Actress Sharon Small chats new police drama London Kills and her busy schedule
Still Alice star, 51, talks learning to cook and learning her lines
THANKFULLY I’m a morning person.
My alarm goes off at 5am so that I can get to set on time to film my new police drama, London Kills.
My partner [photographer Daniel Bridge] and the boys [Leo, 12, and Zac, 10] will be sound asleep, so I have to creep around.
The first thing I do is switch on my electric curlers as I wear them to work – I look like Corrie’s Hilda Ogden on my commute! Then I’ll make a cup of tea for the journey and let out the cats, Indy and Jonesy, before I leave.
Summer isn’t my favourite season. I love wrapping up in boots and a jacket, and I don’t have enough clothes for the warmer months, so occasionally I’ll go to work in pyjamas.
When I arrive I’m straight in the make-up chair at 7am.
It was so hot this summer that whatever they put on my face for filming just slid off. It wasn’t very comfortable. We film one episode over five days, which is the quickest I’ve ever worked.
Lunch is always delicious. I know I’m supposed to eat salad and fruit to stay in shape, but we’ve got an amazing caterer who whips up dishes like jerk chicken and goat curry.
I can never resist. We get 40 minutes to refuel, then it’s time for teeth-brushing and back to filming.
I’m one of those horrible micro-managers.
Dan looks after the boys during the day because he’s a freelancer, so he is more flexible, but I’ll constantly be texting or calling asking whether he’s done this or that.
I’m a bit annoying, especially since he’s usually got it all under control. I just can’t help myself.
I learn my lines on the car journey home.
It means when I get back at 8pm I can spend more time with my kids.
If I’m away with work, for example touring with a play, then I’ll FaceTime them instead.
When they were smaller I’d get Dan to leave the camera on so I could hear them and feel the atmosphere of the house.
One of my sweetest memories is suddenly seeing a little naked boy, pre-bath in just a pair of socks, with his lightsaber playing Star Wars.
Cooking used to panic me. Dan’s generally the main chef of the house, but I’ve become much better.
A friend and I went to a class to learn the basics and since then I’ve been more adventurous, so sausage casserole or a puttanesca sauce are now in my repertoire.
The boys also love my Vietnamese chicken with a breadcrumb batter.
MOST READ IN FABULOUS
I put off going to bed. Dan and I watch telly once Leo and Zac are asleep, which is usually around 9pm.
After an hour or so I try to start getting ready for bed, but invariably I don’t so I end up getting more and more tired.
By 11pm Dan will be halfway through a sentence and I’ll have nodded off on the sofa next to him.
- Watch Sharon onstage in the UK tour of Still Alice, from September 12, .