Dead and Buried – An Interview with Annabel Scholey

Annabel Scholey brings all the drama (and a good laugh) as she dives into her latest role in Dead and Buried. From instant chemistry with co-star Kerri Quinn to battling rain machines like a pro, she shares the highs, lows, and hilarious moments from set.

 

Cathy has got a dark side in Dead and Buried, not unlike the characters you’ve portrayed in some of your recent roles – The Serial Killer’s Wife or The Sixth Commandment.

I am type-cast, I don’t know why!

 

Do you relate to Cathy in any way?

No, I’m not like her – thank God! But I really loved how she follows her impulses. It’s basically like playing two characters, because she’s got her alter-ego, which you see later on. Because she’s bipolar, it’s like playing two different people, so I was up for the challenge. It’s great fun to play someone who’s walking on the line – maybe not on the line, she’s walking over the line – of her moral compass. The fact that she’s even got a collection of wigs in her dressing room!

 

You and Kerri Quinn, who plays your best friend, seemed to have great chemistry. What was that like on set, to create this real, genuine friendship?

We were very lucky when we read together, that [chemistry] was there. We’re the same age, we’ve both got daughters, we’ve got loads in common, so we did, we clicked right away. Also, Kerri has the Northern Irish sense of humour, which I find hysterical and shocking! So she was a good person to follow and she was brilliantly supportive for me with the accent.

 

The Northern Irish accent is a tricky one to pin down, but you seem to have nailed it!

Thank you! I worked hard with Brendan Gunn, who’s an amazing accent coach, and we really went for it. I’ve said this before, but if you’re playing a role like this – she’s so emotional and she has to be so free – you can’t be thinking about an accent. You have to be secure in it. Otherwise, that’s all you’re playing. The Irish audience will think ‘Why is she playing that part? She’s just awful?’ I know because I’ve done that myself! So, it was really important.

 

All seems to be going well in Cathy’s life until she bumps into the man who killed her brother. That’s when she starts to unravel…

Yeah, well it happened to her when she was 15, which is obviously a really important part of her life when she’s being shaped into an adult. I think we decided that was the moment when her bipolar was triggered, that was the catalyst. So she went into crisis and she made all of her life choices – wrong choices! – at 15. Because of that, everything that happened post the death of her brother changed who she was. It’s very difficult to let that go. You know, she’s steady at the beginning, she’s on her pills, she’s married, happily(ish). She’s a mum, she’s a teacher, she has a good friend, she’s stable! But as soon as she sees him [Colin Morgan’s character, Michael], that’s the trigger and that is it.

 

How did you approach the psychological nuances of playing someone who is unraveling but still holds so much emotional control over her actions?

Because she’s bipolar, I watched a very, very interesting documentary on Prime Video about people who suffer from bipolar and how they swing from depression to big highs, which was really interesting and I got a lot of physical ideas from that because it’s quite graphic. I spoke to a psychologist as well, who’s an expert in bipolar, so we really tracked through the script the moments that she’s in control against the moments that she’s not. The fact that she’s bipolar is a very subtly threaded string. It was important that it was acknowledged and that we remember it throughout the show, but we didn’t want it to be about her being bipolar.

 

At the beginning, your character Cathy and Colin Morgan’s character Michael, only communicate virtually. Bit of an unusual way to connect with your scene partner…

We don’t have loads together! But we do have some really great scenes together later on. It’s interesting because, we started rehearsing together a little bit, but then we decided that we shouldn’t because our characters don’t know each other. They have an idea of each other in their heads and they’re drawn to each other. When they are together, the intensity of the scenes are so beautifully written and you can tell they are, in a weird way, soulmates.

 

With dark subject matters, like grief and revenge being the main themes in the show, were you able to find some lightheartedness on set while filming?

Yeah, I hung out with Kerri loads – Kerri Quinn. And there’s a lot of humour in the script, and a lot of it is absurd. Some of the physical things I had to put myself through… the rain machine! Oh my God, it was March, and it was freezing! We really had a lot of laughs because I was wearing a wet suit underneath my costume. The crew were all laughing at me because they were all dry under umbrellas and I was stood there, dripping! So, we had a lot of fun. It was just a really happy set.

 

Was that the most challenging part of filming? Getting though the physical challenges as opposed to the mental challenges?

Yeah, I’m used to playing quite dark characters – I’m not afraid of some sobbing, that comes quite naturally to me for some reason. But you see later on in the series that there are some really tough physical scenes. There’s one in particular between Colin and I, and it was a lot. I actually felt quite drained and emotional at the end of it, because you’re putting your body through it, then your body goes into adrenaline, but your body doesn’t know the difference between acting and not acting. So, I did really feel quite drained at the end of it. And it was a long, big day. But we got it.

 

How did you feel after watching the series?

The first time I watched I felt like I was floating outside my body and I saw nothing. But I think the scripts are amazing, Laura and everyone has done a really amazing job and I feel good! I think we’ve made a really great mini-series, I really do. I’m proud of it.

 

We’ve heard whisperings of there being a Season 2 on the horizon… is there anything you can tell us about that?

I don’t know anything! It depends how well the show does but it does have a really good buzz. I would definitely revisit this character – there’s so much more to explore. If people like it, I’d definitely come back. I’d probably wear a wig though and not dye my hair this time, because my hair is totally ruined!

 

And when you’re not reading new scripts or having a laugh on set, what floats your entertainment boat?

I’m watching Sherwood, which is on Season 2 on BBC One. I’m actually very late to Slow Horses, so I’m trying to get through Season 1 – I’m half-way through. My husband has watched the first three seasons and he wants to watch Season 4 next, so that’s what I’m getting through.

 

Catch up on the whole Dead and Buried series on Virgin Media Play and check out Virgin Media’s TV & Broadband packages.