Interview with Katherine Parkinson who plays Laura Hawkins in Humans

14 October 2016

When we left Joe and Laura, it seemed like they were in a better place.

Yeah, and I’m pleased to say it goes to an interesting place! Particularly with their relationship – I’m with Joe [Tom Goodman-Hill] and the family, but also I’m separated from the family quite a lot this year. Laura wants to fight for the synths and Joe wants to live in a synth-free community. It’s complex.

Is Laura still grappling with her guilt over her brother's death?

It’s still an unresolved pain and explains why she's always trying to be the hero and stand up for the little people – that’s what the synths are to her. She’s very ethically engaged, and it’s a great backstory to explain why. The difference between Laura and Joe is explained. It’s fear. Joe wants to protect his family, and she has this guilt from the past that she’s trying to rectify.

And she does that on a professional level this year.

She does. Even though she’s quite out of her depth and aware of that, she steps up because no one else is going to. She doesn’t become this superhero lawyer – we see that she’s up against far more high-powered people – but she’s got a good argument that she believes in.

How is Laura's relationship with her children?

Interesting. The one thing Laura wants to be is a good mother, because she failed her brother, but she’s so involved in her work that she takes her eye off them a bit. Sophie [Pixie Davies], her youngest, has developed this syndrome where she pretends to be a synth, and it really bites Laura on the bum when she realises she’s missed it and the child psychologist starts talking about medication. It’s an OCD thing where Sophie is obsessing about everything seeming simpler if you’re a synth, that they seem happier without human problems. That’s why Joe feels so strongly about moving away. Things aren’t great, in other words.

Is she worried about Mattie and Toby as well?

Laura had her children quite young and has a special bond with Mattie, but she’s been sucked into her work. It’s a crisis. As far as she’s concerned, if someone doesn’t do something there’s going to be an apocalypse. Her overarching ambition is one that would also protect her children, but for the time being she has to ignore their day-to-day issues. That’s why it’s so awful when things go wrong – she’s made some big sacrifices.

Was it nice to see your surrogate family again?

I honestly don't think I could have had three nicer children. The older ones reassure me about the future. I worry about my children growing up with social media and how that might change things for them, but Lucy [Carless, Mattie] and Theo [Stevenson, Toby] put the internet in its place, using it for the good stuff without being sucked into it. They could not be two better-adjusted young people.

Are you more used to acting opposite synths now?

I probably am. I did a lot with Emily Berrington [Niska], Sonya Cassidy [Hester] and Gemma Chan [Mia] this year. I got to do some lovely things with Emily and an actress playing a much more important lawyer than me, and it was lovely to see the contrast of the much more human reactions of her and Emily. They were so different, but united by being this synthetic presence.

Humans has gone global this year…

I love it when you see Niska in Berlin, or a mine in Bolivia, or LA with Carrie-Anne Moss [Athena] and Marshall Allman [Milo]. It’s right that it feels global, while you also follow the synths in the domestic situation that made it distinctive.

Are you privy to where the story is going?

Not really. Other actors have had more chats with the writers – I know they’ve got lots of ideas and I trust them because they’re so good at coming up with surprising but truthfully found ideas. I know what I’ve shot and how that ends, and I knew that at the beginning of the series – it’s really brave. The way this series ends, the third series could end up being a whole different genre. It’s very exciting.

You're mid-rehearsals for Dead Funny in the West End, aren't you?

Yeah, we're moving at quite a pace but it’s been really fun. We’re not far from the end, so we’re not getting tired of it. And it’s being directed by the writer, so there’s no scope for misinterpretation.

When did you know Emily was in it as well?

I’ve known about the play for a long time, and when I heard the producers were thinking about casting her, I was delighted. She really impressed them in the meeting – it was nothing to do with me, but I endorsed it. We get on very well and she’s so different in this. I’ve worked with everybody in the cast, which is the first time that’s ever happened. I told my husband and he said, well, you are getting on a bit, which was charming!