From the interview archive.

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Actress Tallulah Haddon is known for her work on series like Taboo and The Living and The Dead and upcoming you can see her as Leila in the new series Kiss Me First. VULKAN caught up with Tallulah to talk about what drew her to Leila and what changes she’d like to see made to the film industry going forward. 

You star as Leila in Kiss Me First, a girl who’s addicted to an online game. Are you a big gamer yourself?

I don’t really game, but I’m into cosplay! I have always felt left out of gaming as I think a lot of games are targeted at men, I don’t see myself represented in the sort of work that is being generated. My partner is into Mass Effect, I like way it’s designed, is much more gender neutral and fantastical, the characters are all different ‘alien’ species, a lot of whom have really queer relationships. Sexuality and gender in the game is very fluid and it doesn’t feel its been created from a male gaze.

What attracted you to the role of Leila when you read the script?

Leila is hardcore, she honest, intense and doesn’t give a f*ck. I was interested in Leila as a character and how she relates to other characters in a counterintuitive way.

What qualities of Leila’s remind you most of yourself?

We both can appear very awkward.

What’s your go-to activity when you’re killing time?

Swimming with mates and sitting in steam rooms, hanging out at the Morrisons fish counter in Camberwell. 

How would you sum up your experience so far working on Taboo as Pearl?

I got to work with a great team of hard working cast and crew filming some mad shit in incredible settings. Pretty surreal.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from working with the cast of Taboo that you’ll take with you to future
projects?

Sex scenes are harrowing enough as they are, don’t film one with food poisoning.

What has been the most surprising thing someone has said to you about the series?

“You got the part?! Wtf?!”

What’s your all-time favourite theatre production?

I really enjoyed a one man show called Men in the Cities by Chris Goode, I saw it in Edinburgh.

What’s your mantra for 2018?

Feel the fear and do it anyway!

What kind of change do you hope to see made to the film industry this year and going forward?

There needs to be a vast improvement in the way the media represents women, POC, disabled, queer and trans people. Without visibility and representation there will never be any progress, and we’ll just continue to stagnate in a climate of prejudice and hatred. I do feel my generation is aware in a way past generations haven’t been.

We’ve got our eyes open, and we know our rights.

What artists are on your radar these days?

Marissa Carnesky, Lucy McCormick, Edythe Woolley, Katayoun Jalili and all the feminist gender rebels that I surround myself with.

Any other projects on the horizon that we should keep an eye out for?

I’m sorry I can’t divulge that at the moment…