To a majority of moviegoers, well, maybe cinephiles, Lesley Manville has a reputation as a “serious” dramatic actress. Her resume features numerous collaborations with Mike Leigh (seven and counting) and, most recently, a pivotal role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread.” A performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. And, sure, she’s had small parts in a few Hollywood CGI fests here and there, but, her latest film, “Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris,” is something completely new. Manville is finally the lead in a romantic comedy.
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Granted, “Mrs. Harris” is the sort of prestige rom com that Working Title and Searchlight used to churn out regularly two decades ago, but Manville and, notably, co-star Isabelle Huppert know exactly what the audience is looking for and deliver it in spades. Intriguingly, the long-in-the-works project came Manville’s way on the recommendation of an old friend.
“It was my dear departed friend, Alan Rickman had loved the film when he read it quite a long time ago, read the script, and his wife, Rima Horton, they’ve both been close friends of mine,” Manville says. “As you know, Alan sadly died, but Rima rang me up and said that she was involved with the project and was going to be one of the executive producers. And she said, ‘I think it’s going to come your way.’ And we just love it. And Alan and I both love this script and I thought, well, both of them have got exquisitely good taste. I worked with Alan a few times and he’s got impeccable taste. So I thought, right, well, that’s a good start. I hadn’t read the book. So the script came and I really loved it.”
Manville says that Rickman, who passed away in 2016, was something of a critical touchstone in their circle of friends. She adds, “Everybody used to go to Alan as a kind of, ‘Tell me what you think about this.’ He was the kind of mark of, well, he was for me and lots of people I know, he was the kind of mark of class if something was [good taste].”
During our conversation, Manville reflects on how “Phantom Thread” helped her enter the world of Dior, which “Mrs. Harris” book she’d prefer to star in next, and much more.
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The Playlist: Lesley, this project comes your way, what made you want to jump on board?
Lesley Manville: Well, it came with a very good recommendation. It was my dear departed friend, Alan Rickman had loved the film when he read it quite a long time ago, read the script and his wife, Rima Horton, they’ve both been close friends of mine. As you know, Alan sadly died, but Rima rang me up and said that she was involved with the project and was going to be one of the executive producers. And she said, “I think it’s going to come your way.” And we just love it. And Alan and I both love this script and I thought, well, both of them have got exquisitely good taste. I worked with Alan a few times and he’s got impeccable taste. So, I thought, right, well, that’s a good start. I hadn’t read the book. So the script came and I really loved it. And I thought, well, if we can do this properly, it can be not sugary and just sickeningly cute, it could be that kind of real juxtaposition of being truthful and real. And you got to believe that Ada is this proper real person, but it’s got this little level of fantasy and a dreamlike quality about it as well. And I honestly think the film has achieved that.
It is. It’s very moving, especially at the end, considering everything that she goes through. When you took the role did you realize you’d be acting with Isabelle Huppert and some of the other great actors in this film or did they all come on board after?
I think the only person who might have been on board was Isabelle. Because I remember her name being mentioned quite very early on. So, I think that it was kind of going out to me and Isabelle at the same time, but then the rest of the cast came on board afterward.
We don’t know very much about Mrs. Harris’ life except that her husband passed away during the war. Did you feel like you wanted to give her a backstory? Where did you feel like she got the gumption to be able to just walk into Dior and be able to just do what she does?
Well, I mean, you’d have to say that she’s got that in her anyway, but I think she’s surrounded her life. Her life has been surrounded by an extraordinary lack of, bulls**t. She’s got good, honest friends. She’s not living a life where there are a lot of frills with the reality of things going on. She sees all that with the people she goes and cleans for. She cleans for the man who’s always got a different young woman and he says it’s his niece. She cleans for Lady Dant [Anna Chancellor] who treats her appallingly and doesn’t pay her and then has got this dress that her husband’s bought, but he hasn’t bought it because he hasn’t paid for it in full. She’s surrounded by people with very questionable morals. So, I think you get honesty on tap with Ada. It’s just what she is.
You’ve done many different films over your career, but you haven’t done many comedies in this vein that at least I can remember off the top of my head. And Isabelle has never really made a film like this. Was it just a ball or am I just guessing?
