Exclusive Interview: Joanna Vanderham Talks Crime, Tackling Her Character’s Juxtaposition, Challenging the Status Quo, and More

Joanna Vanderham is a gifted storyteller who is best known for the complex characters she’s brought to life on the stage and screen. Her past credits include The Runaway, What Maisie Knew, The Control Room, and Warrior. This year, she reprises her role in the critically-acclaimed Irvine Welsh criminal drama, Crime.

Crime follows DI Ray Lennox (Dougray Scott) and his partner DS Amanda Drummond (Joanna Vanderham) who are investigating the disappearance of schoolgirl Britney Hamil.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Joanna about her illustrious career on the stage and screen, Crime, her character’s many layers, how she challenges the status quo, and more!

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling and the arts?
Joanna: I decided that I wanted to be an actor when I was six years old. I feel like this is a common story and a lot of people feel this way. I was really lucky that my parents and family were so supportive. The first time I decided I was in love with acting, I got to play this crazy witch in a children’s drama club. In the play, I was chasing this guy. In my imagination, the production values were better than any Hollywood film, but it was literally just children running around the halls. It felt transportive.

Then, when I got into drama school, I was staying with my dad. I overheard him say to my siblings, “We’re going to have to support Jo. It’s going to be tough for her. If she needs help with money, we got to be there. We got to make this happen for her.” Hearing that at seventeen years old was such a confidence boost because it made me know that I could trust them to support me in the highs and the lows of whatever this acting career was going to bring me.

I was incredibly lucky that I started working when I was nineteen, and I have never looked back.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Joanna: It changes depending on how old I was at the time. Someone who had a really big influence on me is Alan Cumming. We worked together on my first show. He’s Scottish. He grew up not far from me. He ended up calling me “Perth”, which was the town that I lived in when I was in Scotland.

I booked this job while in drama school. I felt like I was ready to take on the industry. He was so supportive. But what he said was, “You should finish your training. You should go back to drama school because in your final year, you’ll get to do five plays back-to-back.” He was like, “You’ll probably never get the chance to act that much again where it’s one show after another.” He was like, “You’re not cooked, honey. Go back in the oven and get the sprinkles on top and make sure that you’re really ready.” I’m so glad that I did because I was able to go back and support my fellow students, but also lead a couple of shows. Then, when I started working professionally in theatre, I felt like I had an understanding of how professional productions work. He was definitely a big supportive influence.

Also, Vanessa Redgrave. We worked together a couple of times now. She’s always stayed so childlike. She’s always curious. She’s always looking for the truth in a character. She’s never trying to play because she thinks that’s what it ought to be; it’s always coming from a really organic, intuitive place, and I really admire that.

I remember working with her on Richard III. All the women shared one dressing room and we got on incredibly well. We would have these little picnics on the two-day shows. We would all bring something from our favorite local deli or market. One day, she brought us a vegetable peeler and she was like, “These have a lifetime warranty.” Every time you peel a vegetable, you’ll think of me. She wasn’t wrong! That was seven years ago. Every time I peel a vegetable, I think of her. I think that sort of weirdness is what makes actors so fun to be around. If I can be anything like her, I will be a very happy person.

PC: Having had so much experience on the stage and screen, what has that transition been like playing in those two different mediums? How do they lend themselves to one another?
Joanna: It’s a tricky one because I feel like when you’re in a play, you have more time to practice. Often when I’ve gone from working on the stage back to working on screen, I start to doubt myself because I think I need four weeks to get it right. I need time to marinate in whatever is the best choice for this character. It’s taken a while for me to realize that, more often than not, your first instinct is usually the one that you end up coming back to. The luxury of theatre is that you have the time to explore all these other choices, but you often don’t necessarily use them. Going back to the screen, we don’t have as much time, we have very little rehearsal, and you have to have confidence in your character, and you do a lot more of the work yourself rather than a collaboration. They’re very different, but I love both.

PC: In addition to acting, you’ve also started writing and producing. Have you found that the work that you’ve done behind the scenes has now impacted the way you approach your work on camera and vice versa?
Joanna: Absolutely. Luckily when I was writing my play, I remembered the National Theatre offers script writing courses, and I went to them. I didn’t assume that because I have been acting and reading scripts that I could write them. I really wanted to learn as much as I could from experts. One of the pieces of advice they gave me was to spend time understanding your character’s motivation. I was like, “I know what that is!” That was a really easy bit for me where I could sit with each character and be like, “I know them inside out. I have reams and reams of pages on their back story.” I felt like my imagination was really vivid for creating a history for them that then feeds and lends itself to the writing of the character and vice versa.

