Sheridan Smith doesn't enjoy 'make-believe stuff'
Sheridan Smith loves the challenge of playing real-life people.
Sheridan Smith feels the responsibility of telling real stories.
The 44-year-old actress plays Ann Ming, a retired surgical nurse, in I Fought the Law, and Sheridan has revealed that she relished the challenge of starring in the true crime series.
Sheridan told the Guardian newspaper: "There was a really emotionally charged scene where Ann tells her grandson that she has lied to him about how his mum died. And I didn’t realise Ann was watching – I don’t think I could have done it if I had known – until she walked on set and said: ‘It was like you’re in my body.’ And we were both bawling our eyes out. That was the reassurance I needed."
Despite this, Sheridan insists she doesn't make a conscious effort to play biographical roles.
The actress previously played the wife of the Great Train Robber, Ronnie Biggs, in Mrs Biggs, as well as portraying Cilla Black in a 2014 drama series.
Asked if she deliberately seeks out biographical roles, the actress explained: "I think the time I can really act is when it’s someone’s pain. Whether it’s my pain coming out through the acting I don’t know. But I find doing the make-believe stuff much harder.
"With Mrs Biggs, I’d remember the night my brother died and my mum screaming so I’d tap into that. Now, as a mum, I imagine what if something happened to your child. So I was relieved to finish the job and get home to my son.
"But also aware that Ann doesn’t get to go home to her daughter. So the least I could do was go through those nine weeks’ torture. Although I don’t want to sound like a w**** actor. It is just acting, but at the same time I find playing a real person gives me purpose. I love doing comedy and make-believe but there’s something about playing a real person’s story."
