Paranoid's Polly Walker: I like playing a troublemaker
POLLY Walker plays tough-talking women but away from the limelight, the loveable star is a big softie.
Plenty of actors have admitted growing up dreaming of winning an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony or some such prestigious award. Not Polly Walker. When she was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2005 for best performance by an actress in a television drama, her reaction was one of terror rather than jubilation.
“It just filled me with fear,” she admits of the recognition she got for her portrayal of femme fatale Atia in the epic drama Rome.
Monica’s not your stereotypical mother, but she’s very proprietorial over her son, very possessive
The thought she might have to walk on stage and give a speech – if she beat fellow nominees Glenn Close, Kyra Sedgwick, Patricia Arquette and Geena Davis (the eventual victor) – was a total shock.
“It filled me with fear to the point I actually thought I’d got Bell’s palsy. I had this permanent twitch.” She touches her cheek at the memory.
ITV's Paranoid is a highly intense crime drama
“I don’t particularly enjoy that side of things.”
Polly won critical acclaim playing attention-grabbing women: predatory lawyer Gill Biggeloe in police drama Line Of Duty, erotic novelist and nightclub owner Delphine Day in Mr Selfridge and the aforementioned Atia.
Her new role is in ITV’s psychological thriller Paranoid – a sprawling Broadchurch-like drama packed with false leads and twists galore. Monica Wayfield, the character she plays, positively revels in being the centre of attention and setting cats among pigeons. Every fibre of her being screams “me, me, me”.
“Monica is very flawed,” explains Polly with great understatement. “She’s a needy woman, manipulative, unpredictable, unstable, dramatic and self-absorbed. You couldn’t be in a room with her and ignore her… however hard you tried.”
The drama begins with the fatal stabbing of GP Angela Benton in a rural children’s playground while she pushes her three-year-old son on a swing. There’s an abundance of witnesses. Her assailant is identified as schizophrenic Jacob Appley.
Nothing, however, is as it seems. Jacob’s psychiatrist (Michael Maloney) certainly has something to hide. And how does he know Monica and her son Alec Wayfield? Is she under the psychiatrist – in one way or another? “She’s been under him in all ways,” Polly laughs. “He was her psychiatrist, then it crossed into a relationship. Lesley Sharp’s character [witness Lucy Cannonbury] has a link with him, too. She’s had issues.
“Monica’s not your stereotypical mother, but she’s very proprietorial over her son, very possessive. She’s quite Machiavellian, but I don’t think she has the skills to pull it off because she’s so out there. She has psychological problems and is quite reliant on other stuff: drink and drugs.”
“I like playing a troublemaker,” Polly adds. “She’s totally different to me. I see myself as a fairly balanced person.” She laughs. “Well, I would hope... although, as an actor, you do lie for a living, don’t you?” She grins. “In real life, though, I’m a very bad liar. Apparently, I blink a lot.” So you can’t pull the wool over your husband’s eyes then? “No,” she laughs. “It’s easier to be truthful.”
Polly’s husband is actor-turned-property developer Laurence Penry-Jones. They met when starring in Les Liaisons Dangereuses in the West End with Jared Harris and Emilia Fox. They married in 2008. Formerly Dr Oliver Berg in Doctors, Laurence is, of course, part of an acting family.
His parents are the late Peter Penry-Jones (pilot officer Peter Muir in Colditz) and To The Manor Born’s Angela Thorne. His brother is Spooks star Rupert Penry-Jones, who’s married to Ballykissangel’s Dervla Kirwan.
Polly would love to work with her in-laws and admits, when all together, they can’t help but discuss the business. “The last thing you want to talk about is acting when you’re together, but inevitably we do,” she grins. “You compare stories or complain. It’s definitely good to have a point of reference sometimes.”
The 50 year old – who grew up in Warrington, Cheshire, with two sisters and a brother – isn’t from a family of professional performers. Yet, she admits “there’s definitely performance genes” from both parents. Her mother Georgiana is a former art teacher and her father Arthur a hotelier. They run Statham Lodge Hotel in Lymm.
Actors with lots of siblings often say they ended up acting because they had to make themselves heard as a kid. “That’s true,” she laughs. “You have to be fairly proactive as one of four otherwise you won’t eat. No one stands on ceremony, it’s a bit of a bunfight. Everyone for themselves.”Growing up, she wanted to be a dancer.
Dress, £89, Phase Eight (020 7471 4422, phase-eight.com) Photographs: Clive Shalice Hair and make-up by Danielle Hudson at Artistic Licence
“I started going to the local ballet school at four years old. My cousin went to the Royal Ballet and was a bit of an idol of mine, so I thought, ‘Maybe that’d be nice for me.’” Polly went on to board at Bush Davies Ballet School. At 16, she enrolled at the Ballet Rambert.
She wasn’t destined to become a ballerina, though. “My ankles, basically, are so double-jointed they couldn’t cope with that level of training. I just wasn’t built for it and I wasn’t the most dedicated,” she confesses. “Every time a teacher turned their back, I was leaning on the barre. I wasn’t fuelled by some great passion.”
Acting was a much better fit. “I knew I wanted to perform.” After drama school Polly made her professional debut in the RSC’s 1988 production of Hamlet with Mark Rylance. That was followed by the title role in the BBC’s 1990 adaptation of Lorna Doone – opposite Sean Bean and Clive Owen. Then, came a terrorist in Hollywood hit Patriot Games with Harrison Ford. “Such a lovely guy,” Polly enthuses. “I was so shy and starstruck, I could barely speak to him, but he was so nice.”
Since then, she’s worked on both sides of the Atlantic. There’s been US films such as Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow and Clash Of The Titans with Liam Neeson alongside TV series including Caprica, The Mentalist and Warehouse 13. While, in the UK, she’s starred in political thriller State Of Play and dramas The Syndicate and Prisoners’ Wives.
Polly and Laurence moved back to north London 18 months ago, having lived in America for eight years with her children: law student Giorgio, 22, and Delilah, 16. “We made the decision to do it as an adventure and see parts of the world,” she explains. “We did the whole hippy thing on top of a mountain in Topanga outside LA. It’s beautiful.
“We had a wonderful time and then it was time to come home. It would be one thing if you could transplant your whole family with you, but…”
She pauses. “I come from a big family and I really missed them. They got over the novelty of me being there and everyone coming out to visit. After a while, it’s a very long flight. My son was at the point he was off to university. So, it was time to come home. It was a great adventure, but I can’t be too far away from my roots.”
And come back she did. Playing Gill in Line Of Duty was a gift, so will she be back in the next series? “I don’t know, I would love to be because it’s such a brilliant show. But, as far as I know, Ted (Adrian Dunbar) told me to pack my bags. I was very upset by that. That was very rude! It’s such a good show and they are all brilliant actors, so I’d love to go back. We’ll see.”
Polly’s other great passion is cooking. “I’m a feeder,” she laughs. “I really love cooking. If I could think of another career, that’s where I’d go. Although doing it day to day would be incredibly difficult. I’ve seen from my parent’s business what hard work that is. But I’ve done pastry and pasta courses at Prue Leith’s school.”
She’d jump at the chance to show off her culinary skills on TV. “I’d love to do Bake Off,” she says. Even though the thought of being herself on TV rather than hiding behind a character could end up giving her a nervous twitch, she’d clearly make an exception for Mary Berry and co if Celebrity Bake Off came calling.
“I’m quite shy and don’t like putting myself in the public forum in any way shape or form, but I don’t think I’d be able to resist saying yes,” she laughs. “I’m such a huge fan.”
Paranoid is on ITV at 9pm on Thursday.