What’s been interesting with producing is I actually have to work very hard to leave that hat aside and leave it at home because when you’re on the set as an actor, it’s not your job to try and figure out all the things that producers do. I’m very grateful when I’m acting that I’m not tasked with making all those decisions. They happen separately. Some of the things marry really well and feel like they’re cohesive.

Once I start acting in the shows that I’m producing, it’s going to be a really interesting challenge to focus purely on the performance which, for example, Dougray Scott does incredibly well in Crime. He executively produced this. He’d been working on this show for ten years before it finally got produced. He knows this character inside and out, but he’s also making all these other decisions. Producers come up to him in the middle of a scene and ask, “Should we cast this person?”, but he’s also in character playing this incredibly complicated role. I admire him so much for being able to do both at the same time. That’s what I’m aiming for.

PC: The first season of Crime has been incredibly well received. What was it about this particular script and character that stood out to you?
Joanna: I jumped at the chance to work on an Irvine Welsh drama, especially growing up in Scotland. He is an icon. I’ve been wanting to play badass characters. For most of my career, I’ve played characters who are quite challenging and challenge the status quo; they refuse to sit back and let the world happen to them. That’s what drew me to Amanda and this production.

What’s really exciting is her storyline is further developed in Season 2. We got a taste of it in the first season where you’re like, “Wait a minute. She’s not who or what we thought she was.” Then in Season 2, we explain why she is the way that she is, which was really satisfying to play. I’m hopeful that we get a third season because I think everyone is coming into their own. The writing is getting even more punchy. Irvine is finding his feet in the medium.

The first season follows this little girl who goes missing, which will appeal to people who love procedural cop dramas. But added to that, you have the Irvine-isms delving into the inner psyche of a person who is in the worst turmoil they’ve ever been in their life. It’s quite intense. I read it and I was like, “I can’t wait to see this.”

PC: Amanda faces a lot of adversity in her career in an industry that’s predominantly male. You handled that journey with so much nuance. Did you channel any of your own personal experiences as you stepped into her shoes?
Joanna: That’s an interesting question. I did. I’m sure there are some people who have had a harder time of it than me, but I started working when I was really young. I was still a teenager. I was leading shows on the BBC when I was in my early twenties. I remember working with a couple of people, who will remain absolutely nameless, and them being like, “If she would do this, then I could do that.” They would give those notes to the director. I was really lucky because I had incredibly supportive directors. They turned around and said, “I think we should let Jo do what she’s doing. You can focus on what you’re doing.” They supported me through that. There’s a similar dynamic between Amanda and Toal where she can express her desire, for example, she wants to set up a specific unit for women. He basically is like, “We don’t have enough women on the force. We can’t lose you.” There are parallels for sure.

One of the interesting challenges for me on this specific production was that I just came out of lockdown when we filmed the first season, so I hadn’t acted in a long time. I decided to use this as a challenge to give one of the most naturalistic performances that I could give in an incredibly heightened writing style. Playing with how naturalistic I could be meant that it felt very close to home because I was drawing on a lot of, “How would I feel? How would I say this? How would I convince them that they should listen to me?” It definitely garnered a lot of self-reflection.

PC: Amanda and Lennox have such an interesting partnership where they’re able to challenge each other, and that continues to evolve as the series goes on. How did you and Dougray prepare to tackle that dynamic?
Joanna: In the first episode, they’re not supposed to get along. They’re not supposed to know each other that well. We didn’t have any rehearsals at all. Dougray and I were like, “This is madness. We need to have discussed this at some point.” [laughs] We had a secret coffee. It was lockdown, so you couldn’t sit inside anywhere. We were just walking around Glasgow, and it was one of those crazy random summer days when it was sunny. We were walking around and tried to get to know each other and discuss the show.

Our director didn’t want us to do that, but we kind of went behind their back because even though we’re not supposed to get along in the first episode, we have five more episodes where we are each other’s rock. Also, playing like an antagonist to someone, you need to actually get along really, really well to be able to push those boundaries and to play with the humor that comes from telling each other how you feel or telling them off, and butting heads with that person. The actors really need to support each other and know that whatever happens on camera is just for the camera. Within a couple of days, Dougray and I just got on so well. Honestly, if he could be in every show that I do from now on that would be great.

