Did you watch other Queen Victoria performances prior to arriving on set?
I watched Judi Dench do Mrs. Brown. Her queen was great; her Victoria was still quite vibrant and feisty even though she was deeply unhappy. So that was helpful. And also I just read everything I could on her.
I’ve also read her diaries, have seen letters that she wrote. And you can hear her voice, you know, this rather emphatic way of talking and underlining words as if she can’t stress them enough. You can hear how emotional she was. Horrible temper. Terrible temper!
Yes we’ve heard. Don’t you end up chasing Albert around the palace?
Yeah, and he would just shut the door on her and she’d keep chasing him around slamming the door.
Have you shot those scenes?
Yep, we’ve done that. I nearly lost my voice that day. [laughs] Screeched myself senseless.
Everyone has a visual image of Victoria when she was older. Do you feel your face is similar to her’s when she was younger?
Well, I’ve heard she wasn’t really a looker so... [laughs] Oh god, I hope not. No, I think we are fairly similar. We both have these rather hooded eyes and similar colouring. She liked to eat as well and I do eat like a truck-driver but I think I have a better metabolism than she did.
Actually the prime minister said to her at one point, 'Maam, you must try to eat only when you’re hungry.' And she said,'Well, I’m always hungry.' So she’s screwed.
How is it working with Rupert Friend as Albert?
Oh, he’s wonderful. He’s just perfectly cast, impeccable, and has morphed into this character completely and read everything, did a lot of research in a very short space of time. I just couldn’t have asked for a better guy.
And you can believe him he has a kind of gravitas so that you believe this guy would come in and help her, almost take over, almost become her superior in the relationship. He was the only one out of all of the actors that I read with that I would believe could do that.
Their’s is an amazing love story.
Wonderful. They were deeply in love. They had nine kids for god’s sake, they must have been! And they were passionate about each other. It was partly why they had the blazing fights because they could and because she was safe to do that because he would always be by her side. Always.
How are you finding the gowns?
I hate the corset. Over it. So over it. Every day I have to wear it. They put it on me in the morning then they loosen it off for lunch, and then it’s painful to get back into it again after a big meal. But they are beautiful but I think if one more person steps on my train, I might swing some punches.
The Young Victoria is released 6th March
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