Interview

Saffron Burrows

Saffron Burrows

Stage and screen star Saffron Burrows, a sophisticated actress with charisma, style, and cheekbones to die for, and a highly successful British export to Hollywood, is now back in the West End, with David (Friends) Schwimmer in Some Girl(s) at the Gielgud. Paul Webb met up with the star - who began her career as a model - to hear about her latest West End adventure...

You've worked with David Schwimmer before? "I have, but in a film rather than the theatre. It's always a help when you have worked with someone as you've got to know them a bit already..."

Was that a factor in your deciding to play the part of Bobbi, one of Schwimmer's character's ex girlfriends? "It was, though the major attraction was appearing in a Neil LaBute play in the West End. I'm a fan of him and his work, and I like acting in London - not least because it means I can go home after the show every day, rather than being on location making a film. Some Girl(s) is relatively short - it's 100 minutes straight through - so it's a fairly early night in any case. Location work has its charms, and can seem glamorous on the outside, but I think living at home and having the stability of a home life once you've finished work is very underrated!"

You've worked a lot on stage and in film...do you have the luxury of planning your career ahead, or is it just a case of seeing what parts are offered? "When you've made a film you have the luxury of having a little money, so you can afford to pace yourself, but we work in a very ephemeral business, especially in the film world. It's a bit like the stock market in that you're never sure what's going to be up or down, what will work, what becomes fashionable...I like working on stage because there's something very immediate about it, that interaction with an audience where you immediately hear their reaction, or feel them, whether they're with you..."

Do you do much research into your characters, or do you just rely on the text? "That varies, and I've built up a certain amount of back history with Bobbi, but not too much."

You started out as a model before becoming an actress? "Yes, it was a classic case of being spotted on the street, and it was an interesting part of my life, though I much prefer what I'm doing now!"

Modelling seems very glamorous... "That's obviously an ingredient but it's very hard work, and in a sense it's a female equivalent of boxing for boys from a poor background, in that it's one way such girls can earn good money and get away from home at the same time. It's very international, so you get the chance to travel and to learn languages - and I'm quite good at languages in any case, which helps. We took The Power Book from the National in London to the Chaillot in Paris, and it was useful having lived in the city and learnt the language - though we performed in English."

Were the French very different as an audience? "They paid a lot of attention! And they were appreciative. So I had a happier experience of the city as an actress than I had had as a model..."

Coming back to acting, you're known for having quite strong political views, which is something people tend to associate more with 1960s theatre stars like Vanessa Redgrave or Susannah York... "I am strongly feminist, and I'm interested in current affairs, and on an international level - it's important to realise what's going on in the rest of the world, and the importance of where we're from in how it shapes us and our views. Tony Benn has a knack of asking people where they're from - whatever their nationality, so that includes British people - and in many ways it's as relevant a question as 'what do you do?' We're all influenced and partly formed by where we come from, whether its Clacton or Chile."

Are there any stage roles that you're looking forward to playing one day? "I'd like to play Viola in Twelfth Night and I suppose one of the roles I'd most like to play is Cleopatra - she was an amazing woman and it's a fascinating role."

You've just made a film with Dougray Scott? I interviewed him for lastminute.com when he was in Beckett at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. What's the film you were in together? "It's called Perfect Creature and is about a world dominated by a priesthood of vampires. It's got a 1940s feel to it, with that edge of horror given the vampires. It's been at Cannes this Spring and I think it's going to be released in the autumn."

You've also made a film with John Malkovitch? "Yes, called Klimt, about the painter, and set in Vienna, which is a beautiful city. It's a rather surreal film, and feels as if it's by Camus, the French novelist!"

I've always though John Malkovitch comes across as slightly scary - that intensity he has... "He's not scary at all! He's very gentle, very intelligent..."

Can you say a little more about Some Girl(s) before we round off? "It's four separate scenes, all linked by the fact that David Schwimmer's character is in each of them, as he meets up with four ex girlfriends. As I've already mentioned I love the script, and each of the four actresses has about 25 minutes with David's character. Mine is the last of the women you see. The play shows us how each of these couples once worked, how and who they were together."

Do you have a favourite theatre restaurant for after the show? "Yes, I love Sheekey's, the fish restaurant off St Martin's Lane. I also like going to Century, which is round the corner from the Gielgud, and which is open late - so you can go there for a drink after work without being thrown out just after you've got comfortable... And I don't always want a big meal after work in any case - just some crisps and wine!"