Photograph by CHARLIE CLIFT

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The star of TV show Dune: Prophecy talks psychedelic bluebells, photographing rubbish and the impact of a cancer diagnosis when we catch up with her in London.

How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you?
My favourite pedlar of nonsense was Spike Milligan, who had ‘I told you I was ill’ written on his gravestone. I quoted him to my oncologist when I was diagnosed with cancer. It was a little bit of nonsense then that is important to me now.

What, if anything, makes you believe in magic?
I find things magical, but I don’t believe in magic. I love close-up magic. I think The Prestige is one of my favourite all-time movies. If we’re talking magical, a misty morning in the woods when the bluebells give off a psychedelic haze. The jacaranda in LA does it too. That’s magical. The teeterboard in Cirque du Soleil. That’s magical.

What was your last act of true cowardice?
Since being ill I’ve become rather disinhibited – I‘ve stopped being afraid of the situations that used to make me cowardly. I have undoubtedly been cowardly, but one advantage of being forgetful is you forget things.

What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home?
Hugging my family. 

Do you have any odd habits or rituals?
I like to photograph dumped rubbish and report it to the council. 

What is your party trick?
Reciting ‘Matilda’ by Hilaire Belloc.

What is your mantra?
Read the question.

What is your favourite smell?
Penhaligon’s Bluebell.

What do you always carry with you?
My place card from the 1999 Oscars with a little hand-drawn picture by David Hockney.  

What is your guilty pleasure?
Brooklyn Nine-Nine. 

Who is the silliest person you know?
Doug Judy.

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and Royal Shakespeare Company alumni Olivia Williams made her film debut in The Postman before becoming an indelible screen presence in Rushmore and The Sixth Sense. Flashbacks of a Fool, An Education, The Ghost, Anna Karenina, Maps to the Stars and The Father are just some of the movies on her varied CV, and she’s also appeared on the small screen in Emma, Friends, Spaced and The Crown. Her latest role as Tula Harkonnen sees her explore the world of Dune 10,000 years before the events depicted in Denis Villeneuve’s recent movies. Premiering in the autumn on HBO, Dune: Prophecy explores the founding of the fabled matriarchal order, the Bene Gesserit, with Williams playing a Reverend Mother who is integral to its genesis – alongside fellow RSC grad Emily Watson.