IN CONVERSATION WITH MICHELLE KEEGAN
interview by JANA LETONJA
English actress Michelle Keegan is best known for her role on ITV soap opera ‘Coronation Street’. Most recently, we’ve been able to watch her in Netflix’s thriller series ‘Fool Me Once’. Next up, she’ll be reprising her role on Sky Max’ comedy drama series ‘Brassic’, which will premiere its sixth season later this year.
Michelle, most recently we’ve been able to watch you in Netflix’s ‘Fool Me Once’, adapted from Harlan Coben’s novel of the same name. What did you enjoy most about this project?
The thing I loved most about this project was the genre. I'm a huge fan of Harlan’s books, I love his twists and turns, but with this book in particular, he took the twist to a new level.
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What did challenge and excite you cretively the most about portraying Maya, through her story of finding the truth about her husband’s death?
I’d never done a thriller before, so I was excited to do something a little different. Creatively, Maya is a different type of character for people to see me play, which I loved. It was one of the things that most excited me about doing the role. Also, as mentioned earlier, I’ve been a huge fan of Harlan's books for a long time and had read the book before working on the show. To play a character that you already felt you knew was also something new for me and the twist was such a huge shock for me when I read the book. I just couldn’t wait to get started.
Later this year, you’ll also be reprising your role in the sixth season of Sky Max’ series ‘Brassic’. What can the fans expect from the upcoming season?
A lot more chaos, plenty more mishaps, a lot of laughter and we also find out what has happened to Dylan.
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How would you describe your character’s, Erin’s, development throughout all the seasons?
In the first season of ‘Brassic’ you see Erin trying to run away from Vinnie, her life and where she grew up. I think as the season’s progressed, she slowly started to accept that it’s just part of her, and you see that she’s proud to be part of the gang. Even though she tries to get away from it, it somehow follows her and she's just accepted that.
Another project you’ll be reprising your role on is BBC One’s historical drama series ‘Ten Pound Poms’. What do you love the most about this story and your character Kate?
What I love about ‘Ten Pound Poms’ and the storyline is the fact that it’s based on true events from the 1950s. Single mums and mums that suffered postnatal depression back in the 50s, or young single mothers that had their children taken away from them, and the children were shipped to Australia without their knowledge. I love learning what actually happened back in the 1950, I find it fascinating. Kate, my character, goes against the grain. She's a very strong, independent character. She went off to Australia on her own for one reason, and that was to find her son. No matter what happens, she can't be stopped, and I love her determination. I love how strong she is. I do think she was ahead of time and a character like that really excites me.
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Can you tease anything about the upcoming episodes?
I can’t give too much away, but will say that, again, it isn't all smooth sailing for Kate. This season is all about her trying to find her way, start a new life in Australia and there are elements of happiness, which we didn't see in the first season.
The filming of ‘Ten Pound Poms’ has taken place in Australia. How was it filming down under? What do you enjoy the most about Australia?
It was seeing a part of the world that I've never been to before, and the Australian way of living. Everything was very outdoorsy, everything was very chilled. The weather obviously was lovely because we're filming in British winter, so we filmed in Australian summer, which is great, and everyone on set was so welcoming.
With all the new seasons of your projects coming out soon, what kind of roles would you like to explore in the future?
Maybe playing in a darker role. I think I've been very lucky with the roles that I've played, that they’ve been quite likeable, but it would be fun and challenging to play a role which is a bit darker. I'd love to do a lot more action roles because when I was playing Georgie and Maya, there were a lot of action scenarios and action scenes, and I just threw myself in and I thoroughly enjoyed the roles, so definitely something like that in the future.
After having such a busy schedule in the last few months, what are you most looking forward to this summer?
I'm looking forward to spending time catching up with family and friends this summer. Hopefully the weather's nice and we have a gorgeous British summer.
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TEAM CREDITS:
talent MICHELLE KEEGAN
photographer LEE MALONE
stylist THOMAS GEORGE WULBERN
hair HAROLD CASEY
makeup EMMY CLARKSON
styling assistant LEONIE DENNETT
video RODNEY RICO
editor TIMI LETONJA
interview JANA LETONJA
cover design ARTHUR ROELOFFZEN