It’s been more than overdue – but I finally added screencaptures of Claire Foy in the ‘Little Dorrit‘ DVD Extras.

GALLERY LINKS:
- Little Dorrit (TV, 2008): DVD Featurette > An Insight
- Little Dorrit (TV, 2008): DVD Featurette > Picture Gallery

You’ve had roles in things from Little Dorrit to Upstairs Downstairs and now The Night Watch – so do you like period dramas?
Claire Foy: I like any drama that pays me to be in it! Period or otherwise! Why are people so obsessed with this I find it very funny? But yes I have done quite a few period pieces. Really I like anything that’s got a good character and a story. They do so many adaptations and remakes and are always finding literature and turning it into dramas so as long as they’re doing that hopefully I’ll do lots and lots and lots, but mix it up with some modern things as well.

Do you get offered as much modern stuff or is it just that a lot of drama is period?
Claire: Well, yes a lot of it is period and people forget that – even if it’s five years ago it’s period because it’s not now. I think because so much television is kind of period of some sort – apart from EastEnders and those things which are set now – it’s probably be a large proportion. I never get offered anything but the scripts that I read are probably more period but I can’t say for sure. It’s hard for me to say because I just like the story, so everything’s just a story to me.

Can you tell us a bit about Helen, the character you play in The Night Watch?
Claire: Helen is a very sweet and lovely person, but she’s very vulnerable and confused and a bit lost and doesn’t really know her place in the world. She makes lots of bad decisions without knowing it. She wants to do the right thing all the time, but is very concerned with what people think, with what society thinks and what’s the right thing to do – even if she doesn’t know what it is. She’s quite needy. She’s the person in a relationship that just gives and gives and gives. She wants love but doesn’t really know what to do when she gets it. It’s why her and Kay’s relationship goes so wrong. She’s a bit tragic really.

Did that make her a difficult to play?
Claire: Yes. It’s quite difficult to play someone who’s so emotionally erratic. She’ll say the first thing that comes into her head. You know when you’re in a relationship and you’re feeling a bit jealous, the adult part of your brain tells you not to ask where the other person was. Well, Helen just goes: “Where were you, what have you being doing? Please tell me, please? And tell me you love me, tell me you love me.”

And it was painful to read and especially when you read the book and you hear her in a monologue and she doesn’t want to do it but she can’t help herself. It’s because she’s so insecure. She has no confidence whereas Kay and Julia are such strong people and Helen holds onto them in order to live her life. It was difficult to play but I did like playing this character who was so desperate as it was quite easy to be the person who said everything first. I loved playing her in fact.

It’s quite rare to get a drama like this where there are so many strong female roles and an opportunity for you to work with lots of your peers – how was that?
Claire: It was amazing and there aren’t any really and if there are there’s always other people involved. It was quite nice that in this they were all female and that they were all relationships with women. It’s a strong female-led cast and the parts have got so much behind them and that is rare. I’ve never really worked with so many women before as actresses. It was a real, real pleasure and an amazing story. It was special really, really special.

Did you feel any special responsibility playing a gay character in a novel that is so sacred to a lot of gay women?
Claire: There’s always a sense of responsibility when you’re doing any adaptation from a book. Some people are of the view that you shouldn’t read the book that you’ve got to work on the script as otherwise you get too confused and you end up acting the book. And the book is not the script, as the script is a drama in its own right. So sometimes when that’s the case you wonder if you should read the book or will that just muddy the waters? But I read the book and I do love doing stuff that has a book behind it as it makes my job a lot easier and I feel a lot more assured about my performance knowing I know what the character’s thinking. So you have that responsibility anyway.

I felt more responsibility as my character is different in the book – she’s quite a lot younger as she’s written in the script to be 26 at the end whereas in the book she’s 26 at the start, so I hope people are not pissed off about that. My main thought when I approached it was I want it to be believable I didn’t want people to think: “There is someone playing a lesbian.” But I don’t think any one could ever think that and the reason it works is because it’s about relationships and all you do is act with the people who are opposite you whatever their sex. Helen’s a funny one as she doesn’t see herself as a lesbian, whereas Kay and Julia do and talk about it openly. Helen would never refer to herself as gay as she doesn’t know what it is. And that’s what I loved about her character as she didn’t need to put a name to herself. She’s in love with the person not the sex that they are. Hopefully, people will be open-minded that it’s heterosexual women playing these parts and that they’ll be ok with that and not judge anyone. But people are nice.

