*Metro: Keeley Hawes: ‘I didn’t mind working in McDonald’s. I love junk food’

Actress Keeley Hawes is best known for her roles in Spooks and Ashes To Ashes. She talks to Metro about her current stage play, Rocket To The Moon, the monkey in Upstairs Downstairs and her husband Matthew MacFadyen.

Tell us something we don’t know about you.
I’ve just started knitting again. Someone has set up a knitting club in a pub near me. I love it. It’s very therapeutic. I always had to get my sister to cast on and off for me but I’ve learned how to do that now. I’ve knitted lots of scarves and I’ve moved on to scarves with tassels.

It doesn’t come easy trying to imagine Keeley Hawes, gamine young star of steamy period dramas such as the BBC’s Wives and Daughters and heavily cleavaged ones such as the Diana Dors biopic Blonde Bombshell, sitting at home knitting. She says that her sister has to cast off for her — but still, this is surely not the way the TV-watching public sees this actress who can simmer away with the best of them. Certainly if you catch her in her new film, The Last September, you wouldn’t expect her to be knocking out woolly jumpers on her nights off.

London Evening Standard, 26 April 2000

Why did you want to become an actress?
I started when I was nine, when I played the Pied Piper in a school play and really loved it. I probably just liked showing off but I found it thrilling. My teacher suggested I should have drama lessons because I loved it so much. I ended up going to the Sylvia Young Theatre School, which had just moved into the road I lived on.

Was it full of stage school brats?
No, it wasn’t when I was there. Emma Bunton was there and some of the girls from All Saints. It was brilliant. I had a fantastic time and it wasn’t like Fame at all.

You’re in your first stage play now. Was the first night scary?
I was terrified but I’m so pleased I’ve done it — I’m very proud of myself. I consciously made the decision I didn’t want to start with a big leading role in something. I didn’t have the confidence, to be honest.

The play is set in a dentist’s waiting room. Do you have any irrational fears?
I don’t like dirt. Cleanliness is high on my agenda but I don’t have a phobia of dirt. I’m just not keen on it. I don’t really like dirty people or houses or smelly things.

What is the appeal of period dramas?
There’s always going to be a call for it because we do them so well in this country. Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey appeal to people because they’re about our history, they look so beautiful, are written by amazing writers and have high production values.

Does the monkey come back in the next Upstairs Downstairs?
I hope so. We really loved it but you’re not allowed to look it in the eye. They take it as a sign of aggression. It didn’t attack anyone but quite viciously grabbed a bunch of grapes from Eileen Atkins once, which made us all scream. There are actually three monkeys. It’s like working with children, you have to replace them when they get tired. One seemed a lot angrier than the others. Even when you do a scene where you’re supposed to be looking at the monkey, you’re not allowed to. They film it without the monkey, otherwise you get your wig ripped off.

What’s the most unusual day’s work you’ve had?
Doing Sport Relief on Ashes was bonkers. We had lots of 1980s sports stars standing around the office, which was very odd. They never stopped appearing. It was an endless procession of people such as Daley Thompson and Frank Bruno, and you can see us all looking a bit confused. Then Michael Parkinson came out with a wig on.

Your husband is an actor. Do you critique each other’s performances?
No. He came to see the play and I asked his opinion and he gave some constructive advice because he’s got so much experience in theatre. We don’t watch a lot of TV but if we did, it would be a bit weird to sit around watching each other.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
I worked in McDonald’s but I didn’t mind it. You got free cheeseburgers. I love eating a bit of junk food.

What else would you like to achieve with your career?
I don’t have any burning ambitions to do anything I haven’t done already. It’s just always nice to see what comes up. You get offered things you’d never thought of doing and think: ‘I’d love to do this.’

• Keeley Hawes is promoting Kenco’s Mellicano taste setters campaign. For more on the campaign go to www.facebook.com/kencomillicano

• Rocket To The Moon is at the National Theatre, London, until June.

By Andrew Williams for The Metro.

(Source: metro.co.uk)