Christine Baranski and Richard E Grant are working together for the first time in Noël Coward's comedy Hay Fever, now playing at Wyndham's Theatre, London, until 12 December. In a joint interview, the actors discussed their careers, parties, and the challenges of ageing in the industry.
First Meeting and Working Together
Despite their long careers, the pair had never met before. "Despite our vast combined vintage, our paths have never crossed before, have they?" Grant asked. Baranski replied, "Regrettably not. We could have had some good fun a few decades ago. A girl could have got into some real trouble. But here we are, and now we're the veterans."
Grant reflected on his career, quoting his late wife: "I'm in the condiment years, where you're added to the meal in these cameo roles like vinegar or ketchup or mustard, spice or pickle or whatever." Baranski added, "It makes for an interesting and varied career. You have a shelf life certainly if you're a leading lady. It's a harder perch to descend from, which is sort of what Hay Fever is about."
The Appeal of Judith Bliss
Baranski plays Judith Bliss, an ageing actress. "She's an ageing actress, and how delicious to play that in your later years," she said. "It's all about the vanity and vulnerability of ageing. There's a poignancy to it; I really find her rather dear." She described the play as "camp that's elegant," noting Coward wrote it at 24.
On mastering Coward, Baranski said, "Speed, facility, lightness of tone. He uses words as weapons. I really want people to sit up and listen because we don't use language like that any more."
Parties and Hosting
The actors shared hosting tips. Grant said his late wife advised that "everyone there should know a minimum of two people. It's foolproof." Baranski described a party at Grant's London home with guests including Steve Martin, Martin Short, Helena Bonham Carter, and Gary Oldman. "It was so relaxing despite the extraordinary pedigrees of all these talented people with big egos," she said.
Baranski also spoke of her lakeside home in Connecticut, where she has hosted famous actors and enjoyed skinny-dipping. "You sit in the living room in summer and watch the sun set, and then go out into the evening and skinny dip in the lake," she said, recalling nights with Mark Rylance "howling at the moon at four in the morning."
Career Reflections
Baranski won an Emmy in 1995 for Cybill, despite initial reluctance to do television. "At 41 or 42, I began my television career with the caveat that I would commute," she said. Grant noted an unprecedented number of Emmys going to female actors over 50 this year; Baranski replied, "It's about time."
Grant recalled advice from Mike Nichols: "Actors can always act faster than they think they can." Baranski added, "He couldn't tolerate indulgence. He was so fiercely intelligent and he loved clarity."
Both actors have appeared in the Julian Fellowes Dramatic Universe, with Grant in Gosford Park and Downton Abbey, and Baranski in The Gilded Age. Baranski noted that if The Gilded Age goes for a fifth year, she will have done 18 straight years of television work.
