A political scandal, an affair with an MP and intense media control – not a summary of recent events in Westminster, but some of the topics explored in Sienna Miller’s latest drama.
In Anatomy Of A Scandal, the star plays the seemingly happily married wife of an MP whose life begins to spiral when her husband is accused first of an affair and then of sexual assault.
Her character Sophie finds herself exposed to the media; a role that Miller admitted was “weird” to take on after she herself stood in the spotlight.
Image: Sienna Miller and Rupert Friend are stars in Anatomy Of A Scandal. Photo: Anna Christina Blumencron / Netflix
“It’s strange, it’s also quite familiar terrain – in a way I felt like an expert in such a situation,” she told Sky News.
“Sophie is such a different person for me, it was an interesting change in the perspective of being someone very different in those moments, but yes, I grew up at a time when the media really had so much power.
“That feeling of falling asleep knowing something was coming out in the morning was awful and something I wouldn’t want to experience again, but for some strange reason I was interested in researching a movie.”
Anatomy Of A Scandal looks at the impact of having your personal life suddenly included in the national conversation.
“If you make laws that change our whole lives … there must be some responsibility”
Rupert Friend, who plays the MP at the heart of the allegations, said it was something that came with the territory to be in the public eye.
“People who are public figures – there will always be that slight church and state division between what they present to us and what they do in their personal lives, and in general I think that people’s private lives should be private,” he said. .
Image: A friend plays an MP accused of an affair – and then sexual assault. Photo: Netflix
“You know, it’s not anyone’s business, unless it’s a corruption of their morals and they set an example of leadership or ethical leadership, in some way, as politicians usually do, then I think it’s becoming public.
“So it’s curious, because if you’re a sculptor, it’s nobody’s business what you do, but if you make laws that change our whole lives and change what we’re allowed to do, then I think there’s going to be some responsibility. “
Miller agreed. “Every situation is really unique, isn’t it,” she said. “I think it’s unpleasant for your personal life to be made public, but in some cases, as Rupert says, that’s when you present your version from the front and teach people how to behave and behave differently, then it becomes difficult. “
The drama was co-developed by David E. Kelly, whose previous work includes the hit series Big Little Lies and The Undoing.
Just like these programs, Anatomy Of A Scandal focuses on the lives of the rich and privileged and includes long, intense scenes in the courtroom.
“People will draw parallels with him”
Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery plays QC, which is chasing the MP. With issues of consent and harassment central to the case – and the program – the actress said she had taken the time to explore the role.
Image: Michelle Dockery plays a lawyer who wants to secure a conviction against a politician. Photo: Netflix
“I worked closely with a senior lawyer who almost became my coach. It was really important for this role to be as authentic as possible, and it was kind of like my way of playing this character, “Dockery said.
“We also worked closely with Women’s Aid, which was really important so we could ask questions about how these characters were – how that would be an experience for someone.
“And the show was great for that, in fact, it gave us that attention to detail – we had so much access to people where we could actually talk about it, and of course, for obvious reasons with a topic like this, it’s important that you get all the right information. so that you can play the role as best you can. “
The similarities between the show, which is based on a book by Sarah Vaughn, and some of the real scandals in the news lately are not lost by Dockery.
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“I think naturally people will draw parallels with that,” she said. “I felt like I was reading it from the beginning, but after a year so much happened that we all know that this can be seen as something like a parallel to the show.
“It creates a conversation and that’s why there’s so much storytelling, isn’t it? It actually highlights a topic of conversation that’s happening right now, and it’s certainly in this case.”
Anatomy Of A Scandal is already out on Netflix
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