Ruth Negga on playing Shirley Bassey
The young actress charged with the challenging task of playing Shirley Bassey in a film about the singer’s early life says she is both “honoured and scared”.
The BBC2 production Shirley, shown on Thursday, stars Ruth Negga, star of E4 drama Misfits.
Her previous credits include acting opposite John Malkovich in the 2005 film Colour Me Kubrick, as well as other TV appearances in Doctors and the BBC mini-series, Criminal Justice.
But Negga, the daughter of an Ethiopian father and Irish mother, believes this has been by far her most challenging role, as the drama traces Bassey’s early years in the Cardiff docklands and later Splott.
“I found the Tiger Bay accent so, so difficult,” Negga told BBC Wales. “My own accent is Irish, and even though we’re all Celts, I had no idea how different it was going to be.
“So I’ve listened to hours and hours of tapes and interviews and YouTube clips, and practised, and basically just done my best.”
Performing in her first singing role was also daunting.
“Her voice is so unique and, well, unparalleled really, and I’m not the best singer in the world.
“So when we filmed, I had Shirley blasting from the speakers, so I could sync along. But I concentrated more on her performance, immersing myself in hours of her on stage to try and pick up her nuances.”
via BBC News.
