character wears their heart on their sleeve, is very emotional with lots of twists and turns, but I haven’t played many characters that keep everything under the surface, so that was a really different challenge for me which pulled me in.
Lauren is described as meticulous, no-nonsense and willing to bend the rules when necessary. How did you go about building her character?
As with The Couple Next Door, we had a lovely week of rehearsal time with the two directors, Dries and Kaat, myself, Richard, Jamie Kenna, and Matt the producer, and we all sat down with the writer, David, on Zoom and got to discuss the characters at length and talk about anything we thought either wasn’t quite there or that we wanted to bring out more, which was brilliant. So I guess we really started building her from that moment. But the writing’s amazing and the relationship on the page between DI Bell and Winter is so brilliant. There’s a lot of banter. It was all there in the script. I enjoyed finding her groove because I’ve not spent a lot of time in that type of character before.
Normally, for me, a piece of clothing makes all the difference. I felt very grounded in her boots. I felt like a powerful woman in a job that is still largely male dominated and so what she was wearing and her look really helped me find her.
Your on-screen partnership with Richard Armitage is central to the series. What was it like developing that dynamic together?
I’ve been a fan of Richard’s for a long time. I have huge respect for him. He’s so meticulous, hard-working and generous as a screen partner. We’re both quite focussed and serious people and we both started from a dance background so we’re both quite physical actors and with this, we had to do a lot of crime scene forensics out on location. We did have quite a few scenes where we were using a steady cam and we had to really work with the crew as if it were a dance.
In episode 3, we meet at the crime scene and I think we did 8 pages in one shot. It took us all morning, but we were in our element because we had to be physical and that’s our acting language. The dynamic was there right from the chemistry test and, as we got to know each other, the layers built. I really enjoy the fact that, as a published author, he has a writer’s brain. I love the detail that he always found. We were always looking at the script and playing around with things, making suggestions. It was a pleasure to work with him.
Police procedurals remain hugely popular. What do you think makes Winter stand out from the genre?
Winter is shot in Europe with an European production team and directors, so I do think it has a European vibe about it. Dries Vos, who also directed The Couple Next Door, is very ambitious with the way he shoots things. The pace is quick, the lighting is beautiful and for me it has a Scandinavian noir about it. It’s messy and surprising. He likes to play around with shots and likes to present what you wouldn’t necessarily expect in an ITV drama. Also, the cases are very theatrical, it has a Sherlock Holmes vibe. They’re very out of the ordinary and at times quite gruesome. There’s also a lot of humour between the main characters Winter, Bell and Daldry. I feel like people will get something different from what the bargain for which is exciting.
The series balances dark subject matter with compelling character relationships. Was finding that balance important for you as an actor?
There’s a dark humour about it and I think people in these jobs, such as forensics and the police force, have to find lightness in the dark otherwise they wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning. So, to portray them accurately, we had to find that balance. And also, the audience wants a bit of everything. We all enjoy thrillers and true stories, but it is important to also care about the characters and their relationships. You don’t quite know what Winter and Bell are, whether there’s a kind of chemistry there, if it’s brother and sister or something more sexual. There are lots of unanswered questions, which will hopefully keep people interested.
Fans will also be excited to see more of Beattie Johnson in Part 2 of Rivals. How does her journey evolve in the new episodes?
Beattie is on a new mission. She has the bit between her teeth and there’s no stopping that woman when she fixates on something, and she has a vendetta against Rupert, who she really fell for and who disappointed her. She was left vulnerable, which is her pet hate in life. People will see her becoming a lot more aligned with Tony Baddingham, who is probably her kindred spirit. There’s no limit on the depths she’ll sink to and you’ll see that the more time she spends with Tony, the more information she uncovers. You’ll see that she’ll go to the same depths as Tony. They’re a bad influence on each other.
What has been most enjoyable about returning to that world and seeing your character become even more integral to the story?
I joined the series as a very small part, but I knew the character was famous in the books, and I actually had the privilege early on in season one of meeting Jilly Cooper. She said she wanted to come and see who Beattie was and I thought, “Wow that’s so cool, my character is so recognisable.” She’s brilliantly awful and has a different tone to the other female characters. She doesn’t have a male partner that she’s tied to. She forges her own way in the world, good or bad. She’s professional, she’s good at her job. She’s obviously morally bankrupt, but she’s operating in a masculine world and she’s holding her own, so that’s really cool.
It was nice to go back and start to explore that with her, find out what makes her tick and what her underbelly is and why she is the way she is, which hasn’t fully been explored yet. She’s got layers that we’re not aware of yet. Nobody’s bad for bad’s sake, so that’s been really nice to start exploring. To play somebody that powerful, with those clothes and that hair, who’s so far away from yourself, with that ensemble, doing comedy, I loved it. I’ve mostly done drama in my career so to do comedy with those brilliant actors is just a joy and I learned so much from it. And it’s been a massive hit, which is every actor's dream, to be part of something that is loved by everyone.
You’ve built a career playing complex, layered women. Is that something you actively seek when choosing roles?
Absolutely yes. I think you know when you get to forty, you have an itch to scratch. It doesn’t necessarily get scratched by just being cast in something. I’ve been very lucky, I’ve explored a lot of different types of women, and I think when you’re playing women in their forties, it gets more and more beautifully intricate and complicated. It's a really interesting time of life where you’re probably a parent, you’re dealing with your parents, you're really looking at where you’ve got to at this midpoint, and so to play somebody who doesn’t have those complications isn’t really of interest to me. I like to be pushed in directions I’m not used to, I like to explore avenues that I don’t necessarily explore in my own life even. So yeah, it’s very important to me. I love to be challenged, I love something that is scary to me. I like to change physically, I like to change accents if possible, so I’m always looking for that.
What continues to excite you most about your work after so many acclaimed roles?
I think I love the thrill of being part of a crew, particularly on Winter. I love that group of people so much. I’m so fascinated by everyone’s job on set. There’s a part of me that thinks I probably could’ve been a first AD in another life, or a producer. I’m so in awe of how it gets put together, and everyone’s contribution, and how we pull it together as a team. It’s thrilling to me. And I think I never get bored of trying to get better and looking at how you can really find a brilliant relationship with the camera and the director of photography that you’re specifically working with. You know, find a shorthand, work out how your face works, what works, what doesn’t work. I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of that. And the more chances I get with different types of roles, obviously, the more thrilling that is.
Is there a genre or type of role you still haven’t had the chance to explore but would love to tackle next?
I’ve been very lucky, I do think I have tried quite a lot of genres. I haven’t been typecast in one genre. I do drama, I do comedy. There is a bit of me that would like to go back to my roots. I’m from West Yorkshire. I would like to play somebody from there, not even necessarily a modern character. I feel like I haven’t scratched that itch to do period enough. I’ve done some period drama, but there’s a huge part of me that would really like to do that. And if it could be northern, that would be great. I’m so crazy about the World War II period, and I just think that would be a really lovely thing to explore. As long as it’s just different all the time, I’m very happy.
Outside of acting, what keeps you busy and fulfilled?
Well, I live in the countryside, and I love walking my dog and wild swimming, looking after my daughter, and I’m completely obsessed with reformer Pilates, like most of us are. I lived in London for 20 odd years, and I’ve moved back to the countryside. We walk in Wales, we go to the beach, and I’m still completely crazy about going to the cinema, the Everyman. So yeah, we watch a lot of films. And other than that, I’m working.
TEAM CREDITS:
photography DAVID REISS
styling ROSIE ARKELL-PALMER
make-up BROOKE SIMONS
hair SVEN BAYERBACH
