A lot of actors would “go into a tailspin” if they lost their director for two weeks during rehearsals for a big stage role, said director Dominic Cooke. But not Nicola Walker. When he returned to the National Theatre for rehearsals of The Corn is Green after a fortnight out with Covid, exclaiming how terrible it was that they had lost so much time, his lead actor put him straight. “She said, ‘Well, I’m not in Ukraine’. And I thought, ‘Yeah that’s you. You’ve got a sense of perspective about it.’”
In showbusiness, where being grounded is not a common trait, Walker’s level-headedness makes her stand out. “It’s very straightforward for her. She sees where she is in the bigger picture,” said Cooke. “And that’s an admirable quality in anyone but especially in the crazy world of entertainment.”
