TIMOTHY SPALL - Noose work in Pierrepoint
We can all sit in judgement on huge things - the death penalty, terrorism, war - but until you have to make that decision or you're involved in it, you can't speak. When I was ill, one of the things that struck me was, ‘Oh my God, this happens to somebody else.' You know, this usually happens to the bloke round the corner and they're all going, ‘Oh what a shame.' No, you're the fucking bloke round the corner it's happened to. So, you know, you use your power of imagination and your job is to play the character, not your own personal emotion, but I'm thinking every time Albert did this, he had to see this look in these people's eyes, including women. Call me sexist if you like but your whole instinct is to protect youthful femininity. So when I had to put the noose around Ruth Ellis, I thought, ‘No, this is against nature.'