Laura Fraser plays Lucy
Playing a sexy, feisty woman can certainly have its drawbacks as actress
Laura Fraser discovered on the set of Conviction.
Her character, Lucy, ends up having an illicit affair with one of her
informants, Sol, and this meant having to do several rather intimate scenes
with fellow actor, Jason Done.
"I dread those scenes, they make me feel so awkward and nervous," confides
the Scottish born actress.
"Jason and I managed to have a laugh when we were filming although there
was some really nervous laughter! We were sweating and saying 'Do I smell
ok?' We were always checking to make sure our breath was minty fresh as
well!"
Lucy is one of the CID officers who are investigating the murder of a
young girl. She is a strong-minded and ambitious young woman who still
has the enthusiasm that some of her more cynical and jaded colleagues
lost years ago.
"Lucy is very determined," explains Fraser. "She is very goal orientated,
obsessed about projecting into the future but very paranoid about what
people think about her.
"She's worried about whether her colleagues think she is good at
her job so tries to put on a feisty, hard front. But in reality she's
insecure and quite nervous inside although she is quite a strong person."
Lucy is often paired with deep thinker Robert who she takes the mickey
out of by calling him Buddha.
"I think Lucy is cautious of Robert because he frustrates her. He comes
out with this philosophical stuff that she just doesn't get. He's just
so out there, he's so vague sometimes. She just wants to rein him in and
say, 'How does that actually apply to this scenario?'
"She gets frustrated with his approach because she wants to work they
way she perceives the police should work.
"At one point she says to him, 'I don't want to work with the Buddha,
I want to work with Kojak or Starsky & Hutch or any sod who just follows
the evidence,' because Robert thinks too laterally for her."
Lucy receives some information on the 'Little Angela' case from her informant,
but Sol isn't just after the extra cash.
He is interested in Lucy herself and this lands Lucy in a difficult dilemma.
"I think that a lot of people who are very driven and focused at work
have incredibly messy relationships," explains Fraser.
"They have the emotional life of a teenager, and I think that's what
Lucy is like because she has never had a lasting relationship. She is
not emotionally mature at all.
"She's not very respectful of other people's feelings either. There's
one bit in the script where she says that she doesn't really have a family
and I think that is why she struggles to get close to people."
Fraser has played numerous strong, independent women from orphanage teacher
Harriet Collins in Station Jim to Emily Trevelyan in He Knew He Was Right.
This is not just coincidence as Fraser prefers to play parts that are
a challenge.
"I think these parts are a lot more interesting, they've always got another
side. They are not wallflowers, they are not secondary to any male character
- they are their own person. They're not marginalized and I think women
like that are important.
"Although I don't specifically go looking for those parts, I just
read a script and if I like it I go for it and hope I get it."
Fraser, who has recently relocated to Dublin, found the contrast of Ireland's
green countryside and Manchester's concrete jungle quite amazing.
"I had never even been to Manchester before so it was a bit of a first
for me. It was an intense but enjoyable experience.
"Manchester is a busy, compact city with so much amazing architecture.
I've just moved to the countryside so it was a real shock to the system.
"But it was a great job - we had so many laughs, we were in stitches
all the time. I have to say, we were quite badly behaved in terms of learning
lines. Quite a lot of us forgot our lines but the crew were great, they
were just so patient."
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