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Samantha Janus - Jude Atkins in Strange

About Jude
  Could you describe your character?

Jude Atkins is a single mother, a nurse and an ex-researcher for science. She encounters John Strange because her partner was a demon and she had a little boy. She doesn't know how the land lies with him, whether he's got any of these demonic powers or not and so she embarks on a journey with Strange to find various different demons.

What is it you most like about her?

About Jude? Her sincerity, her warmth. I love the scenes with Jude and Joey, the son, because the little boy that we've got, William, is just so natural and warm and the scripts are as well. You get to see a really warm and gentle side of Jude's nature, but then you see this tenacious, quite stubborn researcher when she's with Strange, so it's a nice comparison.

Jude and Strange
  How would you describe Jude's relationship with Strange?

It changes gradually. She's tentative at first, [they're] wary of each other. They're quite similar in as much as they're both quite isolated, and I think they find quite an easy partnership eventually, but they're cagey with each other too.

There's some lovely moments that Andrew Marshall's written where the warmth starts to show and the humour, and by the end of episodes five and six they've fitted into a really kind of comfy niche.

Laugh or cry?
  What are the differences between playing comedy and drama?

What's strange about this script is there is humour running throughout. That sounds bizarre in terms of its subject matter, but I think often that kind of humour works in very frightening situations. What's interesting about this is that it crosses genre, it doesn't really fit anything else that I've seen.

It's very, very dark. I think a lot darker than people are expecting but then you've got that kind of slightly wry sense of humour running through it which lightens in just in the right places. I always think with comedy and drama you should play them both as real as possible.

Judes' best bits
  Which episode has been the most fun for you?

It's really hard to answer that because we've been shooting three episodes in one period of time and then the following three and even they weren't consecutive. I think it was one, five, and two or one five and three.

It probably would be easier to answer which scene because you can't really link the stories together. I certainly enjoyed the lengthier scenes, because you feel as if you kind of have a chance to run at something. So often what we do is a patchwork quilt, you do a tiny little piece and then you cut to a week later and you continue that scene. So it's really nice to get a run of a scene and feel some kind of dramatic content to it.

Acting with Ian
  What's it like playing opposite Ian Richardson?

Ian's great. He's developed a way of working which is just so impressive - he's just a master to watch, in terms of just the sheer power that he has on camera.

It's very interesting playing a scene with him. You think you can gauge what's going through into the camera and yet when you turn around and watch it on the monitor there's this kind of overpowering strength which is amazing, so it's good.

All-weather acting
  What's the worst thing about filming in wintery conditions?

I'm so cold. It's impossible to think clearly or to be relaxed in a scene. Yesterday we were in Osterley Park, at three or four in the morning, and it was minus seven, with this bitter, bitter wind. Well, actually that was easy because Richard and I were both supposed to look shocked and horrified and we did just because our faces were frozen into that position.

But it's really hard to keep your concentration, especially when you're tired as well. The cold gets right through, seeps into your bones.

A family affair
  What's it like acting with the character who plays your son?

Just brilliant. It's always interesting to me to play things that I feel strongly about and I have a little boy who's two, but I also have a stepson who's seven, who's a similar kind of age to William's character, Joey. What's really nice is being able to incorporate those real moments into TV.

So often TV is about plot and unrealistic situations, especially with this, all about how demon kind has forced its way into our world. So what's really nice is to play scenes where I can absolutely imagine that that's what I've just been doing at home, talking about what cereal the kid wants, or why he doesn't want to wear those socks.

We just get this great real buzz to the piece which I really enjoy. I can't say it enough, the boy that's playing my kid is just - oh, yummy, in a word.