Ruth Wilson puts on real clothes and becomes Emily Maitlis

As she prepares to play Emily Maitlis in Prime Video a very royal scandalIn “Ruth Wilson,” Ruth Wilson metaphorically puts on Maitlis’s shoes, but actually wears other outfits that the veteran journalist actually wore.

Maitlis wore a military style jacket on the BBC show in 2019 news night Prince Andrew’s interview, which is the subject of a new three-part series launching on 19 September. She bought the real jacket herself.

“She gave me her clothes to wear,” Wilson told People. “She gave me her jacket,” she said with a smile, helping Wilson embody the intimacy of her gesture. “I could smell her.”

The jacket wasn’t all Wilson took from Maitlis’ actual wardrobe. When Maitlis was preparing for the role, one of the first questions Wilson asked her was: “What’s in your handbag?” — “The bag I carry is her personal bag,” Wilson said . She added that the lining of the bag was “just covered in pen ink” and that “it was really exposed because it was filled with headache medicine and paracetamol, eye patches. “You had my passport in your hand the whole time,” she said. “You know, you always have to be ready to go.

When Wilson first asked her what was in her handbag, Maitlis told People, “I thought, ‘Oh, my God. Am I going to lie about this and sound sophisticated? , organized, cool? And I said, “You don’t want to see the inside of my handbag. “I will,” she said, “because it will tell me more about you than anything you can tell me.” ”

Regarding its contents, Maitlis said: “My handbag is the handbag of a woman prepared for disaster at every step. It has everything you can imagine, including things that should no longer exist because They were past their sell-by date. When Ruth saw what was inside, she said, ‘I get it.

Maitlis wasn’t on set for long because “the thought of her spying on me terrified me,” Wilson said. “I was like, ‘Please don’t be around.’ I just thought, ‘I’d be too self-conscious. “But we did work together a lot before that.

Wilson went to interview Maitlis to prepare for the role, which she called “terrifying, sitting there interviewing a great interviewer.” Wilson also observed Maitlis at work, “doing her daily routine so I could observe her in many ways, and I actually learned a lot from that,” she said.

Zoom calls came in and Maitlis was “very generous with his time,” Wilson said. “Honestly, it must be a very scary thing to allow yourself to be observed in this way. I really admire and appreciate her because it helps me see her in a three-dimensional perspective. Like the curlers in her hair. That kind of thing – I totally made it myself, going to see her work and she had curling irons in her hair.

Wilson added that she learned about “the chaos of being a journalist” from Maitlis, who was “so generous that we still keep in touch.”

When it came to seeing Wilson play her, “When I look back at some stuff, I don’t know whether to cringe, cry or scream, because she just nailed it,” Maitlis said.

a very royal scandal Tells the story of the lead-up, aftermath and pivotal interview between Maitlis and Prince Andrew nearly five years ago, when Maitlis asked the Duke of York about his alleged role in dealing with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre faced scandalous accusations over her relationship. soon after news night In the aired interview, Prince Andrew announced that he would resign from public office in January 2022 after his mother, Queen Elizabeth, stripped Guiffre of his military titles and patronage in a now-settled civil sexual assault lawsuit . Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Although Maxine’s Prince Andrew is the heart of the show. a very royal scandalthe series focuses on the women around him. Emily Maitlis, who conducted the infamous interview, and the three women closest to Andrew: his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and his daughter Beatrice Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie both figure prominently, and both get a lot of screen time. The series also shines a light on the women affected by the alleged actions of Andrew Epstein and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“[Maitlis] She took it upon these women and every audience member to ask questions and let him tell his story, and she did that,” Wilson said. “I think it’s a positive affirmation of what very successful, smart, talented women can do to take responsibility and be a voice for women who can’t do that or people who can’t do that. She Having the privilege of being interviewed, and the responsibility that comes with it – she does it well.

But it wasn’t easy for Maitlis; a very royal scandal The interview was met with backlash after it aired. Because she was deemed “too good” at her job, powerful figures (especially men) refused to grant interviews to her for fear of being taken down like Prince Andrew after their live chat.

“She’s a female reporter in a man’s world who has to constantly prove herself in a world where men don’t,” Wilson said. “She thought the interview would silence her critics, and in fact, because the interview was so successful and the interviewer was so powerful, people stopped wanting to be interviewed by her, and that’s exactly what happened. People stopped wanting to be on the show. . She is too much of a threat.

Wilson added: “Unfortunately, there’s a negative side to this. The amazing thing about her is that, watching that interview thousands of times, you realize that no matter how powerful the person sitting across from her is — —Prince Andrew is very powerful – she asks these questions, and she holds him accountable, and in this case, she didn’t back down from asking some tough questions.

after news night During the interview, the veteran reporter went from covering the story to the story itself, “which was not a comfortable place for her to be,” Wilson said. “She definitely doesn’t like to be the story. I mean, part of her is that because she’s a performer. And the fact that that’s her complexity, I really love. She becomes the new story. , rather than drawing attention to the victims, which is what the show is about – [it] Question this.

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a very royal scandal This isn’t the only drama exploring this pivotal moment in television history. Earlier this year, Netflix released scoopa film starring Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew and Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis. However, a very royal scandal Wilson said Maitlis brought unique benefits to the show in his role as executive producer, providing the show with “information from the source.”

“This show puts us behind the scenes,” she added, [But] Without a criminal court case, we don’t know exactly what happened. It maintains this mystery and retains core questions about power, exploitation, privilege and the responsibility of those in power and holding power accountable. So I think the show really succeeds in doing all of that.