She was three or four years old the first time she sang on a stage, in a family talent show on holiday, and knew somehow, immediately that this was the thing. Two decades on, Victoria Broom has moved from West End musicals to Shakespeare at the Globe, from the International Emmy-winning Marcella to a return to the stage after ten years that earned her a Best Actress nomination. This summer she is Mary Robins, the fiercely loyal housekeeper at the centre of I, Jack Wright a woman who sees everything, knows everything, and may have a few secrets of her own.
Some Careers Choose You
QYou have been working as an actress for over twenty years. When you look back at where it started, what was the earliest moment you knew this was the life you were going to build and was there ever a point where you doubted it?
I think it’s always been part of my DNA. Some careers live within you, rather than something you can choose or decide on, if that makes sense. When I was around three or four, I used to sing in talent shows on our family holidays, I guess that was the first time I knew what I wanted to be. I wanted to perform.
I had very supportive parents. I felt I could be and do anything I put my mind to, I still feel like that now and I wanted to be a performer in some way. I received scholarships to stage schools and developed my craft. Over the years, the specifics changed: I went from musicals in the West End, to Shakespeare at the Globe and abroad, to movies and then into TV. I’ve never doubted my career. It’s changed course a few times with the shifting media landscape, but there has never been any doubt about what I should be doing as a career. I feel lucky in that sense.
QTwo decades in, what has changed about how you approach a role? Is there something you do now in preparation, in rehearsal, on set that you couldn’t have done earlier in your career?
An actor’s process is a hard one to explain. All creatives have a process with individual quirks. let me try and explain a bit about mine. When I receive the script, the first thing I do is create her backstory. Sometimes the writers provide one for you, but most of the time you create this yourself it’s part of an actor’s job. Who is she, who was she before these moments in time in the script? Understand her inside and out. I then read the script about fifteen times, I have to have it printed out, I find holding the pages in my hand a real ‘connect’ moment and then it’s like I put on layers to her. Understand everything there is to know about her. It’s a whole process. Over time you change and use different techniques, but then you find one that sticks and works for you, and in some roles those processes may change. If it’s a particularly harrowing role which I have played a few of I use stillness in the days leading up to playing her. A deep-rooted stillness.
Something I have learnt to achieve is taking the character off afterwards. I played Desdemona when I was around twenty years old I was being killed on stage, every night, for six months, by my husband. That stayed with me, and I really struggled once we closed the play to take her off. I had to build a process around protecting myself with roles that require such a harrowing depth, and I now always use a layering technique to take the characters off. I told you it’s a hard one to explain.
“I had to build a process around protecting myself with roles that require such a harrowing depth.”
The Keeper of Secrets
QYou have a series releasing this summer, can you tell us about it? What drew you to this project, what is your character, and what was the experience of making it?
I did indeed. It’s such a great show I cannot wait for people to see it. It’s a crime, family saga, whodunit, and it really is all of those things. It’s called I, Jack Wright, and I play the role of Mary Robins.
The series is about a patriarch, Jack Wright, who dies under mysterious circumstances but it’s revealed that he was in fact murdered. The whole story is based around his will, really. Who got what, who didn’t get what they thought they would get, and who has a cause for murder. I play Jack’s very loyal housekeeper, the keeper of secrets. She is loyal to the Wright household and the Wright name. She sees everything, knows everything, and is a very trusted member of the family. She herself may have a few secrets. But you will have to watch to find out.
Making this show has been a dream. We wrapped season two this year. From the casting process to filming, it’s been a dream show to work on. Chris Lang, the writer and creator, is an absolute dream to work with, he is one of those bucket-list creators that all actors would love to work with. He creates such beautiful, intricate characters there is always something to reveal and discover in every glorious page. The cast are incredible, and an absolute joy to see every day. It’s one big happy family it really is.
QLooking across your body of work, is there a role that shifted something for you a character that surprised you, challenged you, or left a mark that stays with you?
There are so many roles that mean so many different things. Desdemona definitely shifted something in me as an actor and has stayed with me all these years I think it’s because that is when I really had to discover a taking-off process.
More recently, a role challenged me in a different way. I went back to the stage after ten years because I truly connected to the character. I’d wanted to do stage again, and this role then appeared manifestation at its finest. I felt a deep connection to her, a rawness. I was terrified of going back on stage it had been so long, and I was an accomplished screen actor by then, and the skills are very different. But I think every actor should do roles that scare them sometimes that’s most likely where you will do your greatest work. And it really was one of the greatest discoveries: the connection and rawness I felt. The show had rave reviews and I was nominated for Best Actress. It was an amazing experience, but I did have to take her off after every performance.
