Doing Homeland without Damian Lewis: ‘I’m going to miss him. A lot of people, even my friends, were saying, “Is he really dead?” And it’s absurd, but I think there’s a part of me that is also a little unsure. I’ll really start to believe it when we’re filming and he’s not there. That’s going to be hard and sad. I loved working with him and he carried half the weight of the show. So I’m a little bit daunted about what that means for me.’
Motherhood challenges: ‘Being a mum is incredibly challenging but we still feel a pressure to talk about it in very romantic terms. And it’s not just that. We all have that resentment at times and anxiety about being trapped by the role, that responsibility. And then chemically it can run riot. Your mental state, the hormonal swings are so extraordinary and singular to the female experience and they haven’t been taken very seriously or considered very deeply… I mean, post-partum aside, even if you have the most healthy relationship with your child and have support and resources, it’s tough. It’s really tough. And there’s no “off” button. [For me] that was the hardest adjustment. You always feel beholden to some****… And for so long they’re like koala bears, you just feel a physical responsibility to be there for them to cling to. It’s pretty primal.’
How her “cry-face” went viral: ‘I’m surprised it’s so surprising. I have my guy, who thinks I’m pretty enough in our life together, so I don’t need to be seducing the audience that way. I think it’s also just my style, what I like in creative work, what I’ve always been attracted to, even as a little girl… I liked the ugly even as a kid, and I think that has stayed with me now.’
Staying in Toronto in the winter while Hugh Dancy films Hannibal: ‘You’re just house-bound. I had to be strategic about how and when I took the garbage out. I mean, it was intense… I felt totally overwhelmed and displaced and I really didn’t have a sense of the city and was nursing all the time. Away from family and friends, it was quite extreme. Two months in, I accidentally found this mummy/baby yoga class where I met women who became best friends. I guess that’s common, you bond really fast…’
She’s very crafty: ‘It got to the point where the crew made a sewing station out of my director’s chair, one arm was a pincushion and I had this special light. It was ridiculous but, you know, delightfully so.’
On loving Hugh Dancy: ‘I’m genuinely in love with him. And I like hard things. You know, marriage is hard, but I’m up for it. I don’t do anything casually so dating is not for me. I would be marrying everyone I was with. When I met Hugh I was single for the first time and really looking forward to it, kind of bragging, “I’m going to rock this.” Then I met Hugh…’
Claire Danes discusses the ‘resentment & anxiety’ of motherhood: ‘It’s tough’