Amy Manson – The Nevers

By starrymag | May 18, 2021

By: Ellie Yates

 

 

Q) What is the premise of your new TV show “The Nevers?”

 

A) It’s about a group of women, a collective, who obtain these mild superpowers and we watch them come to terms with these special abilities and are a united force together and it’s also, yeah, a story about hope and it’s set in a few…I was going to say universes, but it’s actually not at all. [laughs] But, yeah, it feels like it could be in so many different universes. It feels like there’s so many different genres.

Q) Although set in Victorian London, there’s quite a futuristic element to the show. How do these two concepts sort of blend together?

 

A) Well, I guess Gemma Jackson (the production designer) – she’s done a stellar job and I guess it’s a time in history where people were figuring out technologies. It was just the end of the Industrial Revolution! Yeah, things were moving swiftly, and spirituality wasn’t really a thing of the time. But Witchery and accusing people of witchcraft was big in London and I guess these sorts of women at this time have been ostracized from society because of fearmongering, because it’s unknown I guess, and society as a collective just kind of bullied them into submission and hence why this group of women are thrust into an orphanage to exist basically which was sad.

 

Q) Your character Maladie is quite a character! How was she originally described to you?

 

A) Oh God, originally…Well, in the text that was released to press initially, just this bedlam waif who spoke in jibes and riddles and, yeah, was a menace to society a kinda “Jack the Ripper” style. So, yeah, she appears like that on face value but she’s not really. There’s so much more depth to her.

 

Q) Fans have said that they want to protect Maladie because they think she’s not a villain so did you worry at all how your character would be received by fans?

 

A) Aw! No, I don’t think so and it’s not a case of a rags to riches story or anything. It’s more to do with the human soul and condition and I think fans obviously have these reactions because they’re empathizing with her plight and what she’s gone through at the hands of these evil doctors and a person who…It’s almost like society’s beating her into this, this evil person. She wasn’t like that before she entered the asylum, so I think it’s the blame should be placed on them rather than on her! It’s like somebody gets torched, they’re going to torch back in that sense. It’s a story about revenge from her part, her side.

 

Q) It’s sort of a nature vs nurture type idea then I guess that the way that she’s been brought up has sort of made her into who she is rather than that’s who she was before, would you say?

 

A) Exactly! Yes, yeah because she’s had to grow a thick skin and thank goodness she has been given the ability she’s been given to grow stronger through pain and it’s now her turn to inflict pain on her abusers basically.

 

Q) So, picking up on that, was there anything or any character traits that you added to Maladie yourself?

 

A) Oh God, yeah. I did a lot, months and months and months of prep for Maladie and I think for me it’s understanding where…Sarah who was mentally disturbed prior to going into the asylum, why was she being put into the asylum – which clearly it was her husband who was putting her there. And you know the moment where she’s thrust into the asylum vehicle, she has a moment where she thinks she sees this spark. She thinks she sees God and that God has spoken to her and he’s chosen her and given her a mission, but she just doesn’t understand what it is. And, of course, this happens within the asylum and people just think that she’s crazy because she’s in an asylum and she think she’s the next Christ! So, yeah, the prep was all there, and I think the innocence turns into the villain because of her circumstances, which is what Maladie’s gone through.

 

Q) Was there anything in particular you did to prepare for playing Maladie or was it just a case of seeing how it went as she evolved?

 

Q) I actually got in touch with my drama school teacher Peter McAllister just to make sure that I gave each character like layers and just to make sure that all the characters were within this Maladie alter at all times. And I think we went back to kind of like text was the last thing that we worked on. So, we went back to who Maladie might have…Sarah might have been a child and what she saw in Victorian times – did her mum die at birth, did she have any siblings, was she a loner, an orphan? How all this affected her, for her future, basically, and made her the woman who she was in the form of Sarah with a big plot for me just to kind of understand who she was basically or what she was running from.

 

Q) What challenged you the most about playing Maladie?

 

A) I think it’s the envy and constantly being in a state of hyper-mania and just a loose cannon I think and Maladie gets in your head, gets in everyone’s head, and she’s brutal and ruthless and should be feared I guess because she’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants, basically. And it’s fun to play because there’s just an element of her being so many different types of person. Sometimes she’s like a teenager throwing toys out the pram because she’s in a mood about something or she’s this enraged monster at times. She’s just so many different things and I’m having so much fun playing her.

 

Q) What was your interpretation of the effect of Mary’s song on Maladie?

