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00:03It's a bit like a camera there.
00:07God, that's so overwhelming.
00:11Oh, my... Is she here?
00:14There. Hello, hello.
00:16Hello. Hello.
00:19It's lovely to see you all.
00:20Am I here? Yeah, you're in a hot seat.
00:24Rose in between two thorns.
00:28Your name? Anna.
00:30Hey, Anna.
00:33Hi, Anna. Nice to meet you.
00:35Nice to meet you.
00:36I hope you don't eat fruit or vegetables.
00:39I say I have a phobia. I have a little fear of sandwiches.
00:44OK. What is that?
00:46No-one else feels similarly. No.
00:48No, you can't even relate. Can you relate?
00:50No.
00:51No.
01:02What age are you?
01:03Harry, would you like to introduce us?
01:05Right. Of course.
01:06Good luck, Harry.
01:09Hello.
01:09Hello.
01:10And welcome to the assembly.
01:12Thank you for having me.
01:13Our collective of autistic, neurodivergent and learning disabled interviewers.
01:19Our rules are...
01:21No subject is out of bounds.
01:23No.
01:24No question is off the table.
01:26And all might happen.
01:28Please tell us who you are.
01:30My name is Anna Maxwell-Martin.
01:33I'm an actor.
01:34I do a bit of advocacy as well as my spare time.
01:38But mostly acting and mumming.
01:40Very nice to have you here today, Anna.
01:42So you're, you know, motherland as well?
01:45Yeah, motherland was a big part of my life.
01:47Would you be in Sweetly?
01:49No.
01:50We're going to start with a question from Nicola.
01:56Hi.
01:57Hi, Nicola. Hello.
01:59How much are you getting paid for this?
02:08I'm not being paid for this.
02:10How do you know?
02:11If I say it?
02:12No.
02:13OK.
02:16Can you eat a roll or a bat?
02:19That's in the area of sandwiches, isn't it?
02:22Yeah.
02:25Yes, I think I could if it was very plain.
02:28What about ketchup?
02:29Yeah.
02:30I don't agree with ketchup.
02:34Thank you, Nicola.
02:36Next we're going to hear from Jamal.
02:39Hey, you all right?
02:40Hi, Jamal.
02:41How are you? You good?
02:42I'm good. How are you?
02:43I'm good. I just came from Nottingham today.
02:45Did you on the train?
02:46Yeah.
02:47This morning?
02:47Yeah.
02:48That was early.
02:49I know, I know.
02:50Yeah, visit sometime.
02:52I will, I will.
02:53OK.
02:55Have you ever used your acting skills in real life to maybe hide an aspect of yourself?
03:04Yes, I definitely can put on more of a show with people than I would feel naturally to be comfortable
03:14in a social situation.
03:17I have also used my acting skills when I got into a spot of bother at an airport.
03:21I didn't have the right ticket, so I did a lot of crying.
03:26Trying?
03:26And pretending of sort of having a breakdown.
03:29That's good.
03:29So they'd let me on the plane.
03:30Oh, OK.
03:31That's cool.
03:32Yeah.
03:32Yeah.
03:33Yeah.
03:33Well, I was just like, hey, I really went to it for it.
03:37It was in Singapore, so I was a long way from home.
03:43Yeah, so sometimes you have to, don't you?
03:45Getting out of a spot of bother.
03:46Yeah.
03:47Yeah, I like that.
03:48It's cool.
03:52Our next question is from Essen.
03:56What do you think of method acting?
04:03I really think on acting, each to their own.
04:07Do you know what I mean?
04:08No judgement.
04:09Whatever you want to do to fulfil your job title, it's totally up to you.
04:13Yeah.
04:13I would probably say maybe more men are able to method act than women who are probably
04:20doing an online shop to the supermarket whilst also doing their job.
04:25Yeah.
04:26So, yeah.
04:29Thank you very much.
04:32Ali, you're up next.
04:35Did you ever stand up for yourself when you were bullied in the industry?
04:40Yeah.
04:41Yes, I've always stood up for myself.
04:44Oh, that's good then.
04:45Yeah.
04:46I'm glad you did.
04:47Yes.
04:48That's kind of a short one.
04:49OK.