You do have some intimate scenes with Anna and she’s said it was much easier doing them with a woman than a man – how was it for you?
Claire: Ah it was brilliant. And it really, really, really was so much easier. If you’re doing a sex scene with a man – not that I’ve really had any – or even a kissing scene it’s so much nicer. It was just so lovely and not awkward and they’re so pretty and smell nice! We’d just have chats, and we’d have to snog each other, then we’d have another chat. It did get to the point where you could say don’t do that or do this – so you could be really honest with each other. I’ve been very lucky with the men I’ve had to kiss on screen and I’ve got on really well with them but there’s always part of you’d that would rather not do it and finds it awkward. It’s so much easier for your partner too if they’re watching it. With a woman it does make you less self-conscious. Me and Anna Wilson Jones had a whole scene in a bath and we stayed in the bath the whole time between takes. It was so cold out of the bath that it was better to stay in it but if I’d been in the bath with a man I’d have been getting out all the time between takes.

Were you surprised at landing Little Dorrit almost straight out of drama school and do you ever have to pinch yourself at how much you’ve done?
Claire: Yes, but it’s funny because like everything you do become so complacent. When I first did Little Dorritt I do think I went into shock because it was such a big part and such a lot of episodes – it was really scary. I did go into shock for about three months but since then I thought you can’t think ahead you’ve got to take every day at a time. And with the job that I do you’ve got to be confident. As soon as you worry about lots of people watching then it all falls apart.

The Night Watch is on BBC2 on Tuesday, 12 July at 9pm

Source

I’m very happy to finally be able to offer you guys and girls, and add to our gallery, a scan from Elle UK, which was — to my best knowledge — one of the two big magazines to feature Miss Claire Foy, back in 2008, that we were missing (the other one is Vogue UK). The photo used in the article is part of the Daily Mail set, but it’s a previously unseen one. Enjoy!

GALLERY LINKS:
- Photoshoots: Daily Mail (2008)
- Scans from 2008: Elle (UK) – December 2008

She plays Erin, an 18-year-old visiting Israel for the first time. She’s following in the footsteps of her grandfather Len, a soldier in the British army in Palestine during the Mandate period who kept a diary of his turbulent time there.

It’s a powerful tale of love, war and betrayal, telling the stories of both Erin and Len – two young people caught up in the same struggle more than 60 years apart.

Here, Foy reveals her passion for the project, and explains why she’d like to burn every costume she’s ever worn.

What was it that drew you to The Promise?
I remember the very first audition very clearly. I got sent 25 scenes, and was asked to prepare all of them, which is what Peter does, God love him. It was so much work.

I remember reading a scene, and I had no idea what it was about. But then when I got the finished script, I couldn’t stop reading it. It was just the most amazing story.

Peter is just so talented, it’s unbelievable. Anyone who watches it will be blown away by the story. He somehow makes a political piece that’s so emotionally driven by the characters. There’s no agenda in it. It’s just amazing, it’s my favourite job ever, and I think it always will be.

That’s quite a statement.
It’s the whole reason I want to act. Obviously I couldn’t do a job like this every week – it’s such undertaking and it requires a lot. But I loved it; it’s about something bigger than just the drama. And I loved the character so much. There was so much in her.

She’s not exactly a sympathetic character, is she?
No, she’s not very nice at all. [Laughs] She’s quite unforgiving and a bit bolshy, a bit sarky, and a bit of a cow, really. But I think it works because she’s a real person. And I felt very strongly that when I was 18 I was a lot like Erin. I was quite mouthy, and sticking up for things I didn’t really believe in because I didn’t know anything about the world. She’s a difficult character to love, but she’s real.

Erin suffers from epilepsy as well. Did you do any specific research into that subject?
Yes. I had to. I had to have a few fits on film, so I had to be quite technically specific about them, because some of the people watching will be epileptic, and there’s a duty to get it right.

