ES Magazine 23 Feb 2001
My London: Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner: she can't live without Portobello Road's
Antique Clothing Shop
How long have you lived in London?
About 11 years. I was born in Liverpool and moved here when
I was six.
Where do you live and why?
Just off Portobello Road with my
friend Tash. I lived in this area with my mum and I can't
imagine living anywhere else.
If money were no object, where would you like to live in London?
I might move into the Ruby in the Dust bar on Portobello Road. It's
got comfy sofas, so I'd just have to move my bath in.
Are you a member of any club?
I was given membership of the
Cobden Club - I've never renewed it but they let me in.
What was the last book/CD you bought? The last CD was the Stones'
Let it Bleed - to get cashback. The book was Elvis Has Left
The Building by Tania Kindersley - it's about all my haunts around
West London.
Where would you most like to spend a 'lost weekend' in London?
Nowhere trendy. I like the kind of clubs where you get in for �3
and then it's �1 a drink all night.
What keeps you awake at night? The birds.
In Notting Hill they
all seem to wake up and start singing at one in the morning, which
is weird. My friends in Hampstead and Camden assure me it doesn't
happen there.
List three things you would abolish from London life.
Tourists -
an awful thing to say but, when you live next to Portobello Market,
it gets unbearable. I'd abolish cab fares from Central London, and
I'm with Ken on the pigeon thing - get rid of them.
When and where did you last get drunk?
Last night. We went to see a
film in Leicester Square and it was so disappointing that we were
forced to go and drink jugs of cocktails at Sound.
What don't you leave London without?
My parka. I even took it to LA
when the temperature was in the eighties.
What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?
I walked
into a guy and had a blazing row with him in the street -
I thought, as a man, he should have apologised. I know that's
a completely unreasonable attitude.
Where did you last blow �500 and what was it on?
A trip to
Paris. I spent loads on clothes and then bought cocktails
for all my friends. We didn't drink half of them as we
didn't like the taste. I ended up spending a fortune.
What's the first piece of advice you'd give a London
tourist?
Stay out of my way.
What was the last conversation you had with a London
cabbie?
I try not to mention that I'm an actress but,
when you're reading through a script, it becomes obvious
and then you get all that 'my friend's daughter was once in
the Tesco advert'-type stuff.
If you were invisible for a day, where would you go in London
and what would you do?
It would be good to see what the Queen
gets up to at Buckingham Palace. I bet she spends her whole time
watching Coronation Street.
What's the best thing you can do in London without paying
for it?
Walk around. I was wandering around Oxford Street
in the rain the other day and looked around me and felt
completely in love with London.
What do you miss most when you're out of London?
When I was
working in LA recently I felt dreadfully homesick but couldn't
quite put my finger on why. I think food is a crucial thing. There's
no buying a greasy breakfast in LA - it's all organic juices.
What makes you proud to be a Londoner?
The artists that we've nurtured. When you hear people raving
about Gary Hume and Damien Hirst in New York it makes you proud.
What makes you embarrassed to be a Londoner?
The Royal family.
They are the essence of everything that foreigners find ridiculous
about us.
Have you ever been refused entry anywhere?
The other night
I was refused entry to the Lab Bar on Old Compton Street. They
asked me for ID, then said it was a members-only night. I think
I looked too scruffy.
Have you ever been a victim of violence in London?
A friend
and I were once chased by a crazy guy at six o'clock on a Saturday
afternoon. What frightened me was that loads of people saw what was
happening but nobody tried to help.
Which shop could you not live without?
The Antique Clothing Shop on Portobello Road. I love vintage clothes.
What's your most memorable night out?
The wrap party for the Lorna Doone TV series was pretty special.
We went to about four clubs, then four people's houses and I got
home at midday the next day. I'd been wearing ridiculous green
shoes all night and the dye had smudged all over my legs.
What is your favourite view?
The views from Waterloo Bridge
are amazing - you can see so much of London.
What and where is your favourite painting or work of art?
I loved
Gary Hume's Begging For It, shown at the Sensation exhibition in
1997.
What last made you cry?
The scene in the film Jesus' Son where the
baby rabbits get squashed.
Where in London would you have your ashes scattered?
I
want them put in a really dowdy urn so that one of my poor
relatives has to have me on their mantelpiece.
If your house were on fire, which three things would you rescue?
Photographs of my mum [actress Annette Ekblom] taken when she was
a model, my CD collection and my favourite vintage cardigan.
Interview by Anna Pursglove
Amelia Warner stars in the film Quills