04:51Um, how often do you laugh every day?
04:54Yeah.
04:55Oh, I'm a big giggler.
04:56Big giggler.
04:57I think I laugh a lot.
04:59I laugh with and at my kids a lot.
05:02That's what I thought you would say.
05:03Uh, and luckily they laugh a lot, which I'm quite glad because, you know, they've had
05:09a tricky road and they still do laugh a lot.
05:12I laugh when something was funny.
05:14But you're a great laugher.
05:17She's good at that.
05:18Yeah, I find quite a lot funny.
05:20Yeah.
05:21OK.
05:22OK, um, thank you for your time.
05:25Anna?
05:25Thank you, Annie.
05:27Mikey, you're up next.
05:28Go on, Mikey.
05:30Hi, Mikey.
05:30Hi, Anna.
05:31It's nice to meet you.
05:32You too.
05:33Um, I just wanted to ask you a question about, it is about loss.
05:38Because I've recently just lost my dad.
05:41Oh, Mikey, I'm so sorry.
05:43Um, so I just wanted to know, um, how are your kids sort of dealing with their dad's
05:47knots?
05:48And do you have any tips?
05:49Can I give you a cuddle?
05:51You don't have to have a cuddle.
05:53Should I just rub your arm?
05:55Mikey.
05:56I'm so sorry.
05:58Sorry.
05:59No, you don't need to...
06:00Can I just get myself...
06:01Hey, you don't need to apologise.
06:03But how are your kids sort of getting through it?
06:06Well, thank you so much for asking, because sometimes, and I don't know if you've found
06:10this, people don't ask because they're scared, aren't they?
06:14Yeah.
06:16For my kids, it was four years ago.
06:21So, I give you all the strength I can muster because it's a long road where you need a
06:26lot of patience, don't you?
06:27Yeah.
06:30I'm lucky because I have this very nice support.
06:32They're very supportive.
06:33We all have your back, Mikey.
06:34Yes, we do.
06:35I think if it was like last year or any time before that, I wouldn't have got through
06:41it.
06:43Mikey, I'm so pleased you've found your people.
06:47And, you know...
06:51He's looking down on me and he's proud of me.
06:53Oh, gosh.
06:54Without a doubt.
06:55I'm quite grateful for that, so...
06:57Yeah.
06:57My next question is, and it's a bit shady, so you might want to...
07:02Here we go.
07:03...muckle it down a bit.
07:04My next question is, I heard you met your lovely new man at work.
07:10Yes.
07:10Could you spill the tea on how you met?
07:13Yes, I will spill the tea.
07:15What's your new man?
07:15He is a cameraman.
07:17Really?
07:18Ooh-hoo-hoo!
07:19Is he one of these cameras?
07:21He's not here right now.
07:22Oh, I thought that was him over there.
07:24Who is he?
07:27His name is Richard.
07:29We'd just come out of Covid and I was on a production.
07:31And I thought, he looks nice.
07:34Um, and so I made it clear to him that I thought he looked nice.
07:39And then we went on a date.
07:41And you got married.
07:42He's nice.
07:43We're not married.
07:44We're not married.
07:45I'm not marrying any of these cameramen.
07:47We're not married at all.
07:49No, he's lovely.
07:50You're lovely.
07:52But I've got a dickie now, so I don't need you.
07:54Thank you very much.
07:58Now we're going to hear from Julis.
08:03Hi.
08:03Hi.
08:04Bringing the energy down a bit again.
08:07Um, I also lost my father four years ago when I was 16 and I know how difficult losing
08:13a loved one at a young age can be or at any age.
08:17I was wondering if, because I know you also experienced that, do you feel it put you in a better
08:23position
08:23to comfort your children because you'd also been through that?
08:27Or was it maybe a more traumatic thing that you found quite difficult to get through while also being there
08:33for them?
08:35That's such a sweet and insightful question.
08:37Thank you so much for that question.
08:38Sorry, I missed your name.
08:40Julis.
08:40Julis.
08:41I'm so sorry.
08:42I'm sorry about what happened.
08:43It's really hard.
08:44Yeah.
08:51Um, I think it's sort of a, it's a yes and a no.
08:56Mm-hm.
