NEW INTERVIEW: Charlotte Rampling On The Second Series Of Broadchurch



I understand you watched Broadchurch in French before watching the English version?
Broadchurch had contacted me about the role and I was waiting for the DVDs to arrive and in the meantime it started on French television. I live in France, and I said to myself 'shall I watch it or shall I wait?' But in the end I was too curious so I watched the first two episodes in French. They dubbed them so there were French voices in all the roles of the people I would meet in England. I thought that was interesting, as I am used to seeing dubbed drama and I am bilingual. It was an interesting experience and then I saw it in its original form. The
dubbed version was very good, you felt the Englishness of it, it really was quite powerful. And it did incredibly well, they just adore Broadchurch in France.
I think the reason the French liked it so much is the same reason everyone loves it - the sense of community, the idea of solidarity in a small town and all that is broken when suspicion starts to creep in. There is something very human about it. You don't really know what happens in real life when people suffer this kind of tragedy, people go off and live their lives but here we can actually accompany them in a way, and it is rather comforting almost to see the difficulties they are all confronted with and go through the grieving process with them.

Was the West Bay area of England familiar to you?
A tiny bit from childhood but not since. It was really great experience to film there. I find it an extraordinary coastline, very inspiring country and a beautiful part of England. And we were lucky to be there over the hottest summer, everyone was so happy filming in West Bay - it was the best of times.

What is it like to join an established cast for a second series?
I did one recently in America, Dexter, when I came in right at the end. Actors are, I've always found, very friendly. You are part of a group, a gang, there is a sense of solidarity that exists and they immediately make you feel part of it. I was one of the family right away in this case.
I don't quite know why but sometimes people are apprehensive about meeting me. Maybe people think I might be a bit impenetrable or a bit fierce but it is not true and people easily see that I'm just as fun loving as anyone else.

And how do you cope with the secrecy...
I love it. Love not having to talk about what I'm doing because it is a secret. My family did watch series one and I'm sure they will ask questions but it's all part of the fun; withholding the secret and not having it squeezed out of you. I'm great at keeping secrets!

Read what David Tennant had to say on the new series of Broadchurch here

Broadchurch returns to UK screens on 5th January at 9pm on ITV.

It will air in the USA on BBC America from 4th February.

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