IT’S a long way from living on Brookside Close to playing a strong-willed Victorian woman, but actress Gillian Kearney seems to be taking it in her stride.
The 29-year-old actress plays June Forsyte, the daughter of Young Jolyon (played by Rupert Graves) in ITV1’s remake of The Forsyte Saga which starts tomorrow.
Kearney says: "June is a very passionate woman and very modern for her time. She is ver
y much in love with Philip Bosinney [played by Ioan Gruffudd from Hornblower and last week’s About A Boy] when we first see her."
The only drawback of Kearney’s role was the time it took to transform herself into a Victorian lady on a daily basis. She had to spend 90 minutes in make-up and costume every day before filming could even start.
"I loved getting dressed up in all the period costumes," she says. "But it was hard on the girls who had to get us into them every morning. You had to remember to do things like put your boots on before your corset.
"At the start of shooting I suffered a little bit with the corset. I thought there was no way I would be able to eat while I was wearing it but I managed. As we went on it shaped to my body."
Although she is too young to remember the original series, Kearney says her family have told her about its massive popularity back in the Sixties.
"My mum loved the Forsyte Saga. She told me everybody would rush home to see it. They would go to four o’clock mass on a Sunday just so they wouldn’t miss an episode. It’s exciting to be part of something which is so well remembered."
But Kearney didn’t have to go through a long process to land the part - in fact, she virtually walked into the role.
"I was playing Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream when the show’s producer came to the theatre for a night out. He asked to see me the following day.
"I came in and did one reading and that was it. It was pretty straightforward. You don’t get many jobs that come along like that."
The Liverpool-born actress first appeared on TV when she was 15 years old playing Damon Grant’s girlfriend Debbie in C4’s soap Brookside.
"It was great to be part of Brookside but I thought I was only going to be in it for three episodes," she recalls.
"None of my family are in showbusiness. My mum told me I would probably be one of the people standing in the shop. I didn’t even realise I was up for a proper part. I was like a lamb to the slaughter but I had a good time.
"When I first appeared in Brookside I was only 5ft 1in - I hadn’t even finished growing. And I’m so tall now," she laughs.
Next she was cast as the young Shirley in the film Shirley Valentine with Pauline Collins. "I was mortified having to wear such a short mini-skirt," she recalls.
"I was still only 16 but the girl who played my school friend in the film was a child. I felt really mature because I had done Brookside. Shirley Valentine is a smashing film and I still love it. There’s so much truth in it about how people behave in real life."
She decided to back to school to study A-levels - then realised that she wanted to be an actress full-time. She moved to London to study at the Rose Bruford drama school.
"I was 20 and I thought it would be the best way to make the move. I thought I would have friends from college and not be living in some flat all on my own.
"I disappeared for three years. I think it was important to serve my apprenticeship and going to drama school helped my career. When I finished college I was a woman not a child."
Her first job saw her starring in a TV adaptation of Catherine Cookson’s The Tide Of Life. But her big TV break came three years ago, when she played Ellie Brooks in the BBC1 Sixties drama Sex, Chips And Rock ’n’ Roll.
Since then she has appeared in BBC1’s Clocking Off and played English teacher Kitty Burton in school drama Hope And Glory alongside Lenny Henry.
Kearney is currently single. As the only daughter - she has three brothers - she admits that her family would love to see her settle down.
"I suppose I should be thinking about it. But I feel if it is going to happen it will," she says.
"My mum had me when she was 22. I think our generation is staying single longer, our lifestyles are so different. I don’t work regular hours and I can be in a different place from month to month. That makes it hard to have relationships."
After a long run of working non-stop, Kearney is currently between jobs but she is making the most of the well-earned break. "Last year I worked solidly, so it is nice to be able to recharge your batteries. I’ve nothing imminent but I want to make sure my next project is something I really want to do.
"When you appear in something like The Forsyte Saga, that you really enjoy and think is good, you don’t want to let the standard slip. I would love to do a comedy. But I must have a sort of darkness about me which makes me look really tragic."
l The Forsyte Saga starts on Scottish tomorrow, 9pm
The full article contains 976 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