08:57I lost my dad when I was 24 and it was very, very hard and I felt very, very, very
09:04alone.
09:05Mm-hm.
09:06So, that was that and then obviously it happened to my children.
09:11And I think in a way I could understand better, of course, because I understand about loss.
09:17I really tried to be the best mum that I could for them.
09:24I think sometimes I failed in that and I, you know, sort of picked myself up and apologise and, um,
09:32trundled on.
09:33I just think it's so individual, it's so hard.
09:37I can see how hard it is on you.
09:39I can see Mikey's getting upset and we absolutely, you know, we all feel it.
09:45Do you know, I can say, I know this is a real cliche, it is, but I do think it's
09:49true.
09:50It, it has made me, like, bizarrely, such a positive, tenacious person.
09:56And so, actually, in the end, it's been, it's been really fucking hard.
10:03I'm not going to lie to you.
10:06But, it makes me, like, just smash the doors off of life. Yeah.
10:15Oh.
10:17Strong.
10:20We all, we all got your backs.
10:34I just do worry about them a bit, so I check, I could check a lot, so I do have
10:40to get somewhere,
10:41so I hope they are trying to get there and not lying in their beds.
10:47Now we're going to hear from Thomas Lav.
10:48Hello, my name is Tomislav Ivan, translated from Slavic Croat, Croatian into English, Thomas
10:57John.
10:57I'm diagnosed with autism, bipolar, and I'm morbidly obese, and I adore Celine Dion.
11:05Don't we all?
11:06She's a lovely person.
11:07Well, it would be a great honour for me if you read my poem, it's called Mr Jupiterian,
11:14he's from Jupiter, read it, Anna Maxwell Martin, star on stage and screen.
11:20OK, it's called...
11:21I wrote it myself.
11:22Mr Jupiterian.
11:23Yeah.
11:26Mr Jupiterian drives back again.
11:29He drives no one knows when.
11:32Mr Jupiterian marches down the slope of his flying saucer.
11:36He says to the crowd that he's a fan of Chaucer.
11:40I've come here from planet Jupiter.
11:43Here to your Earth is giant Gulliver.
11:45Is there some place to let, with a 50-metre bed?
11:49He had a packet of Margarite before he slept.
11:53For home he wept.
11:55He got a grip and entered his ship.
11:59Ship?
12:00LAUGHTER
12:01I told the crowd, I'll miss you.
12:04So then off he flew.
12:06That is absolutely brilliant, Thomas.
12:09Keep it, keep it.
12:10It's your present.
12:11I love, he got a grip and entered his ship.
12:16LAUGHTER
12:17Do you write, question mark?
12:20I write but not as well as that.
12:22LAUGHTER
12:23Now we're going to come to Sophie.
12:26Your shoes are amazing.
12:27Marks and Spencers.
12:28I know they do some really good things.
12:30They are on form at the moment.
12:33Hello.
12:34Hi, hi Sophie.
12:35What did you shoplift from the shops and...
12:38Did you ever get caught?
12:40Yeah, shoplift.
12:41Well...
12:41OK, so I...
12:43Look, I'm not advocating this, OK, guys,
12:45just so I'm going to make that to be very clear.
12:47No-one go shoplifting.
12:49Erm, what I found out, Sophie, was,
12:51I don't even know if this is true,
12:54that for a year after you've had a baby,
12:57they think you're a bit...
12:59..off.
13:00Yeah, yeah.
13:01And so they don't really prosecute you for shoplifting.
13:04LAUGHTER
13:04And I got this into my head,
13:06so I thought, yeah, I'm going to...
13:09Yay!
13:10I'm going to have a few things.
13:11Oh, no.
13:12And I would take very big things,
13:14so, like, a case of wine.
13:17Yes.
13:17Or those big...
13:18You used to get these big boxes of nappies,
13:21and I would just keep the big thing in the trolley,
13:23and I'd go through, and if they said,
13:25Oh, love, you haven't paid for that big box of wine,
13:28I'd go, Oh, God, sorry.
13:29Or I'd get the babies to hold things.
13:32Did love get one off, love?
13:34Erm, yes, I did get caught with a warning
13:37a couple of times in the supermarket.
