26 Inspector Morse prequel, Endeavour, in which she plays the “likeable” helen cartwright, who’s linked to the murder victim. She describes it as “a tremendously fun whodunit… It was such an honour to work with two actors of the calibre of Shaun Evans [as the young Morse] and Roger Allam [as his superior dI fred thursday]. they approached each episode very much as a film, which really fed into the whole process.” It was also a chance for Grant to revisit Oxford, her university city, where the series was filmed, and which was a formative place: “I still remember my reviews from the Oxford student papers. they were such a big deal at the time.” She turned up to read English, wanting ultimately to be an opera singer, and only started acting to meet people. One thing led to another. the alternative was to be a barrister, but, as she puts it, “my English tutor once asked me, ‘do you have any actual interest in law?’ and I had to say no, realising I’d answered that particular question!” Oxford has produced a number of Britain’s most exciting young actors of late – her contemporaries included Alice Eve, harry lloyd and felicity Jones – and she claims that “it’s amazing for actors, all the more so because nobody actually studies drama there, it’s all done by the students themselves.” Grant’s first break came shortly after she left university, when she was cast in the bigbudget fantasy film Stardust. “I had to audition as a boy in a woman’s body, which went well, and then I was offered the part. One of my costars gave me a copy of Ulysses on set, and said ‘Read this instead! don’t be an actor!’” thankfully, she ignored his advice, and rose to prominence as the compassionate aristocrat, lady Adelaide, in Lark Rise to Candleford. her pre-Raphaelite looks and upper-crust voice have seen her cast as gentry ever since – something she’s perfectly happy about. “I like to do transformative things, and walking into other worlds is always fun. I don’t worry about being typecast, I’m just pleased to be working, and it’s nice to get more and more varied roles.” She pauses and grins. “plus, as a lady, you get all the best costumes!” Since then, Grant’s appeared in everything from Poirot (“david Suchet’s an inspiration – and much smaller than you think!”) to the Rhys Ifans-starring howard Marks biography Mr Nice. She’s not afraid to admit that her major influences growing up were Merchant Ivory films, specifically A Room with a View – something that once got her into trouble with a casting director. “She said, ‘If you’re going for that helena Bonham carter vibe, my advice would be, don’t!’ So I left feeling rubbish, but I’ve spent the past five years doing period drama, so I guess that proves people can be wrong about these things!” She’s admirably clear-sighted about working in a notoriously fickle industry. “It’s an honour to get cast in anything, especially in America. Our traditions of acting are really different. Over here, most actors start slightly older, and do more theatre. Over there, they’re scarily young and can’t really get involved in the theatre world, because there isn’t one apart from in new york.” not that she’s complaining, especially given the American love of British period drama. “they love downton in the States. It’s ridiculous! they’re really respectful of costume drama, which is great because, comparatively, our budgets are far lower than theirs.” next up are a couple of films, romantic drama Copenhagen and psychological thriller Gozo (“I keep getting sent scripts that are named after places”), but she’s got a surprising wish for the future. “What I’d really like is to do a show in which I hold a gun and run a lot. I used to dance so I try and keep physically fit, and it would be brilliant to use that in a role.” Olivia Grant: actress, writer, renaissance woman – and the next Sigourney Weaver, if she has her way. Judging by her career to date, I wouldn’t bet against it.
cover STORY BrIdGe MaGaZine 27
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