‘Idris Elba become a national treasure gave me hope’ says Luther’s Nikki Amuka-Bird
It’s a gritty, realistic London-set drama, so it made sense for NW to be shot on the streets of the capital itself.
That did, however, sometimes lead to well-meaning confusion, as actress Nikki Amuka-Bird reveals.
“One day I was shooting a scene where my character can’t find her children and I’m panicked and chasing after them in the market,” she explains. “These lovely Jamaican ladies were calming me down and really getting involved, saying:‘It’s all right, we’re going to find them!’”
It’s particularly thrilling for Nikki – who plays one of the four lead characters, Natalie Blake, in the adaptation of Zadie Smith’s bestselling 2012 novel – to be part of something so close to her heart.
“I lived very happily in Willesden Green [north-west London] for six years,” she reveals. “When the book came out during that time, I thought: ‘Wow, somebody is really writing about this community.’
"It feels very exciting and surreal to be walking around the places that I used to walk around. I think it’s an incredible luxury to be able to shoot it like this. You could shoot it somewhere else, but it’s nice to feel the heart of the neighbourhood is pumping through the piece.
"You want to be challenged and, culturally, it reflects a different side of London than I’ve seen before. These are characters I recognise.”
NW follows a group of people, including friends Natalie and Leah Hanwell (played by Phoebe Fox), who grow up to lead very different lives, and the cast have really immersed themselves in the gritty realities of city life.
“Richie Campbell plays Nathan Bodle, who ends up being homeless and begging on the street,” explains Nikki, 40, “so Richie was in character outside Kilburn Underground station, asking people for money and speaking to the homeless.”
Did the Luther actress meet author Zadie Smith before filming began?
“I haven’t met Zadie, though at the beginning I wanted to because what she has written is very complex,” says Nikki.
“You have all these questions, then I started watching interviews about her and I sensed she might be quite a private person and I thought: ‘Actually, she’s given me all the answers in the book.’
I want to stay with the book and show her how it has affected me and how I’ve interpreted it, rather than say: ‘Help!’ I’ve heard she’s very encouraging and has said very nice things. I’m a huge fan of hers, so the fact she was aware of my work was really touching.”
Just like London itself, NW is diverse, an aspect of the drama Nikki warmly embraces.
“I’ve been really lucky to be part of shows I feel have diversity as something they’re passionate about,” she explains.
“Luther was the big one – working with Idris Elba and seeing him break the mould and be accepted into the nation’s heart and become a bit of a national treasure.
"That has given me a huge amount of confidence that things are changing.
"There are moments where you feel you want more, but I also feel it’s a real privilege to be a part of defining that change, and I’ve always had a huge confidence in audiences embracing diversity.”
Being so London-centric, however, is NW a drama that audiences up and down the country will be able to appreciate?
“Hopefully for the 90 minutes you’re watching the film, you’ll think: ‘I feel the energy of London, I feel what it’s like to live there,’” says Nikki.
“It’s very modern, very multi-cultural, you will identify the story with city life, for sure. But there’s also a sense of it being angry and affectionate, it’s about life generally. I think you can identify with it wherever you’re from.”
NEW! NW, Monday 9pm, BBC Two
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