She’s a Norwich schoolgirl who grew up to be an actress and voice-over artist, with a career in TV, theatre and cinema on both sides of the Atlantic. Now Alexandra Boyd has written and directed her first feature film, Widow’s Walk, and it’s filmed in Suffolk, starring north Norfolkborn Spooks and Silk actress Miranda Raison, alongside the wonderful Born Free star Virginia McKenna.
When did you become interested in acting?
My mum owned a boutique called The Ark, near St Andrew’s Hall, and I went to Norwich High School. I went to ballet classes on Newmarket Road (Miss Manthorpe’s) and did some plays at school, but left when I got a place at Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom when I was 16. I remember seeing Derek Jacobi in Hamlet at Norwich Theatre Royal and deciding that was what I wanted to do. The short-lived dance career led me to study acting at Drama Studio London, after which I founded a theatre company and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and all over Italy, before I moved to the States.
What was your first big break?
It’s hard to call any of my work a ‘big break’. Getting my first panto job and an Equity card felt like a break, as much as being cast in Titanic or landing a series regular on Coronation Street. Building a career is a long process for some, shorter for others. Everyone who has made any sort of success knows it takes a lot of perseverance and steady, focussed hard work.
You were in one of the biggest films of our generation, James Cameron’s Titanic. Tell us more.
Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Let's Talk.
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Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Let's Talk.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
STOP ME AND BUY ONE: Nigel's on the way with his 1981 Bedford
It’s something we all recall with delight. “Mum, it’s the ice cream man!” Let’s Talk’s motoring man David Clayton meets someone happy to be the owner of a Bedford ice cream van. Bring on the Strawberry Mivvis, choc ices and 99s ...
Beautiful Hill: Normandy Origin For A Name Meaning
Let’s Talk’s surnames expert Derek Palgrave, from Suffolk, researches three more of our readers’ names, the first of which probably stems from the geographical presence of a beautiful hill.
Words of wisdom about a hobby so many of us love
Let’s Talk’s gardening expert Charlotte Philcox has been trawling through some books to find words of wisdom from so many people about gardening and farming. Here she shares just a few.
Vicki remains so positive despite missing her panto
For actress Vicki Michelle, Christmas usually means performing in panto. But, due the coronavirus pandemic, this year will be different. Vicki speaks to Rachel Banham about her plans for the festive season, her outlook on life and her fond memories of filming in East Anglia.
Two centuries on Thomas would be DELIGHTED WITH HIS SUCCESS
He was a man without sight but with such vision. Derek James remembers Thomas Tawell who died 200 years ago.
TURNING 50
Here at Let’s Talk we recognise that our magazine is targeted at those aged 50 and older. So we hope we are always fair to our readers and to the older generation in general. But it seems many believe other media and businesses do not treat older people in the best way.
THE CHASE COULD BE ON FOR a Norfolk home for Bradley Walsh
He is one of the most popular celebrities on television at the moment. He’s a comedian, singer, actor, personality and probably the best quiz show host doing the rounds. David Clayton looks back to when Bradley Walsh came to Cromer.
The calendar is rolling around to the WINTER SOLSTICE
Claire Manion, of Norfolk-based Broadsky Astrology, looks at how we have always honoured the winter solstice, our shortest day.
PEACE, GOODWILL AND PROSPERITY must surely follow
In view of such uncertainty hanging over the rest of this year – and possibly well beyond – it was hard to come up with a suitable offering for December in his usual style, says Keith Skipper. So, he has decided to settle for a festive story set in 1951, that he wrote some time ago.
Friends
Readers of our short stories don’t have to have long memories to recall work by Anne Maxwell, who had a previous short story entry published in the summer.
