interviewing actress Marie Everett

1-. How was your childhood?

Being a kid was great. I had a caring family, but I was also lucky enough to meet an amazing friend very young who played a huge role in filling my childhood with laughter, joy and the feeling of total acceptance. I think I was very lucky to find this so young, as a shy kid I often wonder how different it might have been without them.

2. - From what age did you decide to be an actress and how did you know you had the skillsto go on TV?

I was about 15 and it was thanks to an amazing teacher; Bridey Yorath. She saw something in a quiet, shy kid. And filled me with confidence, as well as creating amazing opportunities for her students, she went above and beyond in every way. I almost certainly would never have worked as an actor without her.

3. - Did your parents support you in the decision you made to be an actress?

Yes they always did without question. Which I think is the most amazing gift they could have given me. To allow me to follow my dream, be who I wanted to be and never question it. It meant I felt they respected me and my acting, so in turn so I did.

4. - What was your first appearance on the screens?

I had my first professional job in a short film whilst I was still at drama school. It was one of my happiest memories, the first time I got paid to act (and it wasn’t very much money!) it felt like a dream that you could be paid to do something you love.

5. - What was the role you liked the most?

This is a tough one, but I think I have to go for Ellie in ‘Star Wars Origins’. A hugely ambitious passion project of the very talented director Phil Hawkins. It was my first lead role and getting to shoot in the Sahara Desert, racing jeeps around and fighting with lightsabers whilst telling a story full of heart was a dream come true.

6.- What do you think led you to fame?

I’m certainly not famous, but what lead me to chase the dream was that feeling you get between action and cut. When you are playing a role you love, and you’re totally in the moment, to me it’s nothing short of magical. So I will always be chasing opportunities to feel like that.

7-. What types of characters you would like to interpret? I really enjoy playing women experiencing very dramatic out of the ordinary circumstances. Situations that are totally different from my every day experience.

8-. What actresses and actors do you feel comfortable working with?

I love to work with actors who enjoy playing freely in the moment and aren’t too tied to one idea of how the scene should go. When you feel the other actor is completely present in and not thinking about what they are going to do next it totally transports you to this other world with them. And that’s when you get that magical feeling I fell in love with as a kid. When you don’t know what’s going to happen next its incredibly exciting.

9-. In what other genres of art would you like to participate? (Works of theatre, music,

among others) I enjoyed dancing a lot when I was growing up and it’s a great way to express yourself. I would love to find a role that required me to be trained up in dancing… just putting that out there.

10.- Do you have any anecdotes that have marked you in your life and as a person?

It’s not an anecdote. But I found working with Noomi Rapace on ‘What Happened to Monday’ inspiring every day. Her work ethic was second to none. She played seven roles in that film, she was constantly filming and consistently in the gym training. I felt like I saw what success really takes for the first time. Maybe some people get lucky, but the rest work incredibly hard. Far, far harder than most. And I try to remember that when I’m feeling lazy and tired.

11.- What has been your greatest achievement?

Returning to work after my daughter was born. This industry is already tougher for women, there are fewer parts and more of us chasing after them, but becoming a mother took this to a whole new level. Balancing my new job of being a mum, whilst auditioning for jobs, getting back in shape and prepping for my lead role in a feature film ‘The Imposters’, which commenced shooting 9 months after she was born, required more from me than I thought I was capable of at times.

12.- What projects will you make next and which ones do you have in mind?

I have predominately worked in independent films and would like to continue to doing that. But it would also be great to play a regular role on TV because I really enjoy deep diving into characters and I would love to spend more time with a role. Fingers crossed the pilot I just filmed gets picked up.

13.- Would you like to make a movie in Spain? I actually filmed ‘The Imposters’ in Begur, Spain last year and it was amazing. It’s a brilliant place to film, one of my favourites, so the answer is YES PLEASE- I hope another job takes me back!

14.- you like spanish cinema? 

Absolutely. Not that long ago I watched ‘The Platform’ which was very disturbing and stuck with me for a while. I also really love Pan’s Labyrinth.