We had some people from the Epilepsy Foundation come in and talk to us and give is some information about it. And there are things you can watch on YouTube about it as well. I watched some fits, but it felt a bit weird to be watching them. It seems like such a personal thing. And I watched quite a few documentaries with people talking about what it felt like to have epilepsy, and how it affects your life. I think she’s so aggressive all the time because she doesn’t want people to think that she’s got a disorder or needs help. She doesn’t want to be patronised at all.

Did you do any other research into the situation in Israel?
Yes. I really shouldn’t have done, because Erin was a complete innocent about the whole thing and really naïve about it, but once I’d read the script I had to keep reading, because it opened a completely new world to me.

I got the job months and months before we started shooting, and I actually became a member of the British Library – which is very nice – and I went and found a book about a man who had written a diary of when he was in Palestine at the same time that the character of Len was there. So it helped me no end.

The series was filmed in Israel. Had you been there before?
No, never. And I probably never would have been but for this. For a country that’s so aware of its politics it was brilliant they gave us permission, because we couldn’t have done it anywhere else.

What did you make of it?
That’s such a tricky one. I don’t know really. It’s a beautiful country, it’s warm, it’s got lovely food, Tel Aviv’s an amazing city, it’s a really nice place to film. It’s a very metropolitan place, with a relatively European feel to it.

Politically, it’s not my favourite place in the world. I’d never been anywhere before that was in conflict, and I very much felt that it was in conflict.

Did you see daily reminders of that?
I did, yes. We were staying next to the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. The level of security is just astonishing if you’re not used to it. There are people walking around withy guns, and there are massive army helicopters everywhere, and fighter jets going past your hotel window. You don’t get that everyday back here. And the weird thing for me was you knew they were going somewhere. They weren’t just off on an exercise.

Were there any problems with people who didn’t want you there?
I think it was more difficult for us than it was for the actors in the 1940s scenes, because they were all in period costumes and period transport. But when we turned up in Arab areas and put an Israeli army roadblock in the middle of their city, people didn’t know we were actors.

It was particularly difficult for the guys dressed up as IDF soldiers. They had people coming up to them swearing.

So many people were so welcoming, and so pleased that we were making the drama,and filming in their country. But certain people I guess felt like ‘you’re coming over here to tell this story, you don’t know anything about it.’ That’s just human nature.

You’re known for Little Dorrit, Upstairs Downstairs, and you’ve got a film coming out with Nicolas Cage, Season of the Witch, set in medieval times. Was it nice to be making a drama where you were wearing contemporary clothes?
Oh yes! It really was. Costumes are costumes, to be honest, and by the end of anything, you hate them. I always hate them. I want to burn them all when I’m finished with them, I hate them all so much. You end up being really uncomfortable, really hot or really cold, the shoes don’t fit. As much as the costume department are wonderful, there’s only so much they can do.

But in this I got to wear Converse, which was a massive plus. But I’m so thrilled to have done a modern piece. So much stuff is period, and I couldn’t believe my luck to play such an amazing character, and for it to be set in the now. And it has to be good for me that casting people will see me not in a corset for once!

You’ve talked about how much you loved making it, but where does The Promise sit in terms of how proud you are of the piece?
I really hope people watch it, and I really hope they like it, and I hope people don’t get bogged down by the politics, I hope people just watch it for the wonderful story that Peter has crafted.

Little Dorrit will always be so important to me – it was my first big job, it was a character I got to play for six months. So that and this, for different reasons, have to come out top.

I felt so emotionally attached to Erin and so believed her story, and I loved working with Peter so much. I think every job will be different, but I think for me, creatively, and of the jobs I’ll be proud to show people, this is definitely up there at number one. It’s got so much integrity. All actors want to do something that’s good – something that’s pure and has no vanity, something they can be really proud of. Well, for me, this was that job. I’ll be so lucky to ever do a job that I love this much again.

Source

Foy’s breakthrough follows a flurry of high-profile TV roles, including her turn as the title character in the BBC’s acclaimed miniseries adaptation of the Dickens novel Little Dorrit. Movieline caught up with Foy recently to discuss Season of the Witch, why Cage might be a little misunderstood, and a couple other, older Hollywood legends she wouldn’t mind having a crack at in front of the camera.

