Yahoo News Carey Mulligan banned from crying in BBC Two thriller
Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan plays a tough cop in BBC Two's new contemporary thriller Collateral – a role the actress admits was a departure for her.
Describing DI Kip Glaspie as a character with "a real backbone", Mulligan revealed that she was banned from crying on-screen by writer David Hare and director SJ Clarkson.
"David and SJ both said, 'No crying' – which was a revelation, because I'm constantly crying!" she revealed at a BFI screening for the upcoming series.
Hare himself added: "She's a heroine who is on screen for four hours and doesn't cry once, I'm rather proud to say."
Glaspie is also heavily pregnant throughout the four-part series, but this is an incidental detail rather than a key part of her story. In fact, the pregnancy only exists at all because Mulligan herself was already expecting a child when she was offered the part.
"I was five weeks pregnant when they sent it to me," she explained. "Towards the end, I was about seven months pregnant."
The biggest challenge for the BAFTA winner, though, was convincing herself that she could play a formidable, no-nonsense copper. "I thought, 'This is ridiculous', because police officers have such authority. I'm scared of them!
[Above: SJ Clarkson, David Hare and Carey Mulligan]
"It was kind of about convincing myself that I was grown up enough. I still think I'm like 21, and the ingénue, and then I realise, 'Oh, I'm a grown-up actually, and maybe I could have a proper job!'"
Collateral – a high-octane thriller set in modern London – explores the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a pizza delivery man and also stars John Simm, Billie Piper and Nicola Walker.
The series will launch on BBC Two in February.
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