Claire Foy has revealed how the director on her first major acting job made her feel bullied.
The Emmy-winning star of The Crown said the director of the BBC’s Being Human pilot was “unkind” to her during filming on the 2008 show.
Foy did not name the individual, but Declan O’Dwyer is credited as the director of the Being Human pilot episode. O’Dwyer’s agent has been contacted for comment.
Speaking on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Foy accused O’Dwyer of giving her the “worst note” she has ever received from a director.
Foy alleged that he told her to “start acting, darling” as she shot scenes as the character Julia. The revelation drew an audible gasp from Horowitz’s audience. “I didn’t know what I was doing and he shouted it at me,” Foy remembered.
She was being interviewed alongside her All of Us Strangers co-star Andrew Scott, who exclaimed: “Oh that’s horrible.”
Foy expanded: “It’s taken me a long time to accept that it was actually a very unkind thing to do to a 23-year-old on their first job ever.
“Instead of taking them under your wing and helping them, just shouting at them in front of everyone … Sometimes not very nice directors need someone to bully on set and I was like that person.”
Foy claimed that O’Dwyer “doesn’t really work anymore.” Scott responded: “But you f***ing do.”
Foy’s claim was not entirely accurate given O’Dwyer has been attached to notable projects in recent years including PBS series Miss Scarlet and The Duke. He was Emmy nominated for Netflix’s Free Rein.
According to his agent at Independent Talent, he is directing and executive producing Netflix’s adaptation of Holly Smale’s young adult book Geek Girl.
Foy was not cast in the full series of Being Human, which became a cult hit for BBC3. Andrea Riseborough also starred in the pilot.
In a 2019 interview, O’Dwyer reflected on working on the show. “I loved doing the pilot of Being Human. Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough, Russell Tovey, Guy Flanagan and Adrian Lester, lovely lovely cast and a great script,” he said.