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We filmed in the summer for a drama that is set in the summer. On many occasions you film dramas that are meant to be set in the summer and it’s actually winter when you are shooting. You are on a beach with shorts on and it is freezing. That’s when you really have to give it some serious acting.” The Character: Claudie Blakley plays the oldest of Vivien’s three children, Helen, who is desperately trying to be as put together as she’d like everyone else to believe, and is trying to hold onto a career, marriage and family that are all shaken up at once.related_content_links_1_url: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/flesh-and-blood-episode-1-recap/ The Locations: Tovey’s love for the project didn’t end there. The filming locations were another one of his favorite parts of filming the series. “We filmed a lot of the drama in Eastbourne,” he explained. “The family home is on the beach, so you can walk up from the sea into the house. It was an amazing location. Eastbourne is lovely. I had no idea. Really beautiful. mp_sf_list_5_description:The Character: Lydia Leonard plays Vivien's youngest daughter Natalie, who while being the most supportive of her mother's new relationship also has her own reservations about the situation. Not to mention, her own love life is somewhat of a mess, leaving her to wonder what it is she really wants. mp_sf_list: a:6:{i:0;s:15:"mp_sf_list_item";i:1;s:15:"mp_sf_list_item";i:2;s:15:"mp_sf_list_item";i:3;s:15:"mp_sf_list_item";i:4;s:15:"mp_sf_list_item";i:5;s:15:"mp_sf_list_item";} Where You’ve Seen Him Before: Rea is best known for his work in such hit films such as The Crying Game; V for Vendetta alongside Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman; Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles alongside Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt; Citizen X, and more.

His Cast Mates: Playing a family unit, on the other hand, came much more easily, according to Tovey, especially with his “screen sisters” Claudie Blakley and Lydia Leonard, who he calls “friends for life.” He even dubbed the trio “The Three Sisters.” Cast Connections: As for her cast mates, it was a mix of reunions and long awaited introductions for Staunton. “Francesca and I were both in Cranford in 2009 but we didn’t meet. Stephen and I did something 25 years ago in Budapest called Citizen X, where he was a Russian detective and I was his wife. He is a remarkable actor.” The Story: As Vivien spends time throughout the series reflecting on her age and her life, Annis, too, spent time while working on the series reflecting on age and time. “What strikes me now is how varied one’s life and time can be. Which is wonderful,” she said. “You are not the same at 70 as you were at 50. It keeps changing. I always think that every decade there is a change in you. You change, your attitudes change, you change physically, you change mentally. That’s why it’s so important to live in the moment. There’s no good thinking ahead, it’s too abstract. And there’s no good thinking about the past because it’s gone.”The Story: Part of her storyline as the grown child of a mother who trying to declutter and move forward hit close to home for Blakley. “When I first moved to London I remember going home a lot because I just felt safe and secure. It always smelled the same. I think everyone can relate to that… But Vivien is always asking them, ‘Can you come and collect your stuff from that cupboard?’ And my mum is always saying that to me. ‘Please come and get your stuff from the garage, Claudie.’ And I still haven’t. It’s terrible.” The Character: Francesca Annis, another Cranford star among the cast, plays Vivien, the widowed mother and matriarch of her family. When she introduces her three adult children to her new boyfriend, and shares with them her intentions of selling the family home and moving on with her life, they don’t exactly take kindly to…well, any of it. strong>His Cast Mates: Playing a family unit, on the other hand, came much more easily, according to Tovey, especially with his "screen sisters" Claudie Blakley and Lydia Leonard, who he calls "friends for life." He even dubbed the trio "The Three Sisters." The entire project came together, Tovey said, thanks to a combined effort from the cast and director Louise Hopper. “The best thing about this job is we are all very instinctive actors and in tune with each other," he said. "We were given the freedom to talk over each other... Louise Hooper, who is an awesome director, wanted it to be real. So we were able to squabble, improvise a little and speak over each other. As people do in a family. It felt great to do those scenes."The Locations: Tovey's love for the project didn't end there. The filming locations were another one of his favorite parts of filming the series. “We filmed a lot of the drama in Eastbourne," he explained. "The family home is on the beach, so you can walk up from the sea into the house. It was an amazing location. Eastbourne is lovely. I had no idea. Really beautiful.

mp_sf_list_3_description:The Character: Claudie Blakley plays the oldest of Vivien's three children, Helen, who is desperately trying to be as put together as she'd like everyone else to believe, and is trying to hold onto a career, marriage and family that are all shaken up at once. In fact, Staunton and co-star Annis being involved were part of the reason that Rea was attracted to the project. “Francesca Annis and Imelda Staunton were already attached to this. Actors who I am very impressed by, fond of and know,” he explained. “The character of Mark was interesting and it had an intriguing surface of a functional family that turns out to be completely non-functional. I have a personal belief that most families aren’t functional. So, I’m quite happy to contribute to that propaganda.” related_content_links_0_url: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/seven-intriguing-facts-flesh-and-blood-star-imelda-staunton/The entire project came together, Tovey said, thanks to a combined effort from the cast and director Louise Hopper. “The best thing about this job is we are all very instinctive actors and in tune with each other,” he said. “We were given the freedom to talk over each other… Louise Hooper, who is an awesome director, wanted it to be real. So we were able to squabble, improvise a little and speak over each other. As people do in a family. It felt great to do those scenes.” strong>Cast Connections: Flesh and Blood was an exciting one for Annis, one with “lots of twists and turns…that made me laugh. And a couple of things that made me gasp.“ It helped, too, to have co-stars and peers she’d worked with or encountered before, and was happy to reunite with. The Story: For Staunton, the series’ storyline of a strong attachment to one’s childhood home was one she could personally relate to. “I was raised above a hair salon in north London,” she explained. “I regarded that as home. We moved when I was 10 or 11. And for most of my adult life, probably until I had my own house and family, I dreamt about that house all of the time. Because I wanted to be there.”