An Interview with Actor and Producer, Rosie Fellner

Roger Crow talks to actress Rosie Fellner about working on TV classics The Fast Show, The Trip, and new movie The Uninvited, which she produced.

If I was an actor, looking back on the last 20, 30 years and I had my pick of two or three projects I really wanted to work on, one would be The Fast Show and one would be The Trip. And what a dream to have worked on those, I imagine?
Absolute dream. Mad, actually. The Fast Show was my first ever job out of drama school, and I didn’t really understand… I had no concept of the sort of iconic status it had or really what I was doing. I was a bit of a, you know, dumb kid and I sort of turned up on the set. And there was Edward Scissorhands… Johnny Depp on my first day of shooting at the BBC. And then they just kept inviting me back to play different characters. It was an absolute dream.

The Trip is another favourite. How was it working on that series with Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan?
You’ve picked my two favourite jobs. That was really… I mean, they’re geniuses, those two. And also, (director) Michael (Winterbottom) as well. They’re just a little bit of magic, the three of them together. And I can enjoy watching them talking about looking at paint dry. It’s like, they’re just witty and fun. And the whole experience is very much like what is on camera. Because you go on a trip with these two comedians and actors, and Michael and his crew, very small crew, all very intimate, very cool. And we travelled to these beautiful locations and ate beautiful food, and we’re entertained by Steve and Rob. I’m not complaining.

So The Uninvited. How was it producing this, because it’s getting a lot of buzz, isn’t it?
Yeah. It was amazing. It’s very different being responsible for everybody. It’s a very different side of your brain that’s working. I do suggest that all actors should produce something at some point, because it makes them realise how lucky they are. Again, I feel super grateful to have been able to surround myself with such amazing talent and great script and wonderful people. And it was tough. It was hard work. It was a first-time director, who was amazing, but it was that experience. And it was a short amount of time to shoot. It was a small budget. It was everything. In America, there were unions to deal with. And we had a lot of brilliant big stars in our small, little movie. So that was also challenging. And the scheduling everybody was like… a jigsaw puzzle.

How would you describe The Uninvited?
The interesting thing about The Uninvited is every audience member will watch it and see it from a different character’s point of view. I would say it’s about a woman’s experience in Hollywood, and growing up and taking on life and the years and how other people see her and what that experience is. And then it’s also motherhood, it’s also life and death, and it’s all done in a comedic way.

The Uninvited is now streaming via theuninvited.movie
The full version of this interview can be heard at podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/nostalgiahhh