Senior Planet talks to…Miriam Margolyes

Miriam Margolyes, 84, has featured in more than 300 TV shows and films including Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, Little Shop of Horrors and others – but her portrayal of eccentric Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film series made her a household name.

Today she co-stars with Judy Davis and Jacki Weaver as a trio of unconventional nuns on a last-ditch road trip across New Zealand to save their convent in comedy adventure movie, Holy Days.  The witty Australian-British actress, author, comedian and narrator opens up to SENIOR PLANET about her life and why it’s important to remain curious:

Q: Where is home these days?

MIRIAM: Mainly London but I want it to be Italy. My Australian partner Heather and I thought we were going to retire to Australia, but it’s just too far away so we’ve decided not to do that.

Q: And you’ve been with Heather for more than 50 years?

MIRIAM: 58 years actually and now we’re civilly partnered. And I do think it’s important for people to know that unless you have a legal spouse of some kind – when somebody falls ill, the doctors won’t speak to you about your partner. And we thought: That won’t do for us. We’ve got to be able to be part of the information trail. So that’s why we did the civil partnership. But I think now we may have to get married, which makes me laugh. But we may have to in order to be able to live in the same place, because we do now want to live together.

Q: How does a civil partnership and traditional marriage differ for you?

MIRIAM: With a civil partnership, there’s no religious part of the ceremony. It’s just plighting your troth, but not under the eyes of God.

Q: Speaking of religion, what drew a lovely Jewish lady like yourself to playing a nun in your latest film Holy Days?

MIRIAM: Well, I was born and brought up in Oxford. And round the corner from where we lived, there was a Carmelite Convent. And when I would walk to school when I was eight years old or so, I would see these two ladies dressed in habits, shopping. And I would talk to them and ask: Why are you wearing those clothes? I was very, very curious, always. And they explained, and they told their Mother Superior that they’d talking to this Jewish girl, and I was then invited to tea with the Mother Superior. She was a remarkable woman and so down to earth – even though she was behind bars. She was in her room – which was behind bars – and I noticed that she had funny shoes on, and I said: Oh, your shoes are strange. And she said, Well, we make our own shoes. And that fascinated me and I’ve always remembered that particular thing. Anyway, so I got to realize that nuns come in all shapes and sizes, and that they are as different and as passionate and as interesting as any other group of people. And I have played nuns before like in [TV series] Call The Midwife.

Here’s a sneak peek at Holy Days:

 

Q: What else attracted you to Holy Days?

MIRIAM: I took the role because of the actresses involved. Judy Davis is one of the world’s great actresses and Jacki Weaver has been a goddess in Australia for a very long time and I just thought, what an opportunity to work with them. I also loved the script. I thought it was about real connection with people. It felt true to me. I didn’t know writer/director Nat Boltt at all. I’d never heard of her, but she is quite a force. She’s much younger than all of us, and a really terrific director. It was a very happy experience and of course, just being in New Zealand.

Q: You work all the time and you’re also currently doing a one-woman show around the UK. Where do you find the energy?

MIRIAM: I love it. It’s so exciting because I meet people and I have a connection. All my life – I’ve just loved connection. I want to get close to people, understand them, talk to them, ask them questions. And that’s why being a documentary person – as I’ve also become – is thrilling. So that’s what motivates me and gives me energy. When I step onto a stage, it’s like getting an injection of vitamin B. it’s thrilling and I’m very lucky to still be able to do that.

Q: What do you do for diet and exercise?

MIRIAM: I do Pilates three times a week with a lady who comes to the house. And I try not to eat too much, but I do, because I’ve always eaten too much. But I don’t drink and I’ve never taken drugs. I have a pure heart, and I think that’s good, but I’ve always been too fat, and I’m also always telling people: Do your pelvic floor exercises, because I never did and I piss myself all the time. So it’s very important to do your pelvic floor exercises.

Q: You are so beloved for so many roles – which is the most memorable?

MIRIAM: I did a one woman show about Charles Dickens. I call it “Dickens Women”, and I played 23 different roles, and I told the story of this great writer’s life in all its difficulties and strengths and weaknesses, and I think that was the one I loved doing most.

Q: What’s your secret to aging with attitude?

MIRIAM: It’s all about connection with people, making new friends, finding out new facts about the world – and also travel. I like to learn about other human beings and other loves. We’re all trapped in our own bodies I think, and we see things the way that our parents did quite often, or the community that we have in our tribe that we are with. And so I think I’ve changed tribes, because most Jewish people or gay people – and I’m both – they tend to sort of stick in in that little world, and I don’t want to be there. I’m always saying to gay people, don’t be in a gay world. Be in the world. Don’t let people who have tried for so long to oppress you and shut you out of the world, and then say: Well, I’m going to be in a gay world. No! Be in the world. But, otherwise, I’m quite lined now, if you look closely, and I’m always checking for whiskers.

Holy Days is in theaters from March 27.

 

Photo: Left to right:  Judy Davis, Miriam Margolyes, Jacki Weaver in HOLY DAYS courtesy Blue Fox Entertainment

Gill Pringle began her career as a rock columnist for popular British newspapers, traveling the world with Madonna, U2 and Michael Jackson. Moving to Los Angeles 27 years ago, she interviews film and TV personalities for prestigious UK outlets, The Independent, The i-paper and The Sunday Times – and, of course, Senior Planet. A member of Critics Choice Association, BAFTA and AWFJ, she wrote the screenplay for 2016 Netflix family film, The 3 Tails Movie: A Mermaid Adventure. An award-winning writer, in 2021 she was honored by the Los Angeles Press Club with 1st prize at the NAEJ Awards.