So two and a half years ago, before Little Dorrit, you lived with five flatmates and talked about spending a pound for plates at Ikea. Has success since spoiled Claire Foy?
No! I’m no longer living with five other people, though. I think I’d have to be a little mad to do that now. But no, not at all. My life is still pretty much the same since the time I said that.

What has changed for you, at least career-wise? How has your perspective on your work evolved?
I think it’s probably changed the most by getting a little bit older, really. And a little bit wiser. But you can only learn on the job anyway, so I suppose I have learned a lot about acting. God knows what it is that I’ve learned; I have no idea at the moment. But it’s a lot, just by meeting people and listening to people and watching other actors act. And reading so many scripts and books and things. I’ve picked up a lot. But ask me in 10 years. I’ve got no idea at the moment what exactly it is.

Was acting something you always wanted to do or intended to pursue?
No. I didn’t really know acting was something you could do for a living. I suppose I’ve always liked acting ever since I was a kid. But I went to university, and then I went to drama school. I wasn’t doing it from an early age or anything like that. It was something I came relatively late to, for all intents and purposes. But I’ve always had a performer’s instinct, I suppose you could say.

And now Season of the Witch, which signifies your feature-film debut. What’s it about, and who do you play?
Well, it’s about a knight called Behmen, who is Nicolas Cage, and Felson, his mate, Ron Perlman. And they’ve been in the Crusades; they’re religious men. And they’re given the task of transporting a witch who is suspected of causing the Black Plague to an abbey where she’ll be put on trial and that sort of thing. I play said witch. It’s pretty much about their journey across Europe to get to this abbey and all of the horrible things that happen — some of which I’m responsible for, and some not.

What interested you in the role as your debut?
It’s such a different role for me. It held a lot of challenges, and it’s quite a powerful role — a powerful character. It was something I could have quite a bit of fun with as well. Like Dom[inic Sena], the director, encouraged you to follow your instincts and try different things. Even if things went horribly wrong, it was good to have a good. All those things, really. As soon as I met Dom, I thought he was brilliant. I really got on well with him. And this was something I just hoped I’d get.

In terms of channeling that power you mention, what did you think you could do with it?
It’s quite a manipulative role; the character does a lot of manipulating. Pitting other people against each other, being quite mischievous… That was something I thought would obviously be good to do. I don’t know if I really thought about how I’d play it or anything like that. I just did my work. It was all in the script that Bragi wrote. What he wanted was pretty much there. There wasn’t a lot of deviation from what’s there.

Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman. That’s kind of a potent combo—
“Potent” is exactly the right word. I had a brilliant time. They’re both so different but they both get on so well. It’s interesting. And they both have so many stories to tell. They’ve been at this for quite a long time, so it was interesting to see them bouncing off each other a bit. They’re an interesting pair, and we had a lot of laughs.

Because Nic Cage is crazy, right? Or intense, or…
Um… I wouldn’t describe him as “intense.” I’d describe him as really funny. But I don’t know. I think people can get confused; sometimes people think people really are how they appear onscreen — that some people have a certain profile, so they’re a certain way. Or they might have done certain things when they were younger, and people have followed them around forever. But for me, Nic is just Nic. And he’s such a lovely man, and he’s got such a lovely family, and I had such a good time working with him. It’s quite a big deal meeting Nicolas Cage! And he lived up to every possibility of every way I thought he might be like.

Have you seen the video circulating of his biggest screen meltdowns?
No! No.

Ah. I was curious what you thought might be compatible from Season of the Witch.
Oh, no, no. He’s strong as houses, Nic.

In the States, more and more film actors are taking advantage of roles on TV. Of course, you had your breakthrough on TV. Do you intend to stick with that going forward, or are movies more your speed?
Oh, yeah. I mean, I’ve done one film since I did Season of the Witch, but TV’s where the work is, really. And TV’s where a lot of great scripts are. But every job’s got its merits. I haven’t been over to Hollywood or anything since doing Season of the Witch, so who knows? But my main focus is to do more theater, really. That’s the next thing I’d like to do — really, really. But I don’t know. There are so many wonderful, wonderful jobs in British TV. There are so many opportunities. But it’s really just [that] what auditions you get are what you get. It’s not brain science or anything like that.

