Spotlight: Miranda Raison / HBO's Cinemax Warrior
Photographer Mike Blackett.
Tearsheet by Casey Claros.
1. Tell us about yourself
I am an actress and mother with a wonderful husband and a handful of close friends. My husband is French, and I would say that our home and culinary life are, in some ways, more French than English. I am active, passionate about my craft, and drink way too much coffee.
2. Where are you from and currently located?
I am originally from North Norfolk, where I still have a lot of family. We currently split our time between South West London and our small cottage in Suffolk. When we can travel freely, we also spend a lot of time in France.
3. What inspired you to become an actor?
My mother was a news reader for the Anglia T.V. station in England in the1980s. I remember being taken into the studio, when I was about 5 years old, and being seated in her ’news reading chair’ by a kind and indulgent technician before mum’s make-up artist, Ruth, put a bit of powder on my cheeks. I remember wobbling my tooth with my tongue on the monitor and looking at myself. The buzz of the studio is something that has stayed with me forever.
4. Can you tell us a little bit about your role as Nellie Davenport in Warrior and what it was like working on this project?
Nellie Davenport is based on a real woman, whose name was Donaldina Cameron. She is also known as the "White Devil of Chinatown” and “The Angry Angel of Chinatown.” Donaldina rescued child prostitutes from the Crib brothels of San Francisco. It is always wonderful to play a character based in reality. Nellie herself is a strong, fiercely independent, and comfortably gay woman, living in the late 1800s, and she is an absolute joy to play.
Photographer Mike Blackett.
Tearsheet by Casey Claros.
5. You’ve played many roles throughout your career, is there a particular role you enjoyed or favorited the most?
Playing the title role of Anne Boleyn at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was something I’ll never forget. The play was written by Howard Brenton, and every time I left the theatre, I felt ten foot tall.
6. Tell us about your first acting experience, how did you improve from that?
My first professional acting experience was playing Marianne Faithfull in a Dutch film called Suzie Q. I remember having no idea about anything: I didn’t know where the camera was, I didn’t have any sense of the shot or framing, and I had no concept of the scale of performance I needed to give hope and my understanding has improved since then.
7. Do you have any other hobbies or interests besides golf?
I am a very keen linguist. I speak fluent French and am making a real effort to become fluent in Spanish and have also begun to learn Italian. I have found language learning incredibly therapeutic, especially over the past few months as communicating in other languages always slightly shifts one’s mindset.
8. What is the most challenging role you have played?
I played Hermione in The Winter’s Tale opposite Kenneth Branagh and Judy Dench. The greater the talent one works with, the higher the bar is raised, and I don’t think the bar gets much higher than Dame Judy Dench! I did OK.
9. Who or what is your inspiration in life?
My daughter is three years old and is the most joyful, entertaining, and funny person I know. She lives entirely in the present and has no resentment about the past or worry about the future. I know that this will change as she gets older, which is one of the tragedies of the human condition, but hers is a good example to follow.
Photographer Mike Blackett.
Tearsheet by Casey Claros.
10. Aside from acting, you also have a background in theatre playing the title role in “Anne Boleyn” back in 2011. What was the difference between acting on screen and on a theatre play?
Being on stage is a much less selfish environment than being on screen. When filming, the main concern is where the camera is, what the angle is, and how best to get your performance across. In the theatre, you absolutely have to work with those around you, to listen intently, and be prepared for anything to happen at any time. No one is going to call cut, so you need to be firing on all cylinders. Vanity definitely becomes less important.
11. Would you go back to acting in theatre if you had the chance to?
I miss the theatre a lot and haven’t done a play since my daughter was born. I always used to try and do a play a year but, for the time being, even if the theatres were open, I think missing bath time every night for months on end would be too hard. Having said that, a short run of a terrific play with a small cast would be great.
12. What is your life motto
Live and let live.
13. Website or Instagram handle?
I’m afraid the closest I get to social media is WhatsApp!
Season 2 of Warrior can currently be seen on Sky One and NOW TV (UK) & on Cinemax (US).
Interview by Alison Hernon, Editor-In-Chief, PhotoBook Magazine
