Actress Frances O'Connor was born in Wantage, but raised in Australia. She found fame in movies including Mansfield Park and AI: Artificial Intelligence, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the BBC’s drama The Missing. She talks about not giving out spoilers, the second series of the show, and why the only difference between working in film and TV is the food

WERE YOU PLEASED WITH THE REACTION TO THE MISSING?

It’s been such a great response. You work on these things in isolation and you never know what the reaction will be, but it's been great that so many people have gone on a journey with it.

DID YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE ASKING YOU FOR SPOILERS OR SHARING THEIR THEORIES WITH YOU?

At first all my friends were like, ‘I don’t want to know, don’t tell me’, but then they were saying, ‘You know this scene where that happened? Does that mean...’ and I was like, ‘No, I’m not going to ruin it for you!’ But as it was getting to the end of the series, people were starting to put the pieces together, so it was interesting to hear what they thought.

A STORY ABOUT A MISSING CHILD IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE HARROWING TO WATCH, BUT WAS IT DIFFICULT TO FILM?

It’s probably the toughest thing I’ve done in terms of material, because I’m a mother and you really have to go there in so many of the scenes.

It was such a long period of time to be filming that kind of subject matter that it felt kind of brutal, but because the material was so good it was also very rewarding. It was so well structured. It was just nice to be in such a great piece of writing.

It was such a well written script, I was turning the pages and wanting to know what happened, and that’s always such a good sign.

YOU ALSO HAD A STARRING ROLE IN ITV’S MR SELFRIDGE – DO YOU ENJOY WORKING IN BRITISH TV?

I do, I really do. It’s a different level of scripts and just who you get to work with on the set everyday, everyone is so accomplished, and so good at what they do, but so relaxed while doing it. It’s just such a good environment to be in, and I think artists are really valued here – it’s not so much about the aesthetic and how you look, which is probably more valued in the American market, although there’s still a lot of hugely talented people there. I do like the industry over here, it’s very human, I think.

YOU’VE WORKED IN THE THEATRE, TV AND FILM. DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE?

I think I’ve had good experiences in all the different mediums, and now there’s no difference to being on a TV set to being on a film set.

Everyone crosses into all the different mediums, and there’s no stigma to it. When you get on the set, it’s you, the director and the other actors and that’s the same whether it’s TV or a film, although the catering might be a bit better on a film set, which is dangerous for an actress!

ONE OF THE BIGGEST FILMS YOU’VE BEEN IN WAS STEVEN SPIELBERG’S AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, WHICH GOT A MIXED REACTION WHEN IT WAS RELEASED. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT NOW?

I think people viewed Steven Spielberg in a certain kind of way at that point in his career and they had a reaction to it because it wasn’t what they were expecting. It was the first film he did in a series of films that were quite a lot darker, and people had a hard time accepting it. But it’s interesting, [film critic] Mark Kermode was saying that he came back to it and liked it, and thinks people really misjudged it, and I think quite a few other people have also come to feel that it actually stands the test of time and it’s a really interesting film. It’s Stanley Kubrick’s last script and it was great to work with Steven.

WILL YOU HAVE ANY INVOLVEMENT IN THE SECOND SERIES OF THE MISSING?

I’m not sure what the story would be [for my character] knowing what the end of the first series is, it’s quite a complete arc. It was difficult to make so having to re-engage with that would be hard, but it would depend on what it is. If they offer it to me, I’ll have a think about it!

The Missing is out on DVD and Blu-ray

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