Are there any specific roles — in literature, theater, TV, film — you’d love the opportunity to play at some point?
Not particularly. There’s always a specific idea what jobs you’d like to do. I’d like to do something political — something maybe low-budget. I’ve done something like that recently. I always wanted to be in a period drama. I’ve done that now, so that was all right. Oh, I’ve always thought I’d love to play — and I never really think about parts, because you’ve got to wait for people to write them — but I’d love to play Elizabeth Taylor or Vivien Leigh in the story of their life. But only sheerly for my own enjoyment. [Laughs] I’m not sure anyone would want to watch me pretending to be Elizabeth Taylor or Vivien Leigh.

Of course we would? But why them?
I don’t know. I think it’s probably just because I grew up watching Gone With the Wind and wanted to be Vivien Leigh. And also, the glamour — all the things everybody loves about Hollywood. I just think it would be an exciting thing to do.

Source

iamROGUE.com recently had the chance to talk with Claire and we briefly spoke about her work in Little Dorrit and Going Postal, but we talked a lot about playing a witch in her latest. She is funny and extremely charming. She opened up about working with Nic and Ron, researching the role, and about how it wasn’t the “boys club” that you might think.

So be sure to check out Season of the Witch when it opens on January 7 at a theatre near you.

Well I first have to say there is a big difference between Amy Dorrit [in Little Dorrit] and Season of the Witch isn’t there?

[Laughing] Yeah, there is.

What brought you to this role?

My evil side [Laughing]… I mean, I don’t know. I did the audition, they liked my take… and then I got the job. That was it really. It was a shocker to me as much as everyone else. I’m very grateful because it turned out to be a really great job and I loved it.

How did you approach this role as opposed to something like Little Dorrit or your work in Going Postal?

Well it’s all pretty much the same really, for me, weirdly I suppose; Little Dorrit was more of a stretch than Season of the Witch, in a weird way. Because Amy was so internal and with Season I felt I was able to do more and with Amy it was about doing less all the time. But just in exactly the same way you take every character on its own merits in the same way. I did just the same amount of work for them as I did for Season of the Witch, lots of research and it has to all come together…

What kind of research did you do for this?

[It was] just reading things about witchcraft and watching videos and that sort of thing. Or finding out about the time and what the circumstances would be like. Familiarizing yourself with the time and the circumstances of the character. Which all helps when you get kind of set in the world there.

You know, on YouTube you can find videos that feature a “girl possessed by demon”?

I know you can, trust me. I thought about, very early on when I first started working with that script and doing research for it, I went down that route and then, very quickly went, no, I’m not gonna do that stuff. [Laughing] I decided not to go down that avenue.

I think you chose a good path.

I maintained my sanity. I just know that I would think, on no, there is something living in my loft or something. [Laughing] So I stayed clear, very, very clear.

What was the best part of playing this kind of character for you; the witch type, powerful, bad girl must have been fun?

Yeah, all the things you said really, playing such a powerful character. Playing a character that was making things happen, and mainly in control of an entire group of men. And for once, be the character that is completely in the know about everything. There is nothing that she doesn’t know. Nothing is a surprise. And she is able to deal with every single situation that arises the way that she sees fit. And I think that was quite refreshing to be able to play a character that wasn’t entirely beholden to everyone else. And to play a masculine role, because it really is a masculine role.

And you get to work with Nicolas Cage.

Of course.

And of course, I’ve got to know what that was like for you.

It was brilliant. Really, really brilliant. Really great. From day one he was so lovely and so supportive and so kind. He is such a lovely man. And it made it kind of a joy to work with him. I’ve met very few movie stars in my time and Nic was really like, such a movie star, such a star, such an amazing person. He was so special and I loved working with him.

Give it a year or two, you are going to be a huge movie star as well.

[Laughing] Alright then. [Laughing]

In Season, you are also working with Ron Perlman, the great Ron Perlman…

I love Ron.

