Interview with Faye Marsay (Nina)

Tells us about Nina?
Nina is a girl that lives in Leicester and she works in a care home. She decides, right, I need to get out of here, and she wants to move to London. She finds an ad in the back of a magazine looking for a housekeeper/nanny for two children in North London and she just goes to the interview and gets it! It’s her story - writing letters back home to her sister, Vic who she’s very close to. It’s her observations of London, of the culture differences, of the way people act, very different to how’s she has been brought up. She’s not the best nanny in the world so it’s her experience, through her eyes of how she sees London, how she sees these literary figures. She’s a lot of fun to play.

Did you have to study Nina Stibbe in order to play her?
I did take some things from Nina but this is also our own interpretation, where we’ve embellished on the letters and on the characteristics of some of the characters. When I met Nina, I didn’t have to study how she blinks and stuff - that pressure was not on me. For the story we’re telling I just took what I needed and rolled with it.

What attracted you to the drama?
The humour is bang on and I liked Nick [Hornby’s] attention to detail with each character. That’s a trait you see throughout all his work. Nick writes this wonderful dysfunctional family which he puts together with humour and darkness too. It’s a big role, which attracted me - every actor’s wants that, to see if they can do it! I don’t think there’s anything like it, it’s relatable, challenging, funny and exciting to be a part of.

How has it been working with Helena?
She’s an amazing woman. A good friend I would consider now. She took me under her wing. Being on set with her every day is like a masterclass and being in a scene with her is a dream come true. You would never expect to be in the same room with Helena let alone to actually work with her. She’s incredibly hardworking, she has folders full of notes and is so intelligent it’s ridiculous.

Did you enjoy working with director, S.J. Clarkson?
She is incredible. She’s got vision and talent in abundance. I’ve never worked with a director who knows exactly where every person is on set all the time. Knows everybody’s name. Knows where everyone should be and if you weren’t there, you’d know! She is tenacious and she is detailed and she is passionate. It’s really inspiring to be around. You can never drop the ball in SJ’s presence – you’ve gotta ‘bring it’. She gives the most wonderful notes and I’m glad she has come back from the USA to do this.