The Downton Abbey actor loves to keep a low profile. So how does she feel about portraying one of Hollywood’s most glamorous and headline-grabbing stars – and writing a book about her own mental health?
For many actors, the thought of playing Elizabeth Taylor at the National Theatre would be unnerving enough. But for Tuppence Middleton, who hadn’t done much stage work, it must have felt even more daunting. Not least because the job came up just three months after the birth of her child. But Middleton likes a challenge, and you don’t turn down the chance to be directed by Sam Mendes.
“I wasn’t really thinking about work at that point,” she says, “but I knew my daughter would be eight months by the time we started, so I thought, yes, that feels right. For a long time, before having a baby and before Covid, I’d wanted to do more theatre. But the right thing hadn’t come along, or I hadn’t gone up for much.”
