Family Secrets, Spies and Creative Inheritance

Ruth Wilson MBE has made a habit of tackling psychologically demanding roles. You’ll know her from playing a mother grieving the loss of her child in The Affair, a sociopathic research scientist in Luther or even from her acclaimed stage performances in Anna Christie and King Lear.

Now, Wilson is back with Apple TV's Down Cemetery Road, based on novels by Mick Herron. She stars opposite Emma Thompson, as an art restorer swept up in a high stakes crime drama.

We talk about her getting rejected from Oxford University, her failure to run the London Marathon in the way she envisaged and the power of aging naturally. Plus: how her father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis has helped her live in the present. A beautiful and intelligent conversation with a phenomenally talented actor.

✨ IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Introduction

02:11 The Power of Art

04:07 Working with Emma Thompson

07:04 Aging Naturally

08:57 Getting Rejected From Oxford

14:04 Grandfather Being a Spy & a Bigamist

20:21 A Very Royal Scandal

23:36: The London Marathon

31:37 Failing to Trust The Creative Process

38:30 The 24-Hour Play

💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:

‘People are endlessly fascinating and surprising. They're never what you expect and you can find connections with anyone.’

‘I think it's important to face things you don't want to see, because only then will you grow. Only then will you live properly.’

‘Our gift as a human is to be able to think and feel. So, do it and be challenged.Be challenged by what disgusts you.’

🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:

Ruth stars in Down Cemetery Road - watch on Apple TV

Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content

Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/

📚 WANT MORE?

Sharon Horgan - talks about drama school, auditions and a very personal failure: her marriage https://link.chtbl.com/hR7kycoN

Simon Callow - reflects on how admitting vulnerability around his sexuality and ambition shaped his career and self-belief swap.fm/l/3PddGvv8lKReXT5WJRWl

Gugu Mbatha-Raw - on how failing at ballet led to her succeeding at acting. Plus: resisting typecasting, dealing with difficult co-stars and how her restlessness drives her forward https://link.chtbl.com/wDCLLc94

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Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan

Engineer: Matias Torres

Assistant Producer: Suhaar Ali

Producer: Nia Deo

Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot

Executive Producer: Carly Maile

How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.

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