Helen McCrory on Fearless, Peaky Blinders and juggling family life with husband Damien Lewis – The Independent

When he was interviewing politicians on BBC2s Newsnight, it was often said that the presenter Jeremy Paxman lived by the old journalistic motto: Why is this lying bastard lying to me?

That is also the credo adopted by Emma Banville, the central character in Fearless, ITVs absorbing new six-part legal thriller. Played with characteristic panache and passion by the actress Helen McCrory, Emma is a human rights lawyer whose speciality is defending lost causes. Her whole career has been based on questioning the powers that be and refusing to accept the official line.

According to the Fearless series creator Patrick Harbinson (who also worked with McCrorys husband Damian Lewis on Homeland), the character is inspired by the work of lawyers like Gareth Peirce and Helena Kennedy.

In Fearless, which begins on 12 June, Emmas defiant attitude comes to a head when she sets out to clear the name of a man convicted of murder 14 years previously. Convinced that he has been the victim of a miscarriage of justice, the idealistic lawyer takes drastic measures to prove his innocence.

But as she delves into the background of the case, Emma becomes aware of sinister forces within the police and intelligence services that could jeopardise her professional and personal lives.

And yet despite these threats, Emma will not be cowed. She remains a fully paid up member of The Awkward Squad. In McCrorys eyes, such tough, independent-minded people play a vital role in our society.

The Independent is chatting to the actress, who has been acclaimed for her work in everything from Hugo and Penny Dreadful to Peaky Blinders and the final three Harry Potter films, in an ITV boardroom at a gigantic wooden table that would not look out of place on The Apprentice.

Known for her dedication to her work she won the Critics Circle Best Actress Award in 2015 for her blazingly intense performance as Medea McCrory is far more light-hearted in real life.

Looking slim and a decade younger than her 48 years, McCrory is dressed in a brown silk shirt and black trousers. She has a winning sense of humour. For instance, she develops an elaborate and long-running gag during our interview that I may well possess a secret, cross-dressing alter ego who goes by the name of Hallelujah Bangkok.

Helen McCrory as PollyGray in'Peaky Blinders' (BBC)

The actress, who has two young children with Lewis, goes on to joke that the canaps we have been offered during our interview are not nearly sophisticated enough. I want oysters that speak to you in several languages before you eat them, she laughs.

But McCrory also has the knack of providing serious and thoughtful analysis of her work. She is certainly impassioned in her defence of civil-rights campaigners such as Emma. Its absolutely right that you question the Establishment thats the whole point of our democracy.

Britain has always, always applauded that. In no other country do people get OBEs for criticising the Establishment. We celebrate that in Britain because we know that it makes us one of the greatest democracies in the world.

It is that sort of crusading approach which marks Emma out. Her courageous pursuit of the truth is also pertinent in an age where we have to be constantly suspicious of being fed fake news and alternative facts.

Emma risks everything her career and her house in order to find the truth, McCrory continues. She has a fundamental distrust of the party line. Shes always questioning and refusing to take things at face value. If you believe everything that youre told, that can be very dangerous.

Last night, for example, Google had to take down a story that everyone thought was true, but was actually fake news. Emma questions everything, and thats absolutely in tune with the zeitgeist. It chimes with whats going on now right across the world.

She playedCherie Blair in 'The Queen' with Michael Sheen as Tony Blair(Rex Features)

The actress, who has also won awards for her stage work in The Last of the Haussmans and Macbeth, believes that the character of Emma reflects a very laudable, and often underrated side of our society. Of course, there are extraordinary people like the human rights lawyers Gareth Peirce and Michael Mansfield. Many investigative journalists do something similar to counterbalance the Establishment.

But even if were not that extraordinary, I think people do that in their daily lives. People are fearless. They do things for others. They walk into overcrowded inner city classrooms where some children have behavioural problems every morning and just keep going.

McCrory, who played Cherie Blair in both The Queen and The Special Relationship, adds that, There is a positivity about Fearless because its about people who put something back into society. There is this widespread idea that everyone is out for themselves, but thats simply not true. I dont think thats the normal human condition.

We are lied to. We are told were selfish and only interested in money and the way we look, but I think that is wrong. Theyre not the people that surround me or the people I meet in the street.

What the individualistic Emma also represents is a reaction against the homogenisation of our culture. I think theres a huge backlash against that, and Emma is part of it, McCrory observes. Shes a lone wolf.

She doesnt feel she is part of some enormous tribe or great movement. She doesnt want to be like everybody else. Shes trying to make life worth something more than her own petty problems. But that costs her hugely. She has to make immense sacrifices.

McCrory asNarcissaMalfoy in'Harry Potter and the DeathlyHallows' (Courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures)

McCrory and her husband are two of the busiest and most successful actors in the country. So how will they organise their lives and make sure their household runs smoothly? We do everything very badly! laughs the actress.

I dont know how we juggle. There is a lot of unsexy diary time. Were constantly organising things. Thats why I never get to watch anything on TV! Im continually trying to work out what were doing tomorrow and if the kids are now old enough to drive themselves to school!

She carries on that, Every night we just shout, Everyone alive? Yes? Lights out! But thats OK. We have definitely established Im not a perfectionist, but thats the only way to do it. Its chaos, but its happy chaos.

Next up, McCrory is reprising her role as the steely Polly in Peaky Blinders, Steven Knights beautifully made BBC1 drama about the Shelby crime family in 1920s Birmingham. Its really struck a chord, the actress affirms.

It does what the Americans have always done so well and we usually never do: it romanticises the past. We are normally very apologetic about the past. Steven turns the working man into a hero - not just any hero, but a hero filmed by John Ford.

So what is coming up on the horizon for this most charismatic actress? She has already starred as a government minister in one James Bond film, Skyfall. Could McCrory ever envisage moving into the lead role and picking up 007s martini, shaken not stirred? Yes, absolutely! Why not? Why not?

Its time for a female Bond!

Dont bet against her!

'Fearless' starts on ITV at 9pm on Monday 12 June.

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Helen McCrory on Fearless, Peaky Blinders and juggling family life with husband Damien Lewis - The Independent