13:40I started acting again crying, saying,
13:42I'm very, very tired, I've just had a baby,
13:44I can't cope.
13:45Sorry, Maggie, give me back that mascara,
13:47why are you holding?
13:47Why are you taking a mascara, Maggie?
13:49Oh, no!
13:52Erm...
13:52Yeah, just blame the six-month-old baby, if in doubt.
13:57Tell us something that you've never told anyone before.
14:05Erm...
14:06I would say I do have a crush on...
14:13Where's that cameraman?
14:14Oh, he's...
14:15Oh, no!
14:16I knew it!
14:18You like him, he's doing it.
14:19No, it's not him.
14:21Oh, OK, OK, OK.
14:23Erm, on...
14:24Is it Ant or is it Dec?
14:26Er...
14:27The littler one.
14:28Dec?
14:29Ah, Dec.
14:30I'd say I've got a little crush on him.
14:32Oh.
14:32Yeah, I've never said that before, but now I have.
14:36OK, next we have a question from Chardonnay.
14:41Hi, Anna, I'm Chardonnay.
14:45Hi, Chardonnay.
14:46Oh, Reform UK.
14:49Oh, Reform UK.
14:50Oh, yeah.
14:52I would never support the Tory party.
14:54I would never, ever, ever support reform.
14:56Thank you for that.
14:58Yes.
14:58Erm, I'm not a reform girl.
15:00Erm, and Labour, who I did used to support, unfortunately...
15:06Oh, yeah.
15:06..have made big cuts to the adoption of special guardianship...
15:09..um, support fund.
15:11Oh, OK.
15:11..who support really vulnerable children.
15:13And I'm so disappointed that Labour government
15:16have cut that therapy funding, so...
15:17You see what happens when you vote for Labour?
15:19You see?
15:20Oh.
15:20A bunch of doughnuts.
15:22They're probably a bunch of something.
15:24OK, and now we're going to hear from Gary.
15:26Oh, yeah.
15:27You did some TV presenting?
15:29Is that because the acting work was actually drying up?
15:32Gosh, Gary, you're completely right.
15:35Oh, yeah.
15:36Aren't you an insightful person, Gary?
15:39Erm, it was just after my kid's dad had passed away
15:44and I couldn't really leave for long stretches of time.
15:48I didn't take a big acting job for quite a while after that.
15:52And actually presenting, like, I could just bobble in.
15:55Yeah.
15:55Do a bit of presenting for the day
15:57or just do a panel show in the evening.
15:59Mm.
16:00Get paid.
16:02So, yes, to answer your question, erm, I did enjoy it,
16:05but it was, yeah, to fill a little...
16:08It was, you know, some employment.
16:11Our next question is from Joseph.
16:15Hello.
16:16Hello, Anna. Nice to meet you.
16:17Hi, nice to meet you, Joseph.
16:19So, the way you describe your sensory problems,
16:24it gives neurodivergent vibes.
16:27Have you ever...
16:27You're not the first person to say that.
16:31Have you ever, like, considered that you might have something?
16:35Yes, I have.
16:38Erm, there is ASD in my family.
16:44If I was neurodivergent, it's not affecting my life overly.
16:50Like, I think I can be quite a good mum.
16:53Erm, there's nothing that affects my job.
16:57Mm-hm.
16:57So, I wouldn't necessarily feel like I had to go and get a test and...
17:02..and get a label.
17:04That was a bit vague, but...
17:05No, I completely feel what you're saying.
17:07I feel like the only time labels really are beneficial
17:09is when, er, whatever you may have
17:12is seriously impacting your daily routine in your life.
17:15But in a sense of, like, you know, putting people in a box,
17:19which is a lot of us get put in, is what the main issue is.
17:23So, the right avenues...
17:24I'd love a label if it gets support,
17:25rather than systems that are set up almost for us to fail.
17:30So true.
17:31Exactly, yes.
17:32Yeah, yes.
17:33But my kids do talk about that a lot.
17:35Good.
17:36Yes.
17:36Oh, yes.
17:38All right, speaking of, erm, families,
17:41I want to start a family.
17:43But I am worried about passing my traumatic experiences
17:46down to my children.
17:49How do you break the cycle?
17:53We do pass down, sort of, trauma, don't we?
