WHERE DO WE MEET YOUR CHARACTER, TINA ARGYLL, IN ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE?
At the beginning she's working as a librarian. She'd started to try and get her own sense of independence, which has been put on hold by Rachel's murder. She has to come back and take care of her family and her father and make sure everything is OK.
BEING BROUGHT UP IN AMERICA, WERE YOU AWARE OF AGATHA CHRISTIE?
I am American, but my mother is from Trinidad and my dad is from Guyana so there was a lot of British influence. My mum loved Agatha Christie. I didn't personally read her before this, but when I told her, she was very excited.
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THE CHARACTER THAT APPEALED TO YOU AS A ROLE?
She's very fleshed-out. You're getting this perspective of this girl growing up in 1950s Britain, the only person of colour in her family. Usually when it's somebody of colour, the story revolves solely around that. With this, the way Sarah [Phelps, writer] worked it in... just reminds you that she is a human being. And then, struggling with racial identity is on top of that. It's a strong element, but it doesn't control her story.
SO WOULD YOU SAY THAT, AS A PERSON OF COLOUR, THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT PART FOR YOU?
Absolutely. When I was going into recall for it, it was like, 'It's a chance to show that actors of colour aren't just there to portray the struggling slave, the sad, sad maid...' It's just like, 'We can do those everyday emotions that you also have, and everyone else gets to do'.
AND HOW WAS THE EXPERIENCE OF FILMING A MURDER MYSTERY?
You have the murder mysteries, or crime shows, where it's just about that and there's no character or anything. Where are the characters? They're just there to serve the 'whodunnit' question. Ordeal By Innocence is the opposite. Every character has a story and a secret and is interesting.
HOW ABOUT PERFECTING A BRITISH ACCENT - WAS THAT A CHALLENGE?
Acting for screen in general is a challenge. The accent is something I've worked on before. It's something I'm quite comfortable with, probably because I'm here all the time, listening to people talk. But then, at the same time, constantly on set I'm like, 'Did I say that right?'
HOW DOES FILMING A BLOCKBUSTER LIKE STAR WARS COMPARE TO A BBC PERIOD DRAMA?
There's a lot more waiting on Star Wars, proper waiting around. The role's great – it's different. Ordeal By Innocence gave me a character I could sink my teeth into, which for a minute I was like, 'Oh, maybe I'm not going to get one of those'. Because it's a possibility... Especially actresses of colour, they don't necessarily come along. Then this came along – I was like, 'That's amazing. And, she is my age. That's really cool.'
WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE WATCHING YOURSELF ON SCREEN IN ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE?
I will watch it, but the question is, will I watch it in front of strangers first time? Probably not, because I will probably throw up everywhere! I've watched stuff back that I've done before – it's a hard thing to do, but it's like, 'How else am I going to learn from what I'm doing?' You have to try and be objective about it.
:: Ordeal By Innocence starts on BBC One on Sunday April 1.
