Bill Nighy

The award-winning Sex Education star on filming opposite Bill Nighy and the difference between simple and simple-minded characters.

And, you know, it’s one of the things about me that I like, which is that I have a lot of thoughts very quickly. But you can also cultivate simplicity, to just kind of help you be here in the now and noticing the small things, which she does effortlessly. What do I want my life to be full of?” That made me realize I want it to be full of abundance. Because I think one of the kindest things you can do for someone is give them a space to just talk and to just hold them and listen to them. And then it’s the moments where I go, Oh my god, I was actually just really here. AVC: You talked about reading the script during lockdown, and it struck me that this is actually a very timely film. So I was like, “Oh, she’s a great person and also he is so full of depth.” In that moment, she’s like, “This person that I have been sitting next to for 16 months, who has barely said a word, and has barely looked at me or noticed me and I haven’t really noticed him… In that moment it’s so beautiful the way that it reverses and he just speaks and she just listens. And I think also of that scene in the pub where Mr. Because Margaret does most of the talking and then all of a sudden it changes and she just gives him the space. And she does that a lot in the film. I find her very aspirational; I really want to be more like her, and be perhaps as present as she is and as dynamic as she is.