Its lunchtime on the day ofScoopsLondon premiere, and the corridors of the Langham hotel are abuzz with activity.
InScoop, there is something almost eerie about the actors embodiment of her.
Throughout, its clear that she feels an enormous sense of responsibility to get the interview exactly right.
Photo: Peter Mountain/Netflix
No, Maitlis replies.
Shes masterful but, then again, weve come to expect nothing less from Anderson.
Vogue: I read that you initially avoided watching theNewsnightinterview because you heard it was such a car crash.
Photo: Peter Mountain/Netflix
When did you finally get around to watching it?
Theres such a disconnect.
And it makes you ask questions like: why would someone put themselves in that position?
Photo: Peter Mountain/Netflix
How did that even happen?
And thats what our film is aboutits about the women who were involved in making this happen.
I know you turned down the role at first, because it felt too tricky.
Photo: Peter Mountain/Netflix
What made you change your mind?
It was the script.
And they said, Well, you know that means youhaveto do it, right?
Photo: Peter Mountain/Netflix
Because its so potentially scary.
What did you learn from the script about the behind-the-scenes story that you didnt know before?
Initially, it was the fact of how many people it takes to make it secure interviews.
Photo: Peter Mountain/Netflix
I also found the rehearsal process for the interview fascinating.
Its a very delicate dance.
Can you also talk to me about perfecting her voice, mannerisms, and physicality?
Shes very self-deprecating and funny.
I also studied interviews shed done on YouTube.
Theres so much footage out there.
Its also really interesting to watch what she does in an interview while the other person is talking.
And, obviously, thats specifically interesting in this interview.
The camera was on her, but I dont think she knew that it was rolling yet.
So, you see her unguarded and its not performative.
That very precise bob and the military jacket also helped your transformation into Emily.
What are the details in that costuming that are worth looking out for?
So, Emily has a few military jacketsits part of her look and something she seems to like.
Shes got two, maybe even three of varying lengths.
So, how much of that is armor?
Also, the choice to wear trousers when she is wearing quite short skirts so much of the time.
We see a lot of leg in her interviews, so you know shes confident there.
All those little things were very telling.
She always has it resting, and its in this very particular way.
Its pretty much there in every sit-down interview.
What was it like filming that interview scene opposite Rufus, who is so unsettling in this role?
It was one of the first things we filmed.
By that point, Id studied that interview so much.
It was almost like a dance.
That was the first time we were sat in front of each other because we never rehearsed it.
It was really surreal.
Having studied the interview so much, what do you think the key was to Emilys success?
I found it interesting, the degree to which shes gentle at the beginning.
She doesnt let him off the hook.
She asked the same questions a couple of times in different ways.
She just trusted that wed see those things for what they were.
And theres a definite brilliance in that.
Like when he talks about his straightforward shooting weekend with Jeffrey Epstein and she just doesnt react.
Its probably one of my favorite lines.
She locks eyes with him but shes not fazed.
Shes like, Right.
Was that in her memoir?
So it was a double whammy.
Ive been in his presence and its unbelievably daunting.
I can understand how frustrating that would have been.
Thats why independent public service journalism is so important to society.
The film is a real testament to its importance.
What do you hope viewers leave it with?
I really like the film and, you know, one doesnt always get to say that.
I was thinking, Are they going to lose this?
Its actually happened on a couple of occasions.
So that was weird and Im sure a little bit creepy.
The second time, I actually saw her in Hyde Park.
All of a sudden my brain just went Moody!
And thats when I looked up and saw her, and I almost said, Hey!
I just saw our film!
Id literally seen it the night before.
As if it wasourfilm.
Thankfully, something stopped me.
I just stood there.
The whippet in the film is great, it has to be said.
Did you get to bond?
That dog only bonds with its owner.
It was in a very codependent relationship with its owner, which made that challenging.
But it was great fun to wander through the halls of the BBC together.
She waded through them all and chose certain ones to include.
And it was important that it was multicultural and multinational.
We got 800 letters and we ended up with about 174.
It was a lot of editing but I really enjoyed that process of choosing which letters would follow which.
There are so many ways in which things havent changed.
I found that both surprising and not surprising.
Scoopis on Netflix from April 5.Wantby Gillian Anderson isout on September 17.
