We talk to the gregarious Sophie Kennedy Clark about working with Stephen Frears, Lars Von Trier and playing the younger version of Judi Dench in Philomena.'
Based on Martin Sixsmith's non-fiction novel, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, Philomena is the latest film from acclaimed filmmaker Stephen Frears. Powerful and moving, the film follows Sixsmith (played by Steve Coogan, who also co-wrote the screenplay) as he decides to help a woman, Philomena Lee, who is desperate to find her long-lost son. The boy was taken from her and given up for adoption by the nuns at a convent where she was forced to seek shelter.
In one of her first major film roles, Sophie Kennedy Clark plays Philomena as a young woman (Judi Dench plays her in later years). We had the chance to talk to the rising star about the film, the difficult birthing scene she had to endure and working with Lars Von Trier in the upcoming Nymphomaniac.
Tribeca: Were you familiar with Martin Sixsmith's novel before you started this project?
Sophie Kennedy Clark: I wasn't. I was familiar with the stories of the Magdalene sisters but there activities have never really been that publicized, which seems crazy. Their mistreatment of vulnerable girls has not been publicly acknowledged. The cover-up of the abuse continues, even with the publication of Martin's book. These girls were practically enslaved by all definition.
If you do not pay someone and you make them work for twelve hours a day in a laundry that's slavery. Every other kind of slavery has been explored in the media, but this is something that just seems to have been slipped under the radar.
Tribeca: Right. There's that line in the film when Martin's editor talks about how the concept of evil nuns will hook in more readers.
SKC: Exactly. Evil nuns are something you dress up as for Halloween; you don't actually think they existed. The way they instilled such fear in these girls was so warped. Religion then was so inter-woven with politics and social norms. The girls didn't question the nuns because that would be questioning religion, and they had no access to outside information.
Philomena didn't even know what sex was! It was a very bizarre time and though these nuns and their exploitation of the innocent seem so far removed from our generation, this happened in the 1950s. We should have been more enlightened.
Tribeca: Can you tell us about your first interaction with Stephen Frears? What was the audition process like?
SKC: I first met Stephen Frears at my second audition. I had already made it past the first round [laughs]. I remember the first thing he said to me after I did my scene in my callback was, Was that your interpretation of an Irish accent? [laughs] I thought I was pretty much done after that. So I was really surprised and delighted to get a third callback.
I found out the scene they wanted me to do was the scene where I lost my child, which at 10:30 on a Tuesday morning you need like a hole in the head [laughs]. They told me there was going to be a big room for me to run around crying and screaming in so that I could perform the scene at its best. I got there and they had to move into a room that was much, much smaller, so they had me do the birthing scene instead.
There's that moment where you sit with your legs out, and you're like, Uhh, do you want me to go now? I thought about what my friends would think if they could see me. It was one of those moments. I got so wound up because I had to completely commit to it otherwise I would look like a fool. When I found out I got the role, I was obviously completely thrilled [laughs]!
Evil nuns are something you dress up as for Halloween; you don't actually think they existed.
Tribeca: I feel like a labor scene is a right of passage for any actress.
SKC: Yeah, I've had to take that on early on like a breeched birth give a girl a break! The forceps plunged in between your legs when you can't see beyond the belly is not the place where you want to find yourself.
Tribeca: Did you get to speak with Judi Dench before starting?
SKC: I did meet Judi before, but I wasn't able to use any of Judi's mannerisms or anything. She plays Philomena at a part in her life where everything that has happened has gone on to make her the person she is. Plus, she lived in England for fifty years. Philomena is a very different person at the beginning of the film. She was completely raw. She was this little Irish girl, completely untouched and na ve. I really enjoyed meeting Judi Dench prior to filming, don't get me wrong [laughs]. She is luminous and witty and everything you could imagine.
Tribeca: Is a character like Philomena difficult to shake? Was there a scene you felt that was particularly hard to tackle?
SKC: It affected me for like a good week. Plus, I had formed an emotional attachment to the real Philomena. I just wanted to do her justice. If no one else was to ever see this film apart from her, and she was happy with it, that would be enough.
When you're in the hands of Stephen Frears, you know that you can get to the places you need to be without being prodding into a mindset. He very much lets you do what you think you need to, and if he wants it sort of bigger, faster, smaller, slower, he'll let you know. That's the kind of schooling he comes from he has faith in the people he casts and that's incredibly liberating for an actor. However, you know he's always there to catch you, just in case.
The most difficult scene for me was the day Philomena's child was taken away. The real Philomena was actually on set behind the monitor and nobody told me for the first couple of takes. Somebody then told me that she was there behind the monitor crying, which is the most heart-wrenching thing you can possibly
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We talk to the gregarious Sophie Kennedy Clark about working with Stephen Frears, Lars Von Trier and playing the younger version of Judi Dench in Philomena.' 
