Last weekend, the film, Wicked Little Letters, opened nationwide. The movie, based on a true story, takes places in the 1920s in the seaside town of Little Hampton and stars Olivia Coleman as the very conservative Edith Swan and Jessie Buckley as the loud Irish migrant Rose Gooding. When Edith and the others in the town start receiving anonymous wicked little letters filled with vulgarities, it causes an uproar and Rose is charged with the crime. However, Police Officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan) doesn’t believe her to be the true culprit, and she and the other townswomen decide to find out the truth. 

Recently, actress Vasan spoke with SciFi Vision about working on the film, including her preparation for the character, how the costume was an important part of it, and working with Olivia Coleman. 

Watch the interview and read the full transcript below.


SCIFI VISION:   To start off, can you talk about what your prep was like for this character, because obviously, she's from the 1920s. She's not, you know, a current cop. 

ANJANA VASAN:   So, obviously, you know, Jonny [Sweet]'s script, what I loved about it was it was a real invention, both of his imagination, but also history and truth and what really happened in the story. So, I looked at both. I mean, I looked into what it might have been like in Little Hampton at the time, what the town would have been like. And I think, for her, it's interesting, because you're playing someone who doesn't have any frame of reference, really. In this film, we say her dad was a police officer as well, but in terms of like another woman, being in a role like this, and also, women in public facing positions was very rare. It was a very new concept after the war. So, she has to sort of figure it out for herself. She didn't have a lot of frame of references in terms of like how other women dealt with this. So, it was quite fun and original to have to play someone who's experiencing that for the first time and those feelings for the first time. [With] a lot of playing period parts, I think, it starts with the costume, and I wanted her hat to be just a bit too big. You know, the skirt’s very ill fitting and unflatteringly long, because they weren't making this for many women. So, it was the first woman police officer. So, she's walking around in something that doesn't quite fit her, and it's a bit too restricting. Of course it does a lot in terms of helping you with the physical language of someone who is from the 1920s. Then, I think I really looked into her physical vocabulary and how it transforms. So, I think, by the end of the film, she really comes into her own, and she's a different person when she's not in uniform. She's almost more relaxed when she relies more on her own strength and her own intellect. She's a different person around the other women in the town than she is with all the men in the police station. So, there’s something quite freeing about being out of that costume. So, I wanted that physical journey to tell a story as well. So, as much as I'm looking at the script, I'm also trying to tell the story without the words, so to speak. So, yeah, a bit of everything. I would say it was my homework. 

She is important though, in the fact that she's kind of the one who's sleuthing around and trying to figure things out. I'm just curious, for yourself, is that something that you think you would be good at, like, you know, detectives, and figuring out things? 

I'm not as bright or as sharp as Gladys in real life. I think I wouldn't be a good spy. I think I would be very bad at lying and very bad at pretending. I don't have that sort of skill set. I think I just give it away too much. 

Just quickly, can you speak about working with Olivia Coleman? 

Oh, my goodness. You know, when they say, “Don't meet your heroes,” I think when it comes to Oliver Coleman it's absolutely, “meet your heroes.” I think she's a wonderful person, a wonderful human, but she also happens to be one of the best actors ever. So, when I heard there was a meeting about this movie, and they said, “Thea Sharrock wants to meet you for this part and have read of the script, and Olivia Coleman is attached,” before she could finish saying “Olivia Coleman,” I basically said “yes.” I was like, “Yes.” And she's like, “No, no, read the script first.” So, oh, yes, of course, meet the director, but in my head, I was willing to do the job immediately, because it was a chance to see her work up close. Nothing but good things to say about that woman. I think she's a legend.