Sasha Kyte in Marcella changed the landscape of my career. It was the biggest thing I had done at that time a sublime, International Emmy-winning show, with some incredible actors. That role absolutely changed the landscape of my career.
“I think every actor should do roles that scare them sometimes — that’s most likely where you will do your greatest work.”
Advocate On and Off Screen
QThe industry has shifted considerably over the past few years in terms of the stories being told, who is telling them, and how they reach audiences. What does that shift feel like from inside it?
I’ve been in this industry for over twenty years. It’s an ever-changing landscape. Streaming television wasn’t a thing when I first started acting professionally, so the roles and the stories being told are reaching wider, more are being produced, and the industry itself is booming with talent. When I left my training, every actor had an RP accent sounds silly to say now, we all sounded the same, but RP accent training was such a big deal then, and regional accents were very rarely heard on stage or in movies. Thankfully, that has changed significantly.
I love that in most countries in the world, the power of streaming television allows you to watch other countries’ content, to see the different acting styles, the cultures. There is so much content out there. It’s wonderful.
QYou have written for The Stage on lesbian representation and contributed to Spotlight’s editorial on LGBTQ+ visibility. How does that advocacy work sit alongside your acting career, and what do you think still needs to change?
When I was young, I never saw myself represented on screen or stage. The lack of queer female visibility is something I strive to change. I’m not talking about gay actors playing gay roles, but the authentic queer female voices behind the scenes telling their stories.
Every ten years you probably get one queer female show on mainstream TV every five years you will get a West End queer female story on stage. When I first came to London, there was a huge amount of queer female content and venues you could visit and support every day of the week now, those venues are closed. It’s vital queer female stories are being told. I’ve always lived as my authentic self and try to push for that change.
“It’s vital queer female stories are being told. I’ve always lived as my authentic self and try to push for that change.”
QYou are an ambassador for the Stroke Association. What is the personal connection to that cause, and what does being an ambassador actually mean in practice for you?
Over twelve years ago my Gran suffered a stroke this was something none of our family had ever experienced, and there wasn’t a lot of help or support out there, except for the Stroke Association. I reached out to them and they gave advice on rehabilitation, speech therapy and more. We are a very close family and I was very close to my Gran; this was a devastating blow to us all, and so unexpected. I researched all I could about stroke to try to understand what was going on.
When my platform grew, I knew I wanted to use it for good, and to do what I can for the Stroke Association. I have presented events for them, raised thousands in fundraising in memory of my Gran, and have spoken about them endlessly to help stroke victims and their loved ones. It’s a charity I am very passionate about.
What Comes Next
QIs there a character, a genre, a world you want to inhabit as an actor that you haven’t been given the chance to yet? What is the role Victoria Broom is waiting to play?
I’ve been seen a few times for these, but it’s never come to fruition. A survival movie I love the outdoors, rocky mountains, earthquakes, volcanoes, I’m a bit of a geology geek I would love a survival or disaster movie set in the mountains.
But also, believe it or not, I’ve never played a KC, and I would love that. I love a good courtroom drama, always have I think it’s because it’s so far away from my own life. Yes please let the manifestation begin.
QWho are you when you are not working? What fills your time, clears your head, or reminds you why you do this?
Like above, I’m an outdoorsy girl I love hiking, and long solo hikes are very therapeutic for me. Every year I have to go on a solo hiking adventure, a total switch-off from the outside world; I find it so grounding. Last year I hiked Verbier in Switzerland, this year will be Snowdonia in Wales. I don’t listen to music or podcasts when I hike, I just tune in to nature. It really grounds you and puts you very much in the present.
I’m also a massive bookworm if you follow my Instagram, I’m always posting the books I’m reading, which I know is super geeky.
QBeyond the summer series, what is coming next for you? And where do you want to be in five years?
There are a few nice things in the pipeline and in discussions at the moment. I’m doing another play in August, then I’ve a movie coming out later in the year called Invertigo, a fun one to watch out for.
In five years, gosh I think the journey of those five years is better to focus on than the destination. I would love to be working on a survival or disaster movie or series, and continuing to have some great TV roles for you to see. I’ve worked on some amazing projects and I am planning to continue to do so. I’ve written a four-part drama series that has been in the development stages for about eight years now. It’s something I’m very passionate about and would love to get off the ground with a production company within the next five years. So do keep a look out on my socials for updates.
Connect with Victoria Broom
Victoria Broom is a British actress whose two-decade career spans the West End, Shakespeare’s Globe and the International Emmy-winning Marcella. She currently stars as Mary Robins in I, Jack Wright.
“I think it’s always been part of my DNA. Some careers live within you, rather than something you can choose or decide on.”