17:57And my mum's history was really, really interesting.
17:59She'd come from real poverty.
18:03And, actually, I think it had made the women in her family
18:07and down our line, like, badass bitches.
18:11Like, just off the chain, strong.
18:15But I...
18:17Yeah, I did have, like, thoughts.
18:19I had to kind of control...
18:22After my children's father died, I thought...
18:26This is a real overshare.
18:27But I thought, is there something around what's circulating
18:31around me and that my dad died?
18:33That I've created an environment where that happened again.
18:37Now, obviously, that's not the case.
18:39It doesn't mean that.
18:40That isn't what's happened at all.
18:42But I suppose there's an insight into how our thoughts
18:46can be quite intrusive, can't they?
18:48Yeah.
18:49But I would say, when there is, like, trauma,
18:52that's your point to go, I'm not passing this on.
18:55I'm gonna change the course of...
18:57Because you seem like a lovely person,
18:59and I'm sure you would meet your children
19:01with unconditional love and support,
19:04and that's all children need, and...
19:06Mm-hm.
19:07..that is what you would do.
19:08So, you know, you're not going to pass on.
19:12Yeah.
19:15I feel like I'm about to start oversharing,
19:17but I think I'll move on to the next person.
19:22But, yeah, honestly, really lovely to talk to you.
19:25Oh, lovely to talk to you.
19:30Lovely. Thank you.
19:31Thank you so much.
19:32Thank you for those questions.
19:33You used to be in line of duty.
19:36I was in line of duty for a little bit.
19:39Did you smash it?
19:40I absolutely smashed it.
19:42Well done.
19:43Off to you, Ben.
19:45All right.
19:48What is fart tennis?
19:51Oh, fart tennis.
19:53Oh, really?
19:53That sounds interesting.
19:54Yeah.
19:54OK, so, fart tennis is pretty basic.
19:58Anyone can learn this game really, really quickly.
20:00So, you lie in bed with your partner or someone.
20:04I'd be willing to play it with my children.
20:06That would be fine.
20:07You feel a fart coming on,
20:09but you have to sort of have bums touching,
20:11but clothed, clothed bums.
20:13So is.
20:14And you do the fart.
20:16Oh, God.
20:17But the other person has to reciprocate pretty quickly.
20:19You've got to remember, it's like a game of tennis.
20:21You can't linger too long.
20:23You've got to do the fart, then the other person needs to respond pretty quickly.
20:27Yes.
20:27OK.
20:29That sounds interesting and weird.
20:31Oh, so weird.
20:33That's what it is.
20:35And now, Elijah.
20:41Hello.
20:42Hi.
20:42Is it Elijah?
20:43Yeah.
20:45Yeah.
20:45Hi.
20:48Last question is, when were you happiest?
20:53Oh.
20:55That's such a good question.
20:58Do you know, I am really naturally an optimist.
21:02I feel it's one of my greatest genetic luck outs.
21:07Yeah.
21:09So when you say to me, when were you happiest?
21:12I don't go to a period in time.
21:14I think, oh, well, it'll be today with my kids having dinner.
21:19Or I'll get home.
21:20I'm going to go and see them now.
21:21We're going to the orthodontist.
21:22And we'll probably have a laugh there.
21:23And I'll think, oh, God, I feel so lucky.
21:28I feel happy.
21:30I feel like...
21:33I'm going to always try to find a little bit of happiness every day.
21:37That's probably the sweetest answer you could have given.
21:41That was really nice.
21:45Thank you, love.
21:52Well, that was the assembly.
22:02What do you all do now?
22:03Do you have a little lunch and things?
22:05Thank you, Anna Maxwell Martin.
22:08Thank you for looking after me.
22:11It's been great to meet you for the first time in my mind.
22:13Thank you for speaking so beautifully.
22:16I want to try to see you.
22:22I'm hopefully moving to my new place.
22:24Where are you moving to?
22:25Not far from home, actually.
22:27It's going to be quite scary.
22:28That's frightening, I get that.
22:30It's not me, it's Mum.
22:31Oh, is it?
22:32Is she fussing?
22:33Yeah, she is.
22:34Yeah.
22:35Well, that's what we're here for, for the fuss.