Joanna Scanlan - Extended Q&A

Actor and writer Joanna Scanlan talks to Mia Bays, director of the BFI's Filmmaking Fund, about her career in film and television.

A late bloomer, who began her acting career in her 30s, Scanlan describes how a breakdown and the subsequent advice from a perceptive doctor helped her find her way finally into film-making. Now a multi-award winning writer and performer, Scanlan has appeared in features including The Girl with the Pearl Earring and the BFI-backed films Pin Cushion and After Love, for which she won a Bafta.

Her TV work includes a role on Armando Iannucci's scathing political satire The Thick of It and the BBC comedy Getting On, which she co-wrote with her long-term writing partner Vikki Pepperdine. Along the way Scanlan has been inspired and motivated by a number of mentors both within and from outside the industry. She talks about how these people influenced her and helped her build an impressive screen career.