It would be no exaggeration to claim that many young actors would kill for a role in a hyped TV drama. But for Lola Petticrew, it's a matter of being spoiled for choice. Having kicked off 2021 with a major role in Bloodlands, the Jed Mercurio crime thriller starring James Nesbitt, Lola also featured in the BBC's acclaimed Three Families. But now, they are about to be become TV royalty: as Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, in Channel 5's much anticipated new royal drama Anne Boleyn. One wonders where they found the time.
'I just can't sit still,' they tell me over Zoom from their Hackney flat. 'I just don't do well when I've got nothing to do: I crawl up the walls. When I'm busy, I'll wish I had some time off, but then I'll remind myself: "No, you really don't."'
Jumping from part to part in such quick succession requires adaptability: you need to be able to depend on others to take you out of your last character and help you into your next one.
'Like anything, you go on to the next job,' Lola explains. 'And you chat to the team, to hair and make-up, to the director, to the rest of the cast and the crew. You find out everybody's ideas, and then it becomes this pot of stew. It takes the team to build the character: we all do it together.'
Lola also benefits hugely from a strong family support system. Born in Belfast, their parents are, naturally, very proud, and never doubted that they had a star in their family. 'My mum and dad were always more sure that I could do it than I was,' they laugh. 'And they still are so supportive: t's actually incredible how supportive they are. Mum thinks she's my publicist, posting all of these photos of me on Instagram. But she has four followers and a private account. She'll write "tune into BBC One at 9pm!" and I'll go "it's granny following you, and she already knows"'.
While Bloodlands and Three Families have had positive reactions and high ratings, playing Jane in Anne Boleyn is undoubtedly their highest profile role to date. Jane Seymour may usually be depicted as a mousey follow-up to her more interesting predecessor, but in this version she is more in control of her fate, and the way she depicts herself is well calculated.
'When me and Lynsey Miller first started talking about Jane, I just had an idea that she was sort of like Machiavellian, and that this whole demure little mouse thing is all a ploy,' says Lola. 'She can see that Henry is fed up with Anne's passion. So what's the best thing to do? Play the opposite of what Anne is. A lot of people like to say that these women were like pieces in a chess game, but I think they're far less passive than that: they know the way the system works.' Working with Jodie Turner-Smith, who plays Anne, has been a highlight.
'On my gosh, she's just incredible!' Lola says. 'I mean, everybody keeps saying that they can't imagine anybody else playing that role, but it's so true: when I walked into the room, and she was there in her dress, on the throne: she's just a queen. And she has this stare that could tear you in two.'
Lola is quickly becoming something of a fixture on our screens. They will next be seen in Wolf, alongside George MacKay and Lily-Rose Depp, and is now in rehearsals for Tuesday, alongside Seinfeld and Veep legend Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It's a dream come true for someone who used to watch the comedy great's SNL repeats while at drama school.
'I am a giddy child,' Lola smiles. 'We've just started rehearsing together, and she's so kind and so generous. I keep having to pinch myself under the desk.' These roles will, inevitably, lead to an increased profile and more visibility for Lola. They're not sure how they'll respond to it. 'It's super lovely to think that anybody might like anything that I do,' they nod. 'I'd be delighted. But as far as people recognising me? I sometimes put my head down and walk on by with people that I actually do know, because I get a bit anxious.'
They have also had issues with compartmentalising, ensuring that the pain or grief or anger explored in character on set doesn't come home. 'That can be really difficult, and it has been something that I've struggled with,' they say. 'I think everybody does. When you come home, especially when you're in your place, where you eat, where you wake up, where you do your laundry, where you pair your socks, that has to be something that's separate. So you have to have a cup of tea and watch The Chase.' A solid coping mechanism, if ever there was one.
Anne Boleyn is on Channel 5 from June 1st
Main image: Photographer - Joseph Sinclair. Hair - Kieron Webb. Make-Up - Lauren Kay. Stylist - Ella Louise-Gaskell.
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