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A decade later, Atwell has no fear of tackling the classics on her own terms.
Margaret Schlegel, for me, is in the canon as one of those great roles for actresses.
Thank God they exist.
To borrowa line fromAgent Carterthat fans occasionally quote back to her, Atwell knows her value.
Howards Endis one of those choices.
I hadnt read it.
We hadnt studied it in school, so I came to it with fresh eyes.
I found so much of it so approachable.
Theyre very good at keeping tabs on when theyre being sanctimonious and hypocritical or contradictory.
Its about big questions.
The series didnt shy away from that, which I thought was really great.
In a world where we like sound bytes and memes and absolutes, it lived more in the questions.
Margaret is full of so many contradictions in an interesting way.
There will be heaps of things inside her that Mr. Wilcox will never understand, and that was okay.
But then, at the same time, shes not trying to change him.
You know, I cant really ever get a grip on what she is.
Margaret Schlegel, for me, is in the canon as one of those great roles for actresses.
Hes going to make this human.
Did you talk to him about why he was interested in doing the adaptation?Not really.
I think hes still not sure if he is.
He came at it with a healthy cynicism for certain issues with the product.
He didnt feel that it was convincing enough that Helen would have a relationship with Bast.
The writing has a bit more rigor to it.
I found that interesting.
I didnt want to do acting by the numbers.
We went, People moved like us.
Still monitoring the etiquette!
You were onAgent Carterfor two seasons on ABC and thenConviction, which ABC canceled pretty quickly.
We dont do that in England, unless its episodical likeEastEndersand soap operas.
The machine system of that, its frustrating from my background.
I hadnt even left Canada [whereConvictionwas shot] before I knew was doing this.
It feels less corporate.
You get to make choices, where youre going to pitch emotionally the arcs in the character.
you could better own it.
I know some people are great at it, they love it, and thats fantastic.
You worked with Woody Allen onCassandras Dreamin 2007, and you recently said youwont work with him the future.
You also said you were previously afraid of speaking out because you thought youd be blacklisted.
You do it, and you do it the best you’ve got the option to.
I dont want to work with people for the sake of building my profile.
I dont want to work with bullies.
I dont want to work with people that have abused their power.
I just want to be able to get on with it, really.
Its especially true for a lot of young actresses or actors.
Or not even knowing that theyre putting up with it, thinking its a norm.
I feel quite protective of young actors.
I always encourage an actor to go to drama school rather than go to L.A. to make it big.
Did you have mentors who helped guide you?
And Imelda Staunton as well.
When I gotHowards End, I called up Em and she was like, Dont watch what I did.
Margaret Schlegel is you, and you are she.
She said, Word of advice, if you want it, read loads of physics books.
Just try and keep your mind active, because shes such an intellectual, brilliant mind.
Her advice is very down to earth; shes like the naughty head girl.
If it feels generic or it feels like the supportive girlfriend role, or the sexy bitch role.
The introduction to the character is really important because its the first impression that the audience has.
Ive paid my dues.
Some shoddy decisions in the past.
I wasnt a snob about it; Im not a snob about it.
This was partly from playing Peggy Carter, having other people going, I named my daughter after you.
Her name is Carter.
Thinking, Oh, shit, when you put things out there, it has impact.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
