tammyy2j
02-09-2010, 17:35
Imogen Poots is definitely one to watch. The young actress has gone from humble beginnings in an episode of Casualty to roles in movies like V For Vendetta, Chatroom and Miss Austen Regrets. Now she's starring in ITV's remake of the controversial classic Bouquet Of Barbed Wire, so we gave her a ring to find out more about the show, her character Prue, and working with a couple of Doctor Who stars.
What attracted you to Bouquet Of Barbed Wire?
"The role as a whole was very intriguing, especially as a part for a young girl. There was a lot to do and a lot that happened to Prue. And I think teenage years are a really incredible time to focus on because you're really changing as a person."
Can you give us an overview of the plot?
"Prue is extremely close to her family and she comes from a very lovely background. She introduces her new boyfriend Gavin, who's meant to be a bit older than her, and this causes disruption in the family as they learn of her pregnancy. I think had it just been the pregnancy, it would have been fine. But you start to [find out about] underlying problems such as incestual feelings from her father towards her. And also there's abuse [from] her boyfriend. There was a quote somebody once said about the original, about how everybody shags everybody else, and I think that's quite apt for the idea of this. In Bouquet everybody's linked to someone else in some way and the dynamics become quite blurred."
Were you nervous about portraying the incest?
"No, not at all, because I believe Trevor Eve [who plays Prue's father] and I understood exactly what we wanted to do. And one thing we didn't want to do was to play it completely safe, because if you're going to do that there's no point in remaking Bouquet Of Barbed Wire. At the same time we didn't ever want to explicitly say, 'Look what's happening'. Without defending his actions in any way, Peter completely adores his daughter. She's essentially his best friend. So when she suddenly becomes sexualised, I think that's a very difficult thing for her father to get his head around."
You also mentioned domestic violence. Were you worried about that?
"No, not at all. It was very important that all of us worked out exactly how our characters felt about each other and themselves. Obviously Gavin is just as damaged as the rest of them, if not more so. So regarding the abuse - the amount of questions she was asking him, I think it was only a matter of time before unfortunately he would lash out."
If you had to persuade someone to watch the show, what would you say?
"Many people are saying it's very controversial - it is and it hopefully should remain that way, but it's really just telling the story of a normal family. They're enjoying life and everything's perfect, but it's really the introduction of Gavin which turns everything upside down. And it's interesting to see how people who you have admired your whole life or have looked up to can make mistakes. So I think it's really a story of human flaws."
You worked on Christopher And His Kind with Matt Smith recently as well. How was that?
"I really enjoyed that. Again, the cast were all really brilliant. Matt Smith's a real laugh. He's such a talented actor and it's amazing how he played this part that's the complete antithesis to his role in Doctor Who. Hopefully people will recognise that. He's a brilliant actor."
And you're working with former Doctor Who star David Tennant on Fright Night at the moment.
"Yeah, I know, it's quite strange! We're just on our third day of filming and it's really good fun, everybody's lovely. It's mainly just been scenes with Anton Yelchin at the moment, who's playing my boyfriend. It's all going really well."
Bouquet Of Barbed Wire begins September 6 at 9pm on ITV1.
What attracted you to Bouquet Of Barbed Wire?
"The role as a whole was very intriguing, especially as a part for a young girl. There was a lot to do and a lot that happened to Prue. And I think teenage years are a really incredible time to focus on because you're really changing as a person."
Can you give us an overview of the plot?
"Prue is extremely close to her family and she comes from a very lovely background. She introduces her new boyfriend Gavin, who's meant to be a bit older than her, and this causes disruption in the family as they learn of her pregnancy. I think had it just been the pregnancy, it would have been fine. But you start to [find out about] underlying problems such as incestual feelings from her father towards her. And also there's abuse [from] her boyfriend. There was a quote somebody once said about the original, about how everybody shags everybody else, and I think that's quite apt for the idea of this. In Bouquet everybody's linked to someone else in some way and the dynamics become quite blurred."
Were you nervous about portraying the incest?
"No, not at all, because I believe Trevor Eve [who plays Prue's father] and I understood exactly what we wanted to do. And one thing we didn't want to do was to play it completely safe, because if you're going to do that there's no point in remaking Bouquet Of Barbed Wire. At the same time we didn't ever want to explicitly say, 'Look what's happening'. Without defending his actions in any way, Peter completely adores his daughter. She's essentially his best friend. So when she suddenly becomes sexualised, I think that's a very difficult thing for her father to get his head around."
You also mentioned domestic violence. Were you worried about that?
"No, not at all. It was very important that all of us worked out exactly how our characters felt about each other and themselves. Obviously Gavin is just as damaged as the rest of them, if not more so. So regarding the abuse - the amount of questions she was asking him, I think it was only a matter of time before unfortunately he would lash out."
If you had to persuade someone to watch the show, what would you say?
"Many people are saying it's very controversial - it is and it hopefully should remain that way, but it's really just telling the story of a normal family. They're enjoying life and everything's perfect, but it's really the introduction of Gavin which turns everything upside down. And it's interesting to see how people who you have admired your whole life or have looked up to can make mistakes. So I think it's really a story of human flaws."
You worked on Christopher And His Kind with Matt Smith recently as well. How was that?
"I really enjoyed that. Again, the cast were all really brilliant. Matt Smith's a real laugh. He's such a talented actor and it's amazing how he played this part that's the complete antithesis to his role in Doctor Who. Hopefully people will recognise that. He's a brilliant actor."
And you're working with former Doctor Who star David Tennant on Fright Night at the moment.
"Yeah, I know, it's quite strange! We're just on our third day of filming and it's really good fun, everybody's lovely. It's mainly just been scenes with Anton Yelchin at the moment, who's playing my boyfriend. It's all going really well."
Bouquet Of Barbed Wire begins September 6 at 9pm on ITV1.