Amber Anderson

Known for her roles in Peaky Blinders, The Riot Club, Emma and more, actress Amber Anderson talks to us about the importance of telling female-centric stories, joining one of the UK’s most iconic TV shows and making her stage debut.

When did you begin acting?

I started at the age of 17! My first film was Your Highness, directed by David Gordon Green. I had to go to Belfast for one long, cold night shoot. I had medieval-style hair down to my waist and was surrounded by actors dressed as warlocks and knights. I couldn’t believe my eyes - I hoped every set I’d ever be on would be like it and that I’d get to do it forever. 

Your latest film is Tell That To The Winter Sea, alongside Greta Bellamacina, which has an entirely female cast. Why do you think this needed to be wholly female-focused?

The story needed women at the helm because it is intrinsically a female story. I think we’re so used to seeing things through a male gaze, but sadly risk losing out on half the story, half the viewpoint. As women, we simply see the world differently, process our emotions differently, tell our stories differently. It was so special filming Tell That To The Winter Sea because Greta and Jaclyn Bethany, the director, created such a warm and supportive environment. I’d never worked on a set that was so undeniably female, and it was an emotional and lovely experience.

The film's story is about two women who've been friends for many years - had you and Greta ever worked together before doing this?

We had not! We had met at various dinners, but our dance rehearsals for Tell That To The Winter Sea were our first opportunity to properly bond. It was magical.

Audiences might recognise you from your role in Peaky Blinders - how was the experience of joining that show in its sixth series?

It was great walking onto a project where the tone and the energy of the job had already been so well-established by so many wonderful actors. I felt like all I needed to do was support the story and hopefully offer something that could give Diana Mitford an extra flavour of something unusual. However, I think when you’re not playing the lead you can feel almost more pressure - you only have so many days on set, and so don’t get as long to relax into your performance in a way that you get to when you’re the main role, or in theatre for instance. I felt the pressure of knowing that a lot of people would watch it, whereas usually I try to pretend that no-one will ever see it, and that’s how I find my confidence. On Peaky, it was impossible to do that!

As Scarlet (left) in Tell That To The Winter Sea

One of your earliest roles was in the film The Riot Club, as part of a cast who've pretty much all broken out since. Do you have any memories of working with so many future stars?

I had similar experiences on both The Riot Club and Emma. You make friends who you then bump into on other jobs down the road, and it makes the whole world of acting in London feel so much less huge and unattainable. Community is everything, and I’ve always felt that actors are very good at building that.

Last year you made your stage debut in a production of The Shape Of Things - how did you find that? Are you looking to do more theatre?

Doing The Shape Of Things was such a nourishing experience, creatively. I grew up on stage while studying the piano, but hadn’t performed since I was 17! I felt like I was going home. I loved the routine of doing theatre and knowing where I had to be every day of the week, and yet every performance was different. I loved seeing how the play morphed and moved over the 6 weeks - the final performance was so different from the first, and feeling that happen was so satisfying. I also loved being able to explore every single possible choice I could with the character because of how many times I got to do it - again, something you don’t get as much on film. I’m dying to do another play.

Has there been anything you've seen lately - it could be a film, a TV show, a play - that you've particularly liked?

I thought The Motive And The Cue at the National Theatre was genius, and A Mirror at the Almeida. I also saw Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers recently and absolutely loved it.

Words: Scott Bates

First photo: Josh Shinner

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Tell That To The Winter Sea is available on digital now