EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH AN IDEAL HUSBAND'S SAMANTHA BOND!

LondonTheatreDirect.com: Where were you born? *Samantha Bond: Hammersmith, West London* Where do you live now? *Richmond, South West London* Where did you receive your training? *Bristol Old Vic Theatre School* What would you consider you first big break? *Playing Juliet opposite Kenneth Branagh in his production of R & J at the Lyric Hammersmith Studio.* What would you consider as your career highlights to date? *Ooh la! That's difficult. These come to mind: Juliet. Beatrice. Rosalind. Hermione. Lady Macbeth. Lady Arbuthnot (A Woman Of No Importance). Amy (Amy's View) * Who have been your favourite co-stars? *Kenneth Branagh. Dame Judi Dench. Dame Maggie Smith. Will Keen. Ed Stoppard. Pierce Brosnan.* Who are your favourite playwrights? *Shakespeare. Oscar Wilde. Sir David Hare. Sir Tom Stoppard. Terry Johnson. Christopher Hampton. Michael Frayn.* So what attracted you to the part of Mrs Cheveley in [**An Ideal Husband**](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/852/An-Ideal-Husband-tickets.aspx)? *I've done a lot of crying in my career - on stage! And it is very exciting to approach a woman so in command, so eloquent and, frankly, so bad! I've never played a part remotely like her - and that prospect is thrilling!* What relevance do you think the play has to a modern audience? *The play has enormous current resonance. Although much of it is very funny indeed, it scrutinizes a Political Marriage - and questions political honesty, integrity and morality. When a beautifully written and constructed Classic still hits home with such truth, it is always relevant. What's astonishing is how little in the political arena has changed!* What roles would you most like to play still? *I can't answer that question. I daren't breathe their name. Besides, half the parts I long to play have yet to be written.* If you hadn’t become an actor, what might you have done professionally? *I have absolutely no idea!!!* What do you prefer, stage, film or television and why? *I love them all. But, particularly, stage. I love the live relationship with a different audience every night, and the chance to get things better or different. But I also love the spontaneity of film - and the Just One Chance element. And I LOVE the simple, honest truth of radio.* So to sum up why should our visitors come and see [**An Ideal Husband**](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/852/An-Ideal-Husband-tickets.aspx)? *It is quite simply a fabulous play! * LondonTheatreDirect.com would like to thank Samantha Bond for her time and wish her every success with [**An Ideal Husband**](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/852/An-Ideal-Husband-tickets.aspx) at the [**Vaudeville**](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/venue/80/Vaudeville-Theatre.aspx)! (c) 2010 London Theatre Direct Ltd. Please do not copy without permission.