Interview with Julie Walters, the voice of Granny

14 December 2021

Granny is 98: is that the oldest you've ever played?

Yes, I think she is the oldest!

Why do you think you've been able to play old people since your twenties?

It's difficult to say, but I think partly it was observing my own grandmother and being fascinated by the way people age, what they become, how their bodies and faces and voices change.

Is there any of your grandmother in Granny?

No, she's completely new. She's out of my head.

How did you build her character?

Each thing stands on its own, like doing a part. When I’m doing it, I'm acting it physically, the same as working on any sort of part. The voice is the key thing, the first thing when I'm doing any part: I want to find the voice, the tone, because that comes from deep in. Everything else comes from that.

How would you describe Granny?

Oh, she's fantastic, what everybody would like to be when they reach 98. I'd love to be like that at 98. I’d like to be like that now! She's indomitable – nothing gets her down and she'll go for it no matter what. She's got loads of energy and optimism, she's brave and very, very kind, which is lovely – she's got a massive heart.

Granny’s maternal instincts kick in quickly with Snow Baby.

Yes. She has an empathy with other people, an understanding of people. Rather than going into panic and anger, she judges him and realises he’s only a baby.

How does she get on with Albert?

I think he is amazed by her. She loves his youth and the fact he's got everything in front of him. She adores him.

Are you a Terry Pratchett fan?

I knew who he was, but I've never read any of his books. I've seen him interviewed though, and thought what a great bloke he was.

Why did you want to do Snow Baby?

I love storytelling and stories are so important to children, so to be able to tell that story and know that there's lots of little personages watching it is fantastic. And the character is the opposite of ageist: it’s very unusual for a 98-year-old woman to be the hero of something. It’s a gorgeous, warm, human tale that’s anti-prejudice and pro-community. A bit of faith in humanity and all of that.

What kind of things did you enjoy reading to your daughter Maisie when she was young?

All sorts of things. Each Peach Pear Plum when she was as tiny, then Alice in Wonderland, Brer Rabbit, Peter Rabbit, Roald Dahl, Jacqueline Wilson… Not Harry Potter though, she was older then and read those herself. I used to love reading to her, it's one of the most beautiful things to read to a child and watch them go to sleep.

Will you be sticking to voiceovers for the time being, while you’re in remission from cancer?

I think so. People still very kindly send me scripts and I still read them and think: do I want to get up at five o'clock in the morning and not get back until seven and then have to wash my hair, learn my lines, have something to eat…? Never say never – I'm not making a declaration that I am retiring. But at the moment, it’s no to those things.

Which books did you enjoy reading as a child?

I didn't really get into reading until secondary school. Until then it had been things like Swallows and Amazons – I didn’t read those, and I wasn’t very happy at my primary school. My mother made up stories occasionally, she was very dramatic in the way she would describe things and storytelling is a very Irish thing,

What was the book that got you hooked?

My older brother bought me Edna O'Brien's trilogy that began with The Country Girls. I just thought they'd been written for me, and I told her that when I met her some years later. Then at school we did Tess of the d'Urbervilles for GCE and it made me cry. I didn’t know a book could do that, it was a real revelation.

What are your Christmas traditions?

We’ll sit in front of the fire and open presents in the morning, then the big pile of paper goes on the fire. We have turkeys on our farm so we’ll cook one of those, and that's about it. We eat late because it’s never ready on time…

Will you all gather round the telly for Snow Baby?

Yes! That will be laid down in stone, that's got to be watched.

Do children want the same things they ever did from books and TV?

Yes, I think they want to be transported, somehow. There's usually some sort of wisdom in books which you don't really get from video games. Video games can transport you out of your life, but you don't get anything else. That's why books and films and television are important.