GETTING THE PART

It’s always exciting when the phone rings and you recognise your agent’s voice on the other end of the line. The hope being that they are calling you for a job. It was particularly exciting for me on the day my agent rang about the Harry Potter film – Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets! I was filled with excitement but also alarm because the part I was to be seen for, was the character of “Madame Pince” the Hogwarts’ librarian. At that time I had never read a Harry Potter book and had no idea who she was or how big the role might be.
Fortunately I have many friends who are much better read than myself and they soon advised me about Madame Pince in this second Harry Potter book. I realsied I had to read the books as quickly as possible so that I could understand the background to this character. That after all is part of an actors job, to familiarise onesself with the character you are hopefully to play. I had very little time before my interview and so while I was travelling the country touring in Eileen Atkin’s play “Vita & Virginia”, I listened to the tapes of Harry Potter, read so brilliantly by Stephen Fry. And of course I became hooked! The characters and Hogwarts are so wonderfully brought to life by J.K. Rowling, that after an evening’s performance, I would go to bed and read the rest of the stories.
The day of the interview came and although I have been to many of these before, I was very nervous. I should have realised that with a film as important as this one, there would certainly be more than one interview. Usually, you are video-ed by one of the casting directors who tells you about the part and asks you to either read a script or improvise a scene on camera. This video tape is then sent away and the Directors and Producers study them all before asking the shortlisted actors - those they like best - to attend a second interview. And that is exactly what happened. This first interview was in a sort of classroom with a camera at one end. After a bit of chat, I was asked to stand behind the teacher’s desk and improvise a scene of Madame Pince being very strict with Harry, Ron and Hermione when they come to the library to ask for a book which is forbidden to them (I had to imagine Harry, Ron and Hermione!) I did the best I could but felt less than happy with the result and left the room feeling that I would hear no more about it. Actors are notoriously insecure about their auditions. It goes with the territitory. You want everyone to like your performance, then fret over whether or not you got it right. Invariably an audience - however small - sees you quite differently to how you see yourself. Budding actors take note!
It’s always difficult to gauge just when you will hear about a job. If the part is offered to someone else, then usually you won’t hear anything. The phone just doesn’t ring. Frustrating but true.
Several weeks passed. I had forgotten all about Harry Potter. Imagine how amazed I was when my agent suddenl;y rang for a second interview for the role of Madame Pince.
This time the interview was much more important. I was to go up to Leavesden Studios in Watford to meet Chris Columbus, the film’s Director and the American producers from Warner Bros. Leavesden Studios sent me a letter of confirmation about the date and time, said that a car would meet me from the station and would I please learn the enclosed dialogue before the interview....