Being Ready
Earlier this month I spent a very enjoyable five days filming on the first episode of a crime series of for the BBC. I was taken by how the structure of a day's filming, is so like our working life as actors in general. Some days from the moment you arrive on set, you might be busy for the whole day, but that is rare. You might have a scene off in the middle of the day which, if you're lucky, will necessitate returning to your trailer at location base and passing an hour or so catching up on emails or having a snooze. Being of a generation who remembers filming before we had smartphones, I remember how an essential part of one's location kit would include some cheap tacky paperback which you could immerse yourself in without any real commitment. Twice in my twenties, I asked my mother if she could teach me how to knit, as I saw lots of older actors sitting around in their trailers completing scarves and christening blankets and working through their Christmas list fo