Jacki Weaver: ‘I can be a cow, but I had a very polite English mother who taught me to be kind’

Jacki Weaver … ‘I’ve been acting since I was 15. This November, I’ll have done 60 years.’ Photograph: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Father Stu sounds very intense. Did you meet the woman you’re playing in real life? And what was the overall preparation like for this role? TimDelaney

I didn’t meet her as she had died. Usually, I do a lot of research. In this case all I did was read the script and use my imagination. I liked the fact that even though it’s a “faith-based film” it’s still cheerful, irreverent and unpreachy.