James Norton was well aware of the responsibility of new Netflix movie Joy which details the discovery of IVF.
The British movie centres on Jean Purdy, Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards who, in the 1960s and 1970s, made the scientific breakthrough that led to the world's first 'test tube baby', Louise Joy Brown.
Talking to Digital Spy, Norton – who plays Robert Edwards – explained the particular challenge of playing a real-life person and what he wanted to avoid.
"You can't just start from scratch. You have to honour their memory and particularly with someone like Bob Edwards whose family is still very much with us," he said.
Related: Netflix's British drama Joy is an important watch
"I was aware that this film was going to be hopefully appreciated by his family and you have a responsibility to honour the memory. [You've got to] do the work, find that energy and try to avoid mimicry.
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"Find the essence of someone and then at the end of the day once that work's done, you have to put it aside and just be in that moment with the person, the actor you're opposite. Otherwise being too caught up in the challenge of replicating someone's life can be unhelpful."
Norton's co-star Bill Nighy – who plays Patrick Steptoe – also wanted to avoid mimicry when it came to his performance. He even went as far as to avoid seeing any real-life footage of Steptoe if he could.
'"I think I accidentally saw a photograph of Patrick Steptoe. I didn't want to know what he looked like. In fact, I think I said that to the producer. She said, 'Just be assured, you're good casting.' I said, 'Okay, I'll take that'," he told Digital Spy.
"Only because I'm not a mimic and I'm not attempting to mimic Patrick Steptoe's behaviour or vocal rhythms or anything of that kind."
Related: First trailer for Netflix's Joy
For Thomasin McKenzie, it was a bit trickier as relatively little is known about Jean Purdy, despite her huge role in the discovery of IVF.
The idea of Joy is to centre Jean's involvement in that discovery – and as such, McKenzie was aware, like Norton, of the "huge responsibility".
"It's also a big story. It's a story that has affected millions and millions and millions of people, and so wanting to do that justice and to tell it with respect and as truthfully as possible is a big responsibility," she reflected.
Joy held its world premiere last month at the BFI London Film Festival, ahead of its release on Netflix worldwide next week.
Joy is out now in select UK cinemas and is released on Netflix on November 22.
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.
