Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) Interview
Anna Friel and Lee Pace star in the hit US series that was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards.
Created and written by Bryan Fuller, whose previous credits include Heroes and Star Trek (Deep Space Nine and Voyager), Pushing Daisies follows the exploits of Ned (Lee Pace) a piemaker who can bring people back from the dead, and Charlotte ‘Chuck’ Charles (Anna Friel) his first love and the girl who he brings back to life.
But if Ned and Chuck ever touch she will die again – this time for good!
Together they investigate unexplained murders with the help of Emmerson Cod (Chi McBride) in a forensic fairy tale that has had rave reviews from all the American critics.
What was your reaction when you first heard about the show?
I knew from reading the script that it was going to be wonderful, but I didn't realise how wonderful. We have to wear sunglasses on set sometimes because it's so bright. It gives the show that story book illustration feel or a forties-style romantic comedy. We all knew it was something special when we first got involved with the project but we didn't realise other people would recognise it so quickly. It's inventive and something very special on TV that people haven't seen before.
The most difficult thing is explaining the show to people, particularly in England. They say, “I’m sorry? What is it you’re doing in America? It sounds kind of weird. It’s one of those shows that you really, really do have to watch. I just describe it as a modern romantic fairy tale.
I think the true sense of romance in this series is particularly special and goes back to all those 30s or 40s movies where all you're waiting for is one kiss at the end, I think people love that. And I also think it makes them laugh. We actually did try going for a week with no touching at all on set," Anna says. "We didn't do too well. We're both - particularly me - incredibly tactile. By day three I was dead three times.
Did you anyone influence how you play the character of Chuck?
I base the character on my daughter Gracie. She's experiencing life for the first time. She has a wonderment and sense of excitement. But to maintain happiness and a spirit and energy like this for seventeen hours a day, five days a week - has been far more testing than I could ever imagine.
What's it like playing an American?
When I work, I stay in my American accent all day. We don’t get driven to the studio so I drive myself to work and, from the minute I arrive on the set, I’m American Anna. Then, at the end of the day, I go back to my own accent. The crew think it’s funny when I speak English. They say, “Why are you talking in that silly accent? What is that accent?” If I phone my mum when I’m at work, she doesn’t like me talking in an American accent. I don’t know why I stay in the accent all day – it’s just become a kind of superstitious discipline now.
