Gillian Anderson has been hailed as ‘amazing’ in her upcoming role as Emily Maitlis after taking over as Newsnight presenter in the new Prince Andrew film.
Netflix’s upcoming drama Scoop, about the now infamous interview between The Duke of York and the BBC’s Emily, seems to have an uncanny resemblance of both stars.
However, while Rufus Sewell’s Prince Andrew was aided by prosthetics, Gillian had to rely on make-up and a wig to embody the esteemed presenter.
The upcoming film recreates the chilling 2019 interview between Emily and the disgraced royal family in painstaking detail.
Gillian studied the interview and previous episodes of Newsnight to prepare for the role, as she was not going to be a no-nonsense reporter, down to even the slightest of her mannerisms.
Gillian Anderson has been hailed as ‘amazing’ in her upcoming role as Emily Maitlis after taking over as Newsnight presenter in new Prince Andrew film
Netflix’s upcoming drama Scoop, about the now infamous interview between The Duke of York and the BBC’s Emily, seems to have an uncanny resemblance of both stars
Sam McAlister – known as the Booker extraordinaire on Newsnight after successfully negotiating the interview in which the Duke was questioned about his friendship with late convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein – has seen Gillian in action.
Sam – who will be played by Doctor Who actress Billie Piper – was on set during filming and described Gillian’s resemblance to Emily as ‘amazing’.
She said: ‘It was like being there with Emily, everything about her physique and her performance depends on the money.
‘They also have a similar intellect. Emily is very methodical. She worked very hard on every interview she trained, she studied and my impression of Gillian was exactly the same.
“She studied the material, she studied Emily, and she worked on that project both intellectually and dramatically.”
Rufus had the help of prosthetic make-up, but Scoop director Phillip Martin said: ‘With Gillian there are no prosthetics – it’s make-up and a wig and mannerisms.
Martin added: ‘Sometimes people can do a really brilliant imitation but not capture something.
‘What Gillian and Rufus have done so brilliantly is captured the spirit of the people they play so that it feels real.’
But as Gillian, a true chameleon, is set to make a splash as Emily, it won’t be the first time she’s taken on a character role… having previously played both former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Gillian prepared for her role as the late politician by working with two vocal coaches to find the perfect tone
MARGARET THATCHER
Gillian prepared for her role as the late politician in series four of The Crown by working with two vocal coaches to nail the perfect tone.
She previously told how she rehearsed in “dark and deserted rooms” to channel the late politician, who led the country from 1979 to 1990.
When she felt far away from her signature voice, she said The sun: ‘It’s quite easy to parody her voice, which makes it difficult to identify with it. It was about finding the balance, but at the same time understanding who she was and how she operated.”
To fully transform into Margaret, Gillian explained how she would practice her role alone – in a place she calls ‘elsewhere’.
She: ‘When we were playing The Crown, I would take a chair and put it in a dark, dusty corner or in an abandoned room.
“I always called it ‘elsewhere,’ and if the director wanted me, they had to come to me somewhere else. I love an ”elsewhere”.’
The Sex Education star revealed it took months to research the Iron Lady, spending an hour and a half in the hair and make-up chair at a time.
Gillian said donning a costume also helped her play the stateswoman, saying: ‘Never in my life would I wear the shoes she wore. But walking like I learned to walk like them, and in those shoes, just helped so much.
In November 2020, Gillian shared a series of candid photos of her transformation into Thatcher while filming series four of The Crown.
Gillian smiled for the camera as she got into hair and make-up and had one of her impressive blonde wigs done.
Gillian appeared in good spirits during the all-important prep, with the star opting for a casual all-black ensemble as she got her hair done.
In one of the photos, she flashed a huge grin and showed off her natural blonde locks still poking out of the bouffant-style wig.
While another image showed a side view of the eerily accurate-looking hairpiece, showing how well the color of the wig and Gillian’s locks matched.
In addition to this blonde wig, Gillian had several others, including a slightly darker piece to put on during other scenes in the show.
Gillian, who also wore a fat suit and ‘very uncomfortable nylons’ on set, insisted she had ‘let go’ of her ‘preconceptions about Margaret’ and had picked up the politician’s mannerisms by watching old videos of her.
Baroness Thatcher died in April 2013 after suffering a stroke at the age of 87.
The Sex Education star revealed it took months to research the Iron Lady, and spent an hour and a half in the hair and make-up chair (pictured)
Gillian was seen in the hair and makeup chair during the complicated process and still had some of her natural locks sticking out from the bottom of the hair piece.
Other wigs depicting some of the politician’s signature hairstyles were also on display in the room
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
After receiving critical acclaim for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in the hit Netflix series, Gillian took on the role of another female historical political figure.
In the 2022 series The First Lady, Gillian played Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest-serving First Lady of the United States.
Eleanor, wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt, chose her own path and championed the civil rights movement and the role of women in the workplace.
The costume designer behind the series, Signe Sejlund, previously said that the outfits the former first ladies wore were “so iconic” that they had to match.
In an interview with HBO on Instagram, Signe said, “This show is so extremely big. This is a historical document and not a documentary.
‘They are all so interesting. There are certain looks from all these first ladies that are so iconic that you have to match them.”
According to the New York Times, each actress made approximately 75 costume changes during the series.
The lead makeup artist, Carol Rasheed, revealed that each actress had their own personal artist who transformed them into character.
At the time, Gillian gave fans a glimpse into her role as Eleanor as she sat in the makeup chair in her dressing room.
The X-Files actress shared a smiling selfie on her Instagram from Atlanta, Georgia, where she was fitted for a wavy brown wig similar to Eleanor’s style.
She then posted a snapshot of the name Eleanor on the door of her trailer, followed by an insightful quote.
The quote read: ‘A woman is like a tea bag; you only know how strong it is when it is in hot water.’
Gillian appeared in all 10 episodes of the series’ first season, which starred Kiefer Sutherland as her husband Franklin.
The show, from creator Aaron Cooley, featured Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Ellen Burstyn as Sarah Delano Roosevelt.
Showtime’s anthology series is “a revealing reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House.”
After receiving praise for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in the hit Netflix series, Gillian took on the role of another female historical political figure (portrayed as Eleanor Roosevelt).
Eleanor, wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt, chose her own path and championed the civil rights movement and the role of women in the workplace.
At the time, Gillian gave fans a glimpse into her role as Eleanor as she sat in the makeup chair in her dressing room.
