Ruth Wilson - Be Challenged By What Disgusts You
How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
Working with Emma Thompson on Down Cemetery Road
Ruth describes the rare dynamic of two complex female leads and the playful, surprising chemistry with Emma Thompson.
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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👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth:
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Website: www.elizabethday.org
Elizabeth and Ruth answer YOUR questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com
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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