Helen McCrory says her Elizabeth I costume gave her children nightmares

Forget Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter — Elizabeth I was the really scary role, says McCrory
In character: Helen McCrory as Elizabeth I in Bill
The Weekender

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Helen McCrory has starred as Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter, gang matriarch Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders and is about to play vengeful Medea at the National.

But the costume that gave her children nightmares is not from one of those villainous roles, she has revealed — it’s the one she wears as Elizabeth I.

The 45-year-old actress plays the monarch in Bill, which tells the story of what happened during William Shakespeare’s “lost years”. McCrory, shown in character in our exclusive photograph, chose to play her with the scars she had from smallpox.

McCrory told ES magazine: “My children [Manon, seven and Gulliver, six] recently came on set to watch me play Elizabeth I in an upcoming film. I warned them I decided to play her as she really looked, with pockmarked skin and bald, but occasionally they wake up in the night whimpering and I wonder if it’s because of that image.”

Spellbinding: Helen in Harry Potter

She also described some of her other costumes, including the ones she wore for BBC period drama Peaky Blinders and as Cherie Blair in The Queen. She said: “I loved getting grubby as Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders. The style of the show is as much a part of it as the writing.

“The power suits I had to wear playing Cherie Blair were horrendous. I met her after filming The Queen and she was very supportive; she understood the tongue-in-cheek spirit in which the film was made.”

McCrory lives in Tufnell Park with her husband, 43-year-old Homeland star Damian Lewis, who is also taking on a Tudor role as Henry VIII in the BBC’s adaptation of Wolf Hall.

Glamorous: Helen sparkles off set
Dave Benett

She said: “Do I ever advise Damian on what to wear? Good God, no! Nor would I expect him to advise me. Even if you’re feeling unconfident in an outfit, wasting time on the way to the party saying, ‘Should I be in this?’ is not the way to deal with it.”

On the subject of clothes, McCrory hinted the couple wear little to bed, saying: “I never really got the whole ‘putting on clothes for bed’ thing. There are enough decisions to make in the day without having to decide what to wear to bed.” She added: “I’ve never had a problem with nudity. As you get older you have more control over the camera and you make sure that you are using it to tell part of a story.”

McCrory explained that her style was defined by a spell living in Paris. She said: “Paris is my fashion mecca. I worked out what a woman’s style is through looking at pictures of Jeanne Moreau or Juliette Binoche.”

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