Line of Duty star Kelly Macdonald has opened up about the importance of using an anglicised Scottish accent in her new movie Operation Mincemeat.
The actress plays the role of Jean Leslie in the historical war drama, which follows the titular operation that saw British intelligence disguise the body of a tramp as Captain William Martin to make Germany think their next target was Greece.
Macdonald spoke about her role and the way she approached her character in an exclusive new chat with Digital Spy, noting the importance of depicting a wider array of British people rather than just white English men.
Related: Succession star was surprised by James Bond connection in Operation Mincemeat
"These stories have been told historically with white English men in a room talking about the war," she explained. "Jean wasn't written as Scottish, but I was quite keen for her to be a very educated Scot.
"The accent I'm doing is actually an anglified Scottish accent and I think that was important as much as having women in the room. British people are not just from London."
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Elaborating further on preparing for the part, Macdonald said that it's "always really the script".
Related: First clip for Succession and Line of Duty stars' new movie Operation Mincemeat
"I've never really played anybody where I've had to do an extraordinary amount of research. It's all there in front of you," she added. "Jean Leslie was a real person, but I'm playing a version of a lot of the women that were in that room.
"There was just so much secrecy involved, so there's not much known because she wouldn't have been talking. People were involved in this incredible, in the true sense of the word, piece of espionage from history, but nobody really spoke about it.
"It must have been an exciting room to have been in. It's like the Halcyon Days, to have life go on and nobody would know about this stuff."
Operation Mincemeat is released in UK cinemas on April 15.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
