Lara Pulver on Why Bella Feels Different in MobLand Season 2
interview + written MONICA DE LUNA
On MobLand, the first step back into Bella is usually a fitting with costume designer Rebecca Hale, literally getting back into the character’s shoes before her dry wit and directness follow. Season two gives Lara Pulver more time inside the larger ensemble, bringing her together more often with Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Hardy and Paddy Considine. Those days, she says, are among the most enjoyable on set, while Guy Ritchie’s method keeps the work unusually precise. Scenes are rehearsed properly, he knows when he has what he needs, and very few takes are wasted.
Lara Pulver
/ seen by David Reiss
Eight performances a week as Golde in Fiddler on the Roof gave Pulver the stamina and concentration that later proved useful on long shooting days, although she sees a fundamental difference in how much control an actor keeps in each medium. A film, in her view, effectively exists three times, first on the page, then in what the actors and director make during filming, and finally in the edit, where the result can change considerably again. On stage, she remains responsible for the performance for the full length of the evening. That experience also feeds into new characters in less obvious ways. Sometimes an earlier role returns through physical memory, with a gesture or quality surfacing during preparation. Pulver describes all of those characters as still being somewhere inside her, available to draw from until the homework is finished and instinct takes over.
That process became particularly interesting with Jennifer in Edward Berger’s The Riders, a character Pulver describes as an enigma. Her task was to work out what could make Brad Pitt’s character spend an entire film trying to find her, without removing the uncertainty that makes Jennifer compelling in the first place. Pulver is equally unsentimental about what happens once the work is finished. The projects that become what she calls “golden nuggets,” creatively satisfying work that also connects far beyond expectations, are rare. And when asked what she would still like to be trusted with, she does not name another screen character. She wants to be back on stage, singing.
Lara Pulver
/ seen by David Reiss
Lara Pulver
/ seen by David Reiss
Monica de Luna
When you return to a character after time away, what comes back first?
Lara Pulver
First day back on MobLand, is usually for fittings with our costume designer Rebecca Hale which is hugely helpful to literally get back into Bella’s shoes. We have a lot of fun creating the character’s wardrobe for the show. Bella’s dry witted directness follows closer after!
What have you learned about Guy Ritchie’s way of directing on MobLand by watching how he handles an ensemble this large?
Guy knows exactly what he wants/needs from a scene and he knows when he's got it. This often means it's well rehearsed, and then we do very few takes.
Working alongside Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Hardy and Paddy Considine, what do you find yourself paying closest attention to between takes?
We laugh a lot as a group. It’s actually quite rare that we’re all in a scene together - more so in season two. We relish those big ensemble scenes. They’re enormously fun days.
Do characters from earlier in your career ever return to you unexpectedly when you’re preparing something new?
Sometimes a physical memory is triggered - like muscle memory. I guess they’re all in me somewhere because they’re all essentially from me, just jumbled up inside. It can be useful to refer back to the quality or essence of a previous character. It’s like a receipe piecing a character together, and then once the homework is done, you let instinct take over.
Lara Pulver
/ seen by David Reiss
What did playing Golde in Fiddler on the Roof sharpen in you that you carried back to the camera?
It’s exhausting and exhilarating doing eight shows a week onstage in front of a live audience. The focus and discipline it requires and the stamina it takes - it sets you up well for long days on film sets.
After moving so often between stage and screen, what part of acting still feels least controllable to you?
What ends up appearing on screen, is completely out of an actor's hands. There's essentially three movies made. The script is the first version - the writer’s vision. There’s the actor and director's combined interpretation, but that’s also dictated by what the camera actually captures and how, and then the final edited version which can change hugely from the previous two. On stage, for two and a half hours - or however long the play is - you are in complete control of how you tell that story every night.
What interested you about the character you play in The Riders when you first encountered her on the page?
Jennifer is an enigma. It was up to me to decide what it was about her that would make Brad Pitt’s character go on a movie long odyssey to find her.
What did you discover about Edward Berger’s way of directing once you were actually working together?
Edward is an artist. Enormously collaborative and an extraordinary film maker. He was all over every detail of The Riders movie. He is the ultimate caretaker of a story.
Is there something you understand about acting now that you could only have learned by staying with it for this long?
Golden nuggets are rare. A golden nugget being, the combination of incredibly creatively fulfilling work that really lands with an audience… that just hits a moment, and is propelled into the zeitgeist. Exceeding any expectations.
Which kind of role are you still waiting to be trusted with?
I can’t wait to get back on stage singing again.
Lara Pulver
/ seen by David Reiss
Lara Pulver
/ seen by David Reiss
talent LARA PULVER
photo DAVID REISS
styling ROSIE ARKELL PALMER
hair LEWIS STANFORD
make up artist NEIL YOUNG
copyright LE MILE Magazine / David Reiss
photo DAVID REISS
styling ROSIE ARKELL PALMER
hair LEWIS STANFORD
make up artist NEIL YOUNG
copyright LE MILE Magazine / David Reiss