Lorraine Burroughs – Hard Sun

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I’ve just wrapped on another BBC project called “Butterfly” and it’s with Anna Friel. It’s about a young child who feels they are in the wrong gender so it’s their journey of gender exploration at a young age. It’s a really poignant topic at the minute and I play Anna’s best friend in it.

Q) Talk about how your character Simone Hicks in “Hard Sun” was originally described to you?

A) My character, Simone, is the wife of Charlie Hicks – one of the main police officers on the show (played by Jim Sturgess). The whole premise of the show is about two cops who have landed on information that in five years time the human race will be extinct so It’s about how they go about protecting their loved ones. I play Charlie’s pregnant wife so the stakes are really high on the show and my character has a daughter from a previous relationship who Charlie takes on board and adopts throughout the show. So, we’re the representation of real life on the show.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the series?

A) I just love Neil’s [Cross] writing. I thought it was a brilliant, brilliant show. As soon as I knew it was a piece written by him I was really intrigued by it. Then, once I knew I’d be playing Jim’s wife I was really up for that. I loved the first director we had on the show. Working with him was fantastic.

Q) Was there anything you added to Simone that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) We had such a fantastic director and writer at the beginning, before we sat down before we started shooting. It was just myself, Jim, Brian [Kirk] and Neil and Neil gave me some backstory on Simone, which I didn’t know since it wasn’t in the script. It was that before she married Charlie she had been in an abusive relationship, which he saved her from. Initially, Neil wanted it to be that my character had been in a refuge for women who had been in an abusive relationship. So, we shot scenes for all of that. The show had to be sort of cut down because there was so much in it that with my backstory. That part didn’t end up in the cut, but I used that a lot for my character as that was her background and that Charlie had kind of saved her from it. The stakes are so high in terms of how much he means to her and how much he had changed her life.

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming this series?

A) It would have to bee shooting with our family circle with the young girl who plays Henley, my daughter. She was only like twelve years old, but she was like a mini sixteen or seventeen-year-old! [laughs] Jim and I would spend so many hours laughing at the things she would come up with that sounded like a little old lady. I think it was the fact that we actually became a little family while we were shooting. It was really beautiful that we actually became a family. So, it was really, really beautiful when we were shooting it. We really loved it and we were really sort of sad when it was going to come to an end. Jim and I still text each other with little quotes that she would say to make each other laugh. [laughs]

Q) What makes “Hard Sun” such a good fit for Hulu?

A) I just think it is a great platform to take something like “Hard Sun” over to the states. I don’t think there is anything out there quite like “Hard Sun” at the minute. Hulu has done such an amazing job and there are so many great shows on there that our show is up there with those kinds of shows that it is definitely on par with the shows Hulu is airing. I think it is definitely a perfect match.

Q) You are a part of social media. Have you been enjoying the instant fan feedback to the show?

A) Yeah, there has been a lot of “Oh my god!” panic from people and then a lot of relief. You may get through it and love the family bond. They always love my character because there is a bit of an affair and a lot of things going on in it. I think everyone’s got my back. [laughs] It’ll be interesting to see the social in the US in contrast.

Q) Jim told me he was excited because people really seem to be wanting a Season Two.

A) Yeah! I think people kind of went crazy after the first episode because it sucked them in and only gave away so much. There wasn’t that many people I knew that waited a week for the next episode. A lot of people plowed through the episodes all at one time and then they immediately were like, “When are you filming the next block of episodes?!” I said, “I don’t know! It hasn’t even finished on TV yet!” [laughs]

Q) You often take on a lot of dramatic roles. Is there anything about this genre that really draws you to it?

A) Yeah, I like representation of real life and nothing real life involves a lot of drama, ups and downs, darkness and light. And I think being in the entertainment industry we’ve got the opportunity to represent real life and make people feel like they’re not on their own. People do go through dramatic things. People walk away and take something from it. Whatever that means – whether it is dramatic or not – I don’t know. I like to take on strong, real challenges. I think life is quite a challenge.

Q) You were in an episode of the iconic series “Doctor Who.” What did you take away from your experience filming?

A) It was not long after drama school so for me it was a massive thing. And it was crazy because it wasn’t the average sitcom. It was so abstract and out there. It was a real part of British history and television. So, for me, just getting the job and getting on the series was big enough. I think the thing I remember the most is after we would wrap and leave the studio there would be like fifteen different people dressed like David Tennant waiting outside – whether they were men, women or children. I remember thinking, “These people love Doctor Who!” I really got the fanbase about it. Then, since then I still get people writing to me and sending me play cards with my face on them. I think it’s an amazing thing to have been a part of.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the work you do?

A) I would just love to say a massive thank you and that it doesn’t go unnoticed. I get letters all the time and I really, really appreciate it. It’s still a shock to me that people are fans of mine. So, I love it and I would love to say that I hope I’m giving enough fulfilment of what people want from me and I would also say just please continue supporting and being alongside me. It’s great. I can’t do it without them. I love it! Thanks very much.