Penelope Wilton: They wanted me to tone down my death on Shaun of the Dead. It was very scary’| film

Many actors switch from one version of themselves to another, like Al Pacino around the time of Scarface. Others approach their older selves in order to inhabit them, e.g Jim Broadbent. You have remained the same: graceful, poised, elegant, and eloquent. How do you do it? Dr. Hogbin
One has absolutely no understanding of how it appears. Well, I certainly don’t. I’m glad [you] I think so about me. I never thought of myself as an older person. There are more interesting things to think about – what is happening in the minds of the characters, as they find themselves in the situation presented by the playwright or screenwriter. I think I maintained my naivety. Michael Grandage, a director I know well, watched Ms. Warren’s career on YouTube, which I did with Coral Brown a hundred years ago when I was 24, and said: “You’ve changed physically. But you haven’t.” I don’t quite know how to deal with that. Maybe it stayed the same.

I can’t imagine being in any situation so dire that the words, “Don’t worry — Penelope Wilton is here” wouldn’t make things better. But what makes you lose your temper? Charismata and arch54lg
This morning I was driving to do some shopping. I can’t stand people yelling after you before the lights change. Motorcycles do this a lot. Especially these Deliveroo people. When they trick me, I go slower. More broadly, listening to the news – I’m in a grumpy mood before I even start the day. But you have to listen. You have to take note of what is happening in Gaza. I get angry when politicians start doing this no To do what the people want them to do.

What’s the best perk of being Lady Penelope? Dr_J_A_Zoidberg
I don’t use my title. It’s special. It was awarded for the work I did, not the work I was doing. I’m glad I got it. I wish my parents were alive to see this. What I can’t stand is when I get into an Uber and the driver says, “Hey lady” – because they think my name is lady. I’m too shy to book hotels under a lady’s name, but I get rather annoyed when there’s a list of titles – Mrs, Miss, Mrs, Sir – but there’s no lady. Eileen Atkins and Maggie Smith used to feel the same way.

I assume you’d like the chance to play an absolute stinker? packrat
I’ve always wanted to be a Bond villain. I could be Rosa Kleb [in From Russian With Love]. A great friend of my father’s was a famous bachelor. Very late in his life, my mother strongly advised him to get married. The woman turns out to be half Rosa Clip and half Rose and Crown, as she is never far from the bar. It was absolutely horrific. I would love to play that kind of role. If people would just throw me into this stuff, I could be just as scary as anything else.

Have you forgiven Simon Pegg for shooting you? Shawn The dead? TopTramp
I forgave him because he didn’t want to do it anyway. And when she got up from the ground after turning into a zombie, he stood there with a gun and said, “Oh, Penelope, I can’t do this.” I said, “You have to do it. It’s in the movie.” And after I was already dead, Edgar Wright said, “Penelope, you can’t do that.” I said: Why not? “It’s very disturbing and scary,” he said. I said, “Look, I’ve turned into a zombie, for heaven’s sake. This is how they die.” They wanted me to tone it down a bit. I said, “Well, no, I’m sorry. I’m not going to tone it down. You’ll just have to cut it if you don’t like it.”

What was it like working with Ricky Gervais? Mr. Sobaldrick
It was great. He’s a talented guy. My viewers, where we met in the churchyard on that bench [in After Life] …He had such compassion for people who lost loved ones. This message came out at a time when so many people were losing friends and family to the pandemic and it really struck a chord. I would work with him again at the drop of a hat. Steven Spielberg is another. I did the BFG with him, and I’ll be working with him again tomorrow.

My favorite role is yours Sermon hour in borrowers. I’m watching it again for the umpteenth time with my little nieces. What was it like to be a borrower? DreadfulSpiller
Well, they were beautiful stories by Mary Norton. I was doing a play at the RSC, and I lived not far from Stratford. I was doing some shopping and a little girl saw me and almost fainted. She said, “Are you a sermon? How do you fit in on TV?” It was all six. She asked if she could come for tea and I said yes, she could come for tea. She came with her mother to tea later in the day in her full party dress with her dog to show me. It was so charming. Another time, I was walking down Portobello Road, and he tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned around, and there was the tallest Rastafari man I had ever seen, two meters tall! He said: Excuse me, were you a borrower? I loved it when I was little.

She played the queen in the bfg and queen Mother in Back Deck Billy in 2023. How did he play people who were relatable and loved by the audience? CardiffSte
The Queen was Roald Dahl’s Queen of England, although she looked similar. Her shoes and gloves: everything for comfort because she had to stand for a long time. Her tiara had to fit so when she took it off, her hair didn’t look bad. She had a reasonable bag with a good clasp and she closed it. I put in a few dog biscuits because I thought that’s what the Queen would do for her corgis. The Queen Mother was shorter than me and had a much larger bust, so we had a lot of padding. When you start looking like the Queen Mother or Queen, it becomes much easier to get into the mood.

What are your memories of appearing in Harold Pinter’s betrayal in The National in 1978 with Michael Gambon?Womanoff Wolfville
I’ve worked with Pinter six or seven times, so he’s become a good friend. Any new play unnerves; [doing] One of Harold’s plays was particularly unnerving because he had such a reputation. He loved actors, which not all writers and directors do, but he was intimidating when I first met him.

Paul or Martin? davidabsalom
Oh, that’s so harsh. I think, out of loyalty, Anne [from sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles] I would have chosen Martin [played by Richard Briers]But she will always miss Paul [Peter Egan]. In real life, I don’t think I would have stayed with Martin and I probably would have gone with Paul in a rather terrible way.

You can’t He convinces The producers are making another one of DowntoN Abby series or movie? Nicens_boi
I’m afraid not. They may have other ideas. Who knows, there might be an introduction? I’ve been recognized for Downton Abbey and After Life. It depends on where I am. I can always tell what they will ask. If he is a middle-aged man, he is “afterlife.” Middle-aged ladies, it’s Downton Abbey. Little Boys: Shaun of the Dead. And Rastafarians love borrowers.