PC: This is such a dark and gritty project. As you were preparing to step into your character’s shoes, how did you create the space for yourself to explore her vulnerabilities, and how were you able to keep that levity when you weren’t filming?
Joanna: We did a lot of research into the type of crime that we explore in the first season. That was really, really dark. I was reading these books about serial children murderers. When I first started reading, I had to put the book down. I felt ill. I was like, “I can’t deal with this.” Strangely, what happened was, as I kept reading, I became numb to it. You go mental. You absolutely go mad. It was this weird thing to come to terms with. It gave me a greater understanding of how people who deal with this in real life and how hardened they have to become to it and why. They might make inappropriate jokes because they’re in a pressure cooker all the time. Perhaps it’s a way for them to let off some steam. Irvine deals with that really well in the show. He’s not afraid of having people say stuff that they shouldn’t say because it’s a comment on the fact that you shouldn’t say it rather than his opinion.

Wrapping up that first season was an interesting one because it does stay with you. I went straight into filming The Control Room, which was the complete opposite side of the law. That was a great antidote because it meant that I got to be this wild, wicked character who just doesn’t give a fu*k. It was a great exercise in letting her go. I keep saying this the more that I have these conversations, but I need to do more to let myself off the hook at the end of a project. I probably need some therapy or something like that.

PC: Irvine also added additional scenes for you based on the work that he saw you do. Did that bring any added pressure? What was it like collaborating with him?
Joanna: It’s thrilling. To hear that someone has been inspired by your work is always one of the biggest compliments. Praise from the praiseworthy. It’s really moving. As filming went on, I forgot which scenes were the additional ones. It all felt very cohesive to the story, so I don’t think it added any additional pressure.

When I first met Irvine, I was so nervous. He’s really tall, has beautiful skin, and looks so healthy. He’s so calm and confident. I was expecting this hard, Edinburgh, rough guy, so that really took me back. I think I made a fool of myself when I first met him. Hopefully, we consider each other friends now. [laughs] He came to my birthday party when we were filming the second season. There’s a camaraderie that comes from filming a show with such dark content that you actually bond very quickly because it’s so dark. It’s like you have to have humor to offset what’s happening on set because what’s happening is so draining.

Dougray and I had this back and forth. If I wanted to have this distracting conversation, I would check with him first and make sure that he was in the right headspace. I was aware of what scenes he had to film at any given point. I was like, “Do you have the brain space?” He’d either say yes or no. If he said yes, I would show him my funny drawings or tell a joke. If he said no, I would go annoy someone else. You do pick up on each other’s energies and rhythms when you’re working so closely together.

PC: This series has already been picked up for a second season. As you continue to explore this character, what have you been the most excited to dive further into? As you continue to work with this writing team, how have you been able to take agency over her arc in Season 2?
Joanna: I have to be careful not to give any spoilers away. I did that with the EPK that we film in-house, and I absolutely told them everything that happened, and they were like, “We need to rewind.” What I love about Irvine’s writing is that no one is good or bad. I love the fact that Drummond can be excellent at her job while having an absolute minefield going on in her private life. I love playing that. It almost felt like two different people. I’m excited to see those worlds collide. I would love to explore what that does to Amanda and how she can keep the lid on professionally while everything in her private life is running off the rails. I don’t know if that’ll happen, so it’s not a spoiler.

PC: You’re such a dynamic talent. As you look ahead to the next five to ten years, is there a dream role that you’d love to bring to life either as an actor, writer, or producer?
Joanna: That’s such an interesting question. There are so many. Of the ones that exist, I’d love to play Hedda Gabler. I think that’s a role to die for. I’m sure there are productions that are being written and thought about right now.

It’s a really exciting time to be the age that I am because previously stories about women in their thirties were far and few between. I actually think the zeitgeist is changing. Hopefully, we’ll be telling more stories about women who are experiencing an incredibly conflicting time in their lives where some of your friends are having babies and some of your friends can’t even tie shoelace, and you don’t really quite know where you’re supposed to be, especially because society’s expectations of women are incredibly individual, but they’re also shifting. I feel like there are a lot of stories that have yet to be told, and I am ready to tell them.

To keep up with Joanna, follow her on Instagram. Crime Season 1 airs at 10:05pm on Saturday on ITV 1. Season 2 will come to ITVX in September.

Photo Credit: Iona Wolff // Hair: Adam Cooke // Makeup: Daisy Holbuwicz using Milk Makeup // Styling: Bertie Smith Watson