Anna Friel
Anna Friel
Anna Louise Frielis an English actress. Born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, she has been acting since the age of 13, appearing in a number of British television programmes. She played Beth Jordache in the Channel 4 soap Brookside, and portrayed the first lesbian kiss in a British soap opera in January 1994. She made her West End theatre début in London in 2001 and has subsequently appeared in several productions, including in an adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany's and...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionTV Actress
Date of Birth12 July 1976
CityRochdale, England
When you're given something new, it's always exciting 'cause you're the first one to do it. You're not having to live up to any expectations, or be compared to anyone who's ever done it before.
My whole family is quite petite, so I have good genes on my side. But I find it quite tiresome that we have to keep talking about sizes and how much weight we can lose.
I was just disciplined. I knew I had to get back into shape after six weeks for the film Goal II, but I cheated in the end - I wore a corset. I loved my pregnancy, I blossomed. I felt goddess-like and very secure. I found it comforting to have a little thing growing inside me, and very calming.
There were reports of me using fat-sucking machines and all sorts of silliness. All I did was walk a lot and breast-feed. I've never been on a strict diet. I just don't overeat, and I don't eat if I'm not hungry.
Eating at home is important for us, because we eat out so much when we're away. When I'm at home I cook a lot and we eat pretty healthily. I'm not a massive vegetable fan - I've got better since I discovered how to undercook them.
People became more interested in my love life than in me, and that has a certain effect. You start to feel very empty and worth nothing, you start to become a piece in a board game you never wanted to play.
I have the most lovely, healthy bouncing baby, she was all very compact and the right size.
But Americans find me bizarre and always ask me why I eat so many carbs. I tell them I don't get full otherwise.
I've always chosen incredibly different roles and things that are quite offbeat. That way you're not limited.
I've been onstage once for one performance with four days' rehearsal.
Onstage, there's no hiding; you either can or can't act. There's no second take.
Any scene that involves stripping off is hell. You just know it's going to take a day or more to get it right. It never gets any better and it's always uncomfortable, and all you can do is grin and bare it. I just pray it's never gratuitous and that it doesn't look so fake that all you hear in the audience is, 'Well, that's not really her, is it?'
Now learning a bit more about footballers I think what they need to do well, is someone who really wants to stay in the background and just be a strong support.
Well ironically my last three roles have all been a mother. One was a Canadian film where the baby was taken away because she is a drug addict, in Irish Jam I play a mother to a four year old. I think in the future I'll be able to handle the role with a lot more depth.