The Guardian | 30.04.22 | SATURDAY | 13CUTTINGS
The actor on early ambitions in
tractor driving, wardrobe mishaps
and the body parts taking revenge
B
orn in London , Williams,
53, studied at Cambridge
University and Bristol Old Vic
Theatre school before joining the RSC.
Her movies include The Postman ,
The Sixth Sense , Rushmore and The
Father, and her TV work includes
Friends , the British remake of Call My
Agent! and The Crown. She is in Marys
S e a c o l e a t t h e D o n m a r W a r e h o u s e
in London until 4 June. She has two
daughters with her husband, the actor
Rhashan Stone , and lives in London.When were you happiest?
People are often traumatised by the
sleeplessness in the fi rst years of their
children’s lives, but I was insanely
happy to be married and have two
children. The only dark cloud was
how much we were loathed for having
babies who slept through the night.What is your greatest fear?
Complacency.What is the trait you most deplore
in yourself?
Complacency.What was your most
embarrassing moment?
For complicated reasons involving
a door that was supposed to be
locked being unlocked, my emerging
unexpectedly on to the stage,
bare-arse fi rst, in the closing scene
of The Changeling.Aside from a property, what’s the
most expensive thing you’ve bought?
An electric car.What makes you unhappy?
Rubbish left out on the street on the
wrong day.What do you most dislike about
your appearance?
I have very unattractive knees. They
have clearly taken off ence at myscathing remarks and have decided to
stop functioning, as well as being ugly.
I should have been nicer about them
while they still worked.What is your most
treasured possession?
My husband gave me a ring that is the
only thing he owns that belonged to
his mother. She died when he was 11.What would your superpower be?
Making people laugh.If you could bring something extinct
back to life, what would you choose?
The Ecnomiohyla rabborum or Rabbs’
fringe-limbed tree frog – relatively
recently lost – has a couple of pleasing
eccentricities. It fed its young on its
own skin, and had a slight ability to
hang-glide from tree to tree, thanks
to its disproportionately large,
webbed feet.Who is your celebrity crush?
I’ve always had a thing for dancers:
Nureyev as a child. Baryshnikov as
a teenager. Akram Khan.What did you want to be when you
were growing up?
My mother says I had a plan to be
a farmer’s wife and a violinist, going
to concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in
my tractor.What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Winceyette.When did you last cry, and why?
In rehearsals. The play is very funny
about mothers and daughters, but one
of the gags hit a raw nerve.What would you like to leave
your children?
No clutter.What is the closest you’ve come
to death?
Undiagnosed VIPoma in 2018.What has been your closest brush
with the law?
Emerging from the womb of
a barrister.What keeps you awake at night?
All the things I ought to have done.Tell us a joke
A man walks into a gym and says:
“I want to learn to do the splits.” The
instructor asks: “How fl exible are
you?” He says: “I can’t do Tuesdays.”Olivia Williams
I have unattractive
knees. They have
taken off ence at my
scathing remarks
and decided to
stop functioning
Interview: Rosanna GreenstreetCHRIS MCANDREW/CAMERA PRESS