No, I know. We had a lovely time, but I think people do say a lot, “Oh, was it great fun making it?” And I think some people have a diluted idea of what working on a film is there. I think they just think we turn up and drink lots of coffee and wonder when we can stop and have a glass of wine. It’s really hard work. And even though the film is fun and obviously there’s humor in the film, a lot of it, it doesn’t mean you’re skipping around in this sort of vacuous, frothy world all the time. To achieve that is hard work and you got to be very focused on what you’re doing. But having said that, I mean, of course, we all have to eat. And so there were times when we did go out and have dinner and we’d have a nice time and the conversations would roll and it was all very pleasant, but I loved working with Isabelle. I mean, why wouldn’t you, I mean, she’s an iconic and wonderful actress and we both do a lot of stage work, so there were lots to chat about and she was very close friends with Alan Rickman as well. Yeah, it just felt easy and right working with her, it was great.
I hadn’t heard about the Alan connection before. Was he planning on producing or did he want to also star in the film or was it just something he was a fan of?
I think he was just a fan of it because Alan and Rima were friends of Anthony Fabian who directed it. So I suspect probably because really everybody used to go to Alan as a kind of, “Tell me what you think about this.” He was the kind of mark of, well, he was for me and lots of people I know, he was the kind of mark of class if something was…
…good taste?
Good taste. Thank you! So I think, I imagine that maybe Anthony asked him to have a look at it and he was very enthused by it, as was Rima. So it was so lovely that Rima stayed involved with the project and committed her time and influence on it by way of executive producing.
I haven’t spoken to the costume designer, so I’m not 100% sure of how the costumes were done. Obviously, you’ve walked many red carpets in many great frocks. Had you ever worn anything like this sort of Dior couture before?
Dior? No, I hadn’t worn any Dior on a red carpet. No. I think it’s time I started doing that a lot more though!
I agree. They look beautiful on you. Were you a fan of the two final dresses?
Oh my God. Yeah. I mean, let me make it crystal clear now that through “Phantom Thread,” I did a lot of research into the couture of that period. And I mean, I love Balenciaga. I love Hardy Amies, but for me, Dior was just gorgeous. The way he really celebrated that female shape of the waist and then the big skirt and oh, it’s glorious. It’s absolutely glorious. So when we shot the scene of the fashion show, I mean, somebody said to me the other week, “Oh, were all those reactions of Ada’s in the script?” I said, “No, it was just me just sitting there going, ‘Oh, look at that, look at it.'” I mean, obviously, those dresses are kind of, well they are copies of the real fashion show then. And I knew some of those dresses from the photographs I’d seen. But it was a wonderful thing to sit and watch for two or three days. And we did such lovely long takes as well. So we’d have the whole fashion show as one thing. We didn’t keep cutting. So it was brilliant just to sit there and watch it. But it’s really up there, Dior, for me, it really is. And the dresses that Ada wears, the gowns, I mean, definitely you could wear those now. They really would not look out of place because I think when it comes to gowns, that sort of classic look and shape has never really gone away.
Very true. There were a number of other Mrs. Harris books, “Mrs. Harris Goes to New York,” “Mrs. Harris Goes to Parliament,” and “Mrs. Harris Goes to Moscow.” Is there one, in particular, you would be most interested in returning to play?
Well, I’m speaking to you from New York now. And I do like New York, I’ve been here a lot, but sometimes it’s just for junkets like this for a few days. But I’ve also been here twice and done plays. So, that’s when it’s really good because you get to live here, you get to be here and really feel what it’s like. So yeah, “Mrs. Harris goes to New York,” I wouldn’t mind seeing how that goes. And there’s another one called Mrs. Harris Becomes an MP.
Oh, maybe they changed the title in the US. I think it’s “Mrs. Harris Goes to Parliament.” Is it that one?
It could be that one. And then there’s “Mrs. Harris Goes to Russia.”
Yeah. I don’t know if that one would be so fun, but I love-
I don’t know. That’s not top of my list.
“Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris” opens in limited release on July 15