He’s fantastic isn’t he?

He really, really is.

What was it like working with all these guys? You said earlier that your character was the one in charge, but as an actress you were kind of working in a boys club here.

Quite a few people had asked, you know, did you have to be one of the boys and all that sort of thing. I genuinely think that we all took each other for what we were; it was a random bunch of misfits really. We just had brilliant times, really, really brilliant times. So much socializing, and we were all in Budapest together and we spent so much time together on set, and off set. We just really, really got on. And I think the boys in the end, got quite grateful that there was a girl there. But I was quite willing to leave them to it as well, if they wanted just the boys together, and I’m quite willing to spend the nights at home thanks very much.

Did having you there make them react more gentlemanly, or did they fight for your affections at all?

No. [Laughing] They would – I think in all honesty, Nic is the most gentlemanly of the bunch. In fact, it was Nic and Ron. The rest of them couldn’t care less. [Laughing] Nic would always give me a chair or something and make sure I was warm and that sort of thing. The rest of them would be standing there complaining about how cold it was and I’d be like, yeah, it’s alright for you when you have chainmail and a big furry coat, and I’m in some bloody slip or something. But no, they weren’t at all, I think they just saw me as Claire, the woman on set as opposed to the other girls on set as well, in every other department. It’s never like, if there is one female cast member, that there is only one woman. It was just nice. I really loved it; I really, really loved being part of that group and being accepted. It was just wonderful.

Can you talk about the stunts and how much you had to do yourself?

You know, a lot. I didn’t get into it and now I go extreme surfing or that kind of thing. But I got the job done. And I will never be entirely proficient at it, I’ll always be a bit rubbish but that is fine. The next job if I ever have to do a stunt, I’ll know a little more that I’m not the best at it. But I did get to do some really bad ass flying and none of the boys got to do that. And I got to spend a lot of quality time in my cage and all that. But I didn’t get a sword. I would’ve loved a sword; I would’ve loved to have sliced someone’s head off.

Do you find going for the evil in this character did you find a sort of braveness that you didn’t have before?

Possibly… I think, to a certain extent, it does take awhile to have the balls to be able to intimidate Nic Cage. I don’t know. I think I was always very wary of playing evil or being suspicious, or playing the “knowing” character. You know what I mean, like “playing” that as opposed to “being” that. I thought that it was best to not do anything really. If you are going to be scary, just be scary. But there are people like Al Pacino or someone; they don’t have to do anything, you feel like any instant they could go punch someone in the face. They are the scariest type of people. I don’t know whether my witch is like that but that is kind of what I was thinking of. But the most menacing people are the people who don’t do anything. And you just use manipulation and mind-control to make people do what you want them to do.

It works from what I’m seeing.

I’m doing it now. [Laughing]

• Little Dorrit Available on Blu-ray since last week.

• Going Postal Available on DVD, Special Edition DVD & Blu-ray since last week.

• Pulse Writer Paul Cornell tweeted that it isn’t going into series. BBC3 instead chose a pilot they haven’t shown to the public. But he thanked the “brilliant cast, Simon and Helen at World, ace director James, for making Pulse such a great experience.”

• The Promise Formerly known as ‘Homeland‘ it is part of Channel 4′s Autumn Schedule and has its own official page. Seeing the year 2011 after the title here I’d say it’ll maybe air next January.

• Upstairs Downstairs Alun Vega spotted Claire Foy on the set this past Sunday on Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff Bay. The director is Euros Lyn.

• Wreckers A new behind the scenes picture was added to the official Facebook page

GALLERY LINKS:
- Upstairs Downstairs (TV, 2011) > On Set, credit: Alun Vega
- Wreckers (2010) > On the Set, credit: Wreckers Facebook page

Edit: Added 3 more pictures from Upstairs Downstairs filming, thank you Nicole for the heads up!

From corsets to couture: 2010 looks set to be Claire Foy’s year!

GALLERY LINKS:
- Scans: Marie Claire (UK) – April 2010
- Scans: InStyle (UK) – April 2010

22 new Claire Foy photos to cheer you all up!

