Sarah Lancashire reveals she was not daunted by taking on Meryl Streep’s in new US drama Julia
From Happy Valley to Hollywood: Sarah Lancashire reveals she’s not daunted by taking on Meryl Streep’s famous role in new US drama Julia as it’s a ‘completely different project’
Sarah Lancashire has told how she was unfazed by taking on a role made famous by Meryl Streep in her new US drama Julia.
The Happy Valley actress, 57, is portraying chef Julia Childs in the new HBO series, a part acting legend Meryl, 72, played in the 2009 movie Julie and Julia.
But speaking about her role, Sarah insists the parts do not compare, telling The Mirror: ‘For me, it’s quite simple. It’s a completely different project and the nature of the project is different. The tone is different.
Role: Sarah Lancashire has told how she was unfazed by taking on a role made famous by Meryl Streep in her new US drama Julia
‘You do 50 different Hamlets, you do 50 different actors, they’ll all be different. And so it didn’t really occur to me.’
The ex Coronation Street star added that the ‘benefit’ of taking on the part is that she’d never ‘heard of’ Julia before as she didn’t have a UK presence, adding that it ‘didn’t really play any part in my preparation’ or ‘participation’ in the series.
Sarah went on to say why she chose not to impersonate Julia’s accent and even ditched her vocal coach for the role.
She said: ‘At some point, I put the written material away. It didn’t necessarily make sense with what we were trying to do, which was a drama as opposed to a documentary. I’m not a mimic. I can’t impersonate. Also, she did have this extraordinarily complex vocal change.’
Character: The Happy Valley actress, 57, is portraying chef Julia Childs in the new HBO series, a part acting legend Meryl, 72, played in the 2009 movie Julie and Julia
She added that she had to ‘find something’ that she was ‘comfortable’ with that worked in ‘parallel’.
Sarah’s role comes after her other big series Happy Valley was back filming in January for its final series.
The TV favourite reprised her role as Sergeant Catherine Cawood in the hugely popular crime series and was seen filming the part in Yorkshire.
In October, the BBC confirmed a third season of the hit show would be on its way, and that it would be its last.
Different: Sarah insists the parts do not compare, telling The Mirror : ‘For me, it’s quite simple. It’s a completely different project and the nature of the project is different. The tone is different’
Part: The star added that the ‘benefit’ of taking on the part is that she’d never ‘heard of’ Julia before as she didn’t have a UK presence, adding that it ‘didn’t really play any part in my preparation’ or ‘participation’ in the series
Six new episodes of the BAFTA-winning crime drama show will also see the return of James Norton as murderer and sex offender Tommy Lee Royce.
The final season will follow Catherine as she investigates a gangland murder that leads her back to Tommy, and her struggle to end the drug supply in the valley.
Sarah’s character is also on the cusp of retirement and the show will explore her relationship with grandson Ryan, who is now 16.
Also reprising her role as Catherine’s sister Clare is Siobhan Finneran, while further casting will be announced in due course.
Production: Sarah’s role comes after her other big series Happy Valley was back filming in January for its final series
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