LAUREN LYLE

Dress by Labrum London. Necklace by Susan Fang

BAFTA-winning actress Lauren Lyle, who began her career on stage in The Crucible in 2014, has had a very busy decade indeed. In the last ten years, she has not only studied acting at The National Youth Theatre but has also continued to work on stage, as well as in television and film, in a plethora of projects that have seen her star alongside some of the biggest names in the industry. Reflecting on the five years she spent as a teenager growing up in New Zealand, which she credits for not only sparking her interest in acting, but also gifting her with the adaptability required to be a good actor, Lauren took time to sit down with 5'ELEVEN' to discuss her career to date, her aspirations for the future and her new project, Most Favoured, which satisfyingly takes her full circle to finally tread the boards again.

Words by Carla McCannon

Photographed by Lee Malone. Styled by Katie Dulieu. Make-up by India Excell at A-Frame using Westman Atelier. Hair by Paul Jones using Maria Nila. Stylist assisted by Nicole Alonzo. Lauren Lyle appears courtesy of Premier

Dress by Toga Archives. Shoes by Kalda. Earrings stylist’s own

So lovely to meet you. I first saw you years ago in Outlander. You've been so busy since then!

I know, it's been quite hectic. I feel like I'm on a high and a crash and a high and a crash. It's good, though. I keep saying that this is the life I've always wanted, so I'm just trying to embrace it and enjoy it.  

You've worked on such a variety of projects in the last decade, from film to TV to theatre, and you've worked with incredible people. I wondered if there's any one person who gave you some advice that particularly stands out in terms of your career?

I think I've picked up lots of things from different people. I remember years ago working with an actor who would talk about the time when he was famous. He would sometimes say, “That's when I was famous.” I remember at first wondering what he meant. He was referring to being on a show in the nineties, but he wasn't considered famous anymore. It was a really important lesson in the fact that there's no real big break. There are always things that can make you and things that can break you, and you can come and go as an actor, and your career will really ebb and flow.

Dress by Toga Archives. Sunglasses by Hot Futures. Shoes by Jimmy Choo. Bag by Demellier. Tights stylist’s own

I worked with Sean Bean on Broken, one of my first jobs, and he was really kind and gave me a lot of confidence. He was wonderful with me and often told me, “You've really got something.” And he would always tell me I was great at the end of a take because I was quite young and nervous.

There have been lots of people who have been amazing. I'm always really grateful when people come onto Karen Pirie and don't patronise me. James Cosmo is one: he's so famous, he's in his eighties, and he's been around for so long. It's my show, and they don't feel insecure about that. They come on, and they're so professional, they're so much fun. They're really complementary, and they're very equal with me. They won't try and be divas or be bigger than me just because they've been around longer. I really appreciate that, because it feels really respectful. With Karen, I've interacted with so many amazing people who have been working for much longer than I have, and it's so cool when they can be on a level with me. I love that, and that's been a really good lesson.  

Being on Toxic Town was so cool: working with Bobby Carlisle, who's Begbie from Trainspotting, but was immediately so friendly. Same thing when I met him on The Bombing of Pan AM 103.

I think the more actors you meet, the more you realise that the cool ones tend to understand that it's hard, it's ebbs and flows - we all understand the world we're in, and we're all in it together.  

Rory Kinnear - I thought he was going to be like meeting the Prime Minister [Laughter] - and he was so silly and funny, and that was a nice lesson as well, because that's how I operate on set. I like to be quite silly and fun and not take it too seriously: do the work, be good, always know your lines, but also have fun. Rory created a working environment where you could do that, but then he switches on and is a killer actor on set. I remember him saying, “All I've ever wanted is to be known as good.” And I feel the same. That's all I've ever wanted in terms of being famous, in terms of what jobs I want to do: just be known to be really good. 

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In terms of your career right now, you are heading back onto the stage at the Soho Theatre very shortly. Can you tell us a bit more about that?   

Yes, I'm doing a play called Most Favoured. It's a one-night stand in a hotel, but then the two protagonists start revealing why they're really there. You think they're there for one thing, and actually, they're both there for something else. That's all I can say about the plot of it. But I'm very excited! It's been so long since I've done theatre, and I've been gagging to get back on stage for ages and been ploughing my agents with “Get me in theatre!”

This is a David Ireland play. I saw The Fifth Step that he did with Jack Lowden and Martin Freeman, which was so brilliant. It was so funny and dark. The writing was some of the best writing I've ever watched, and reading Most Favoured was the same. It's hilarious, but also dark, and it's fun. I have funny bones, and I like laughing, and I feel like spending Christmas and New Year doing a play that's going to make me giggle. 

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Amazing. I'll definitely try and catch it. 

Yes, definitely come and see it! I'm excited to do a warmup again. I'm excited to ‘dry on stage’ and not know my lines and have to look at Alex, my counterpart and get ourselves out of it in some way. In film and television, you've got takes, so if you muck up, you just stop and start again. Also, you don't have so much rehearsal time, so I'm really excited for rehearsals.

I feel like I've been on camera for so long and I've learned so much, but I've been really missing the live experience. Sometimes, you do a crew rehearsal: when you've blocked through a scene before filming it, you bring all the crew in to show them the rehearsal so they know how it's going to be set up. And [as an actor] you often don't want to go full pelt, because it feels really stupid, as if you're doing a really bad play for them. [Laughter] But sometimes if they do laugh, it's amazing: getting crew laughing is so satisfying! But now to actually be able to do something where I'll get everyone laughing and they're meant to laugh is very exciting.  

It must be a wonderful exchange to have with an audience. 

 Yes, they're like the third character basically. I don't think the audience ever realises how much they're involved. 

Full look and bag by Louis Vuitton. Shoes by Kalda. Ring by Completed Works. Belt stylist's own

Coat by Sinead Gorey. Bra and skirt by Cou Cou Intimates. Tights stylist’s own

What are your aspirations for the future? 

I'd like to do more in America. I feel like there are some really funny things coming out of America at the moment. I have really loved the experience of working on films; there's a contained feeling to shooting them. Often with television, you're quite in and out. I also love the festival aspect and the team aspect: it feels like everyone's more involved in a film sometimes.

So, I want to do a bit more of that and go to the cinema. Going to the cinema is my favourite thing in the world. I want to direct as well. I've directed a short, which I'm really proud of. I'm going to keep directing and maybe try to write something. I'm at a stage now where I'm being asked what I want to make from production. So, I'm developing things, which is quite new. 

So that, and moving house, and getting a garden that my cat can run around in!  

Yes, and I imagine it'll be nice to just be at home, in London, for the next few months, going to work at the theatre every night.

Yes, absolutely. I haven't worked from home in ages, so I'm really looking forward to just being at home. 

What a treat! Thanks so much for your time, and I look forward to seeing you on stage very soon!  

Catch Lauren on stage in Most Favoured from the 11th of December until the 24th of January at the Soho Theatre, and The Ridge on BBC Scotland/BBC 2.

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