 

A) Well, that’s in the deepest recesses of Maladie, so love! And that’s a weakness to Maladie and Maladie doesn’t want to feel weak so that’s why she shuts down Mary (Eleanor Tomlinson) straight off because Mary’s song to Maladie is almost opium. It’s beauty, it’s love that invokes happiness and steadiness and Maladie doesn’t feel that way. It’s not gonna help on her mission for her to feel love…for anyone basically. She needs to have her boundaries. [laughs] So, when Mary starts singing, she starts feeling again and I think somebody who’s been abused to the level that she has almost becomes numb to that level of abuse. So, I think when Mary starts singing, it’s all of a sudden a minefield of love has opened up again and Maladie’s had to shut that down, straight-off-the-bat!

 

Q) How did you view Penance when they were in the hostage situation? As a competitor for Molly’s affection or just plain leverage to hurt Molly the most?

 

A) Definitely leverage. She’s jealous of the relationship that Penance (Ann Skelly) and Amalia (Laura Donnelly) have because Amalia threw her under the bus. So, she wants answers as well. This is the first time that she’s been able to confront the person who fed her to the wolves and destroyed her whole existence and whole being and she just…she just wants answers and to let her know the level of pain that she went through because it’s all Amalia’s fault.

 

Q) Speaking of the other characters, did you know any of the other cast before you started on “The Nevers?”

 

A) I knew of everyone, the majority of people, but no I never….no, I’d never met or worked with anybody before, but a big admirer of everyone’s work.

 

Q) I was going to say, including yourself, there’s some big names in there and being British myself I recognized quite a few of the names.

 

A) Yeah, I’m glad they cast kind of, not in house, but Brits for a Victorian show, you know!

 

Q) So, the show is split into two parts. Is there anything that you’re allowed to tell us about Part 2 that fans can expect to see?

 

A) Well, honestly we don’t know! We’ve not erm, Phillipa Goslett the showrunner contacted me yesterday to say she was going to get me into the writer’s room which will be really great fun, but no we don’t know. It’s still in script stages for next season, but they’re working on it literally as we. So, I’m not sure. I don’t know what’s actually in store for anyone but after you see Episode 6, it’s a good cut off point to kind of, not start afresh but it gives you every single answer you could ever have. And I feel, I spoke to my manager tonight actually, and he just thinks the show’s getting stronger and stronger and it really does. Like, Episode 5 is my favorite so far!

 

Q) I’m currently bingeing “Once Upon A Time” and you played Merida, the Disney princess from Brave. How was it to play her because she’s not your stereotypical princess, as it were?

 

A) Nooo, she’s a bolshy tomboy, but I think the majority of Scottish women are. Not to generalize, but I think we’ve got balls of steel. [laughs] And I think we say it how it is and we’re very hardy and outdoorsy and we’re about the land I feel, and I think that’s who she is and she’s steely. I mean, Pixar, the film was amazing, Brave. I love the film and they got the character so right and Kelly McDonald was fabulous as Merida. But it was nice, it was like live action! As soon as I put on the wig and the costume it’s like, you’re there. It is a lot of fun.

 

Q) What advice would you give to aspiring actors?

 

A) It’s possible if you really want it! It’s tough, hard work, but I’ve visited some beautiful places in my life through what I do and met the most amazing people who challenge me and make me think in different ways. I love language barriers. I love cultures. It’s definitely made me a better human being in general doing what I do because I think I’ve got more empathy. I’m willing to listen to two sides of any story and not have too much prediction in that I’m right all the time. I think I empathize more with people and I think that’s a beautiful thing about acting, you’ve gotta truly love it for what it is because you’re gonna have a lot of downtime or there’s gonna be a lot of “no’s.” So, you need to have something in place to help with your mental health. But, also, you know the best job in the world and so much fun! It’s just like you’re playing and get paid to play for a living it’s great and, also, a lot of research that you do and learn about people, places, things in the world. It’s a lot of fun.

 

Q) I can imagine, like you say, going to all different places and filming in all different locations. It’s one way to see the world, I guess!

 

A) Exactly! I know, I always thought I’d…Well, some part of me still regrets not going travelling for a year after school, but yeah, I’ve travelled to some really glorious places through this.

 

Q) What would like to say to your fans or anyone who’s supported you throughout your career so far?

 

A) Ohhhh! I love you! It’s been really lovely the response I’ve had from fans on my DMs and things, especially Twitter. I’m not really very good on the other Socials, but it’s so lovely when people understand your work and champion you in that way because it makes what we do, i.e storytelling, so much more rewarding, for everyone. Like, I just understand my job now and it’s making other people happy and telling magnificent stories and being grateful for that at the same time. If I can make my fans happy then I’ve done my job.

 

Q) Definitely, when we put out for questions there were quite a few fans who were excited for this to come out!

 

A) Aw! Thank you guys! [holds hands in love heart]