James Norton on Stephen Ward
"Ward lived in a bizarre world"
Why do we still have such a fascination with the Profumo affair?
It was our Watergate, so it will for ever be a huge punctuation mark in our political history. There have been scandals in other forms but not one that's brought down a whole government. There's also a certain amount of Schadenfreude in seeing big, powerful men taken down by 20-year-old women. And it's still shrouded in mystery. We still don't know the full truth. The campaign to clear Stephen Ward's name has been delayed because the Government won't allow full transcripts to come out.
He was accused of being a "pimp" and a "spy". After your research what did you make of him?
Every account reveals something else quite peculiar - the best thing for any actor. We've tried to explore the fact that - while there was a horrible miscarriage of justice and he paid the biggest cost of everyone involved because he did lose his life - he also had a lot to answer for. He wasn't perhaps making immoral earnings from prostitution, but he was introducing very young, vulnerable women to older men and curating this world around him - these relationships - that he gained from. They were his ticket into that men's club. We shouldn't forget his sinister side, particularly in the light of #MeToo and the massive distance that - thank God - we've made.
But he was incredibly progressive in his attitude to sex and gender equality. The director, Andrea Harkin, planted a seed in my mind about how he was fascinated by the female, the power of femininity, and would imagine himself, perhaps, as a woman. Today he would have been allowed to express that in a much more honest way, but in the 1960s he wasn't able to, and had to live in this bizarre and subversive world.
I don't think he spent his time in self-flagellation, questioning his actions, but genuinerly believed it was in those girls' interest to start them on that path and give them those means.
Is playing a real person harder than a fictional character?
It's two-sided. On the one hand, you have this wealth of information and people's accounts - and towards the end, he wrote a version of an autobiography. That's great guidance. But on the other hand, there is a responsibility to honour the real man.
And on the whole, I loved getting into his head. It's a joyous place. I've definitely played a few tortured souls in my career, but I don't think of Stephen as one of them until the Profumo scandal broke. There's an amazing summing up in the court where his defence attorney says: "The truth is, most people in the country right now are looking at your life, and half of them are reviled by it, but also most of them are deeply envious because you're able to express yourself in the way you wanted to, at least in the private sphere."
One thing that constantly comes up about Stephen Ward is that people loved him. He had this incredible warmth and likeability and was a great guy to have around, by all accounts.
As a male actor, following #MeToo, are you more aware than ever of your behaviour and your conduct?
To have this moment of questioning and self-reflection is no bad thing. I've been very grateful to have been brought up in a very progressive, feminist household where my mum and dad both worked full-time. But alongside the #MeToo conversation, there has to be accompanying conversations about what it is to be a young man, and how one conducts oneself. How does one protect the world of conversation, flirtation and seduction? There's a need for that. The idea of being a young teenage boy now, terrified about going up to a girl in a bar, is also sad to me. If we're redefining masculinity lost young men need guidance.
Do you feel that onus on yourself?
Up to a point, yeah. As an actor or politician, there is a certain responsibility. If kids follow your career, you should provide them with an example of how to lead life. They are the ones who enable me to have this incredibly privileged life, so it's only right I should pay my respects to that. I try to be as private as possible, but there's also something to be said for recognising how valuable the voice I have can be.
I'm a type 1 diabetic and I really enjoy being allowed to talk about it. Every time I do, I get an incredible response, usually from mums of kids with type 1 saying, "You've no idea how wonderful it is for my seven-year-old daughter to see someone on TV who also injects himself ten times a day." It's very gratifying.
Frances Taylor
