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Stainforthonline Interview

Adge Covell - Kelly Hollis - (Bev / Faith)

Adge: Hello Kelly. Could you tell me about your character in Faith?

Kelly: I play Bev, and she’s a good friend of Michelle. Bev is already into the.., supporting the miners with Doreen. She’s quite feisty, there’s fire in her! She likes to put herself out there and do what she can. She encourages and helps Michelle to get involved. It’s not just Bev; there’s Bev, there’s Doreen, Michelle and every other member of the Women’s Group. They all bat it out and they’re there day and night, doing food, making sure everybody’s all right, and just doing whatever they can to support the miners really.

Adge: Have you ever done anything about miners before. Do you have any mining connections?

Kelly: No, I’ve not…, erm.., and I was just talking about this actually, with somebody earlier on, because sometimes I feel a little bit…. I don’t know how to put it really, but I feel a bit like, “What am I doing here?.” I haven’t got a clue compared to some people, especially all the supporting artistes. Because, me personally, I think… this film is going to be made and it’s going to be them that are going to make it. Because you can’t pay people to have that kind of emotion and that kind of feeling toward something like this. And I’m glad. When I did my interview, for the job and I read the full script before I went for my interview the next day, and… one of the questions he asked me in the interview was, “Have you any sort of associations with miners?” and I said, “No, but I’m definitely a lot more wiser than I was yesterday” And I would definitely say that I am a hundred percent more wiser and understanding than I was six weeks ago.

Adge: What kind of family background do you come from? What did your parents do?

Kelly: Well, my mum… my mum has always been on her own. I mean, she’s always just sort of had had little jobs here and there, but she’s brought up four kids. My dad runs his own business, but they separated when I was young anyway. My mum brought me up, and we lived on a little council estate, and just scraped by, like everybody else did.

Adge: Where was that?

Kelly: In Beeston in Leeds, just near Elland Road football ground. So I’ve not had a privileged upbringing, or owt like that, I was just an ordinary little girl. My mum was on her own for years, with four kids as well, so… we didn’t have much, but we had each other, and that’s the main thing isn’t it, when you look after each other.

Adge: So, coming from a working class background you can easily relate to the miners’ struggle.

Kelly: Oh yes, definitely. Especially now, with speaking to some of the people. God! I’ve been in tears! Because I mean… these are stories from twenty years ago, and the people that are coming here now, it’s like it happened to them yesterday. When they’re telling you their story, it’s like it happened yesterday, and that they’re still feeling it. It’s really weird. I’ve never worked on a job and had this much emotional involvement, and with the kind of feedback we’ve had from other people…. It’s been…, honestly I can’t tell you. It’s been an absolutely fantastic job. I’m so glad I got this job.

Adge: Can you tell me a bit about your career and why you became an actress?

Kelly: I fell into it by accident. An old friend of mine, that went off to university after we’d all left school and everything, he came back years and years later, and I was working at a shop.., and I used to have a cleaning job on a night. He’d written me a letter saying that he had written a play, about domestic violence. The character…, the only person he could think of, was me…, while he was writing it. We weren’t that good friends really, we just knew each other. So I agreed to do this play with him down at the community centre, for women’s groups and things like that. And then, I was stood outside of a community centre, after we’d done the play one afternoon, and a woman from Channel 4 said, “We’re on the estate looking for locations”, and then she came up to me afterwards and said, “I’m writing a film. I’ve not written it yet, but I’ve just seen the last five minutes of this play. Would you be interested in doing this film?”
And it all just snowballed from there. I never purposely intended on being an actress. The first job I did was when I was 22. I started about five or six years ago now. It’s just escalated after that. It’s really strange how it all came about.

Adge: Out of all the things you’ve done, which would you say was your favourite?

Kelly: I do like doing comedies, and I’ve just done a comedy, but for just working day to day and getting a buzz it has to be this one. And I’m not just saying that just because you’ve asked me (laughs), it’s just because of the people.
A lot of jobs you go on, you get the script, you go in, you do the gags, and then you come home again and the supporting artistes are paid to be there. They just get, “Stand that way – Pick this up – Do that”, and this job is just…., well…, I’ve never worked on a job that has so much involvement with every single person. I mean, there are hundreds of people here some days, but every single one of them has got a name and are there for a reason. They’re not just there to make up the numbers; they’re there for a reason, because they’ve got a contribution to make.

Adge: So, this is down to David Thacker?

Kelly: Yeah. There aren’t many directors that work like him. I know of one other, and this is a lady called Penny Woolcock, and she works in similar ways. She does workshops and involves people, involves the community wherever she’s working. And that’s just in general really. I think Penny does it more to keep the peace, but David does it, not because he has to, so he has peace when he’s filming; he does it because he wants to do it. He wants the input that they’ve got; otherwise he isn’t going to get the film that he wants.

Adge: I know you said you kind of fell into acting, but do you have a favourite actor who you find inspirational?

Kelly: Yeah, Julie Walters.

Adge: Oh yes, she’s brilliant.

Kelly: Yeah, I love Julie Walters. If I could work with anybody, or be anybody, it would have to be her, without a doubt. She’s absolutely brilliant.

Adge: Would you like to work in comedy with Julie Walters?

Kelly: Yeah, I would love to work with her. It wouldn’t matter whether it was a comedy series, a one off for half an hour, or anything. I’d just be happy to meet her.

Adge: Have you any plans for when you’ve finished on Faith?

Kelly: Well, I’ve been working all year, and I’ve two children. My daughter’s 10 and my son’s 21 months, so I plan on taking a break over Christmas, because I’ve got another job to start early spring. Because I’ve been working for a full year I’m going to take a good couple of moths off and take the kids on holiday, and just generally have break really, because I’m absolutely shattered! (laughs). But I am so glad that I took this job, because I almost didn’t, just for the fact of having a break. And I thought, well, it’s five weeks, fantastic role. I read the script and thought it was brilliant. And I’m glad I did, because…, I wanted to do anyway, but coming here and doing it…., I would have missed out on a lot more, than what I would have thought. I’d have been gutted if I’d missed out on this experience, working with the people I’ve met. I mean, I’ve made friends for life here. Not just actors, but supporting artistes and everybody. I’ve made a good couple of lifelong friends, I know I have.

Adge: Yeah well, we are nice people around here.

Kelly: Yeah, they’re brilliant aren’t they? I mean, like I say, I’m only from Leeds, down the road, but.., yeah. You couldn’t meet better people, at all.

Adge: We still have a community spirit in this area.

Kelly: I know it was a bad thing that happened twenty years ago, but I really think that if that had not have happened, then these people wouldn’t be like this today. This area might not be like it is.., you know. You’ve got find some good to come out of the bad, haven’t you? No matter what happens really, you do have to try your best to make the best of what you’ve got, and that what these people do and that’s what makes them better.

Adge: It’s been great talking with you Kelly. Thanks very much.

Kelly: Okeydokey! Thank you! (laughs)

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