She’s won high praise for a pitch-perfect portrayal of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in series four of The Crown, even as the show continues to divide viewers.
But Gillian Anderson is worlds away the coiffed bouffant and conservative blue suits that characterized the United Kingdom’s most divisive political leader in a glamorous new shoot for PORTER.
The actress, 52, looks stunning in a series of images taken for the latest edition of the fashion magazine while discussing her connection to Baroness Thatcher, whose political reign defined 1980s Britain.
Quite a difference: The Crown star Gillian Anderson is worlds away the coiffed bouffant and conservative blue suits that characterized Margaret Thatcher in a new shoot for PORTER
In the first of three images, Anderson radiates elegance in a cinched taupe gown far removed from her sober wardrobe on the popular Netflix show.
A second shot finds her dressed for the outdoors in a stylishly buckled leather trench, while a third captures the actress in an winter-ready turtleneck and pleated woolen skirt.
But clothing isn’t the only thing separating the actress from Britain’s Iron Lady, with Anderson admitting it was easy to detach herself from Thatcher’s politics because she spent her youth growing up in the United States.
High glamour: The actress, 52, looks stunning in a series of images taken for the latest edition of the fashion magazine while discussing her connection to Baroness Thatcher
She said: ‘My family moved to the States in 1979, the year she came to power, so I don’t feel like my experience of her was anything like it might have been had we stayed and [I had] been around adults who were expressing their opinions.
‘I hadn’t developed any kind of opinion whatsoever. I only heard people’s very strong reactions with regards to her policies when I was an adult, so I did start with a blank slate.’
She added: ‘If I felt strong opinions about how she parented or how she ran the country, it would definitely have had an impact on how I played different scenes, so I felt, as an actor, it was important to leave all that stuff at the door.’
Well done: Anderson as won high praise for her portrayal of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in series four of The Crown, even as the show continues to divide viewers
While The Crown continues to draw criticism for its liberal use of poetic license, Anderson has won an enthusiastic response to her steely portrayal of the late Thatcher.
And the actress admits research enabled her to fine tune the former Prime Minister’s distinctive voice and its notable cadences.
Read all about it: To see the full interview, read PORTER
‘She had a voice when talking to [her husband] Denis and she had a voice when she was talking to the Cabinet,’ she said.
‘She had a voice when she was joking around with the ministers and, when talking at the party conferences, she had a tendency to pitch up a little and be a bit preachy.
‘I wanted to get a balance of all that, an amalgamation, rather than getting too caught up in having different versions of her voice for different scenes.’
Anderson admits there’s more than hint of serendipity about her new role, with the actress’s partner of four-years Peter Morgan serving as The Crown’s showrunner.
But she admits her working relationship with Morgan was unaffected by their personal connection.
Uncanny: Anderson bears a striking resemblance to Britain’s first female Prime Minister in series four of The Crown
‘We would create boundaries around it,’ she said. ‘Somehow, we managed to get through it OK, ad it was fun and actually really lovely to do something together.’
With the wildly popular The Crown exposing Anderson to a wider audience, she admits the working landscape has changed for female actors in the Me Too era entertainment industry.
She said: ‘It’s different now than even 10 or 15 years ago. [Then] a woman my age, at least in television, would be struggling to find something, but now there seems to be a plethora of rich roles. It’s hard not to get a little picky.’
To see the full interview, read PORTER.