GALLERY LINKS:
- Little Dorrit (2008): On the Set –> Added 20 new HQs of Claire filming Little Dorrit with Matthew MacFadyen
- Events in 2009: The TRIC Awards 2009 –> We didn’t have any photos from this event before!

Perhaps, when the words Little Dorrit kept coming up during last night’s Emmy Awards broadcast, you were all, “Little who?” Or maybe you filtered out the unfamiliar phrase altogether and have no idea what I’m talking about. But wait! There’s a reason why the BBC-WGBH Charles Dickens adaptation picked up so many trophies, including Outstanding Miniseries plus the writing and directing awards in that field.

I’m not even a Dickens fan like that, but my 19th-century-British-literature-obsessive girlfriend sure is, so I watched the miniseries when it aired this spring. The cast was one of those sprawling BBC ensembles, featuring memorable performances from actors I’d never seen before (Claire Foy, as debtor’s daughter Amy Dorrit) as well as some familiar faces (Matthew “Mr. Darcy” Macfadyen as earnest hero Arthur Clennam, Andy “Gollum” Serkis as creepy villain Rigaud). And the plot — all about wealth and class and massive finance-industry malfeasance — was shockingly relevant in 2009. If you’d like to see a melodramatic TV movie about the Bernie Madoff scandal, you’d probably be better off seeking out Little Dorrit on DVD. It’ll be just as much fun, you’ll get a long-suffering love story at the same time, and you know the production values will be higher with the BBC in charge.

Did any of you catch Little Dorrit when it first aired? How psyched are you to see it having a well-deserved Emmy moment? Or are you looking forward to discovering Little Dorrit now that the Emmys have brought it to your attention?

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Source: EW.com

UPDATE:

Little Dorrit comes up big:
Dark horse miniseries takes home the most Emmys

It was the little engine that could.

After staying off the radar with little marketing push, the BBC/PBS production of Little Dorrit surprisingly became the most honored program of the night with seven Emmys, including best miniseries.

It was a come-from-behind win. At the nomination stage, Dorrit was tied with its competitor in the best miniseries category, HBO’s Generation Kill, for sixth place, behind such heavy hitters as series 30 Rock, Mad Men and movies Grey Gardens and Into the Storm.

But in the end, the Charles Dickens adaptation squeaked past the dominant player in the longform space, HBO. The cabler’s Gardens was second in the program tally with six Emmys.

“This is a fantastic win that Dickens would be proud of,” said BBC Worldwide exec vp programming and production Jane Tranter, who commissioned the mini at the BBC. “If he was around today, he would undoubtedly be writing for television.”

Click here for the full list of Emmy Awards winners.

Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of Little Dorrit on a very well deserved win!!!

In a team effort we bring you today HQ photos of Claire at 3 different events and on location on August 25, 2008 on the set of ‘Little Dorrit‘. Most of these simply replace pictures we previously had in the gallery but there are also a few new ones. Enjoy!

GALLERY LINK:
- Little Dorrit (2008): On the Set edit Sep 13: replaced 4 more with HQ versions
- Events in 2009: Royal Television Society Programme Awards
- Events in 2009: British Academy Television Craft Awards 2009
- Events in 2009: Cystic Fibrosis Trust Breathing Life Awards

I’ve added 9 new old photos of Matthew MacFadyen, Claire Foy and Eve Myles on the Greenwich London set of Little Dorrit on Saturday May 3rd 2008.

GALLERY LINK:
- Little Dorrit (2008): On the Set

During the “2009 Winter TCA Tour”, which took place early January 2009, LA-Story.com had the chance to interview Claire Foy about all things ‘Little Dorrit‘ as well as a little about ‘Season of the Witch‘. The video interview was published on their website in late March – which was when ‘Little Dorrit‘ started airing in the US. Be sure to watch the interesting 12-min interview and enjoy our screencaptures in the gallery. Thanks Joe for the link.

The interview which was done a few months ago shows off Claire Foy after a long day of interviews and still she’s got the light, joy and wonder of all that is occuring in her life as her acting is becoming more in demand. She is fabulous!

Gallery link:
- Interviews/News Segments: LA-Story.com | Little Dorrit | Claire Foy interview