Oliver, 24, a graduate of Trinity College Dublin\u2019s The Lir Academy, was an admirer of Rooney\u2019s work before being cast. \u201cI\u2019d read both <\/span>Conversations with Friends<\/span> and <\/span>Normal People<\/span> before I auditioned, so I was already a big fan,\u201d she told RadioTimes.com<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was really interesting coming to audition for something I felt I already knew. Sally has that gift of making her characters feel like real, living, breathing people and I very much felt like those people all existed, so it was an exciting thing to imagine myself stepping inside of.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Given that Normal People <\/span>was arguably <\/span>the<\/span><\/i> TV hit of the first UK lockdown, turning Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal into global stars overnight, was Oliver anxious about taking on such a hotly-anticipated project? <\/span>\u201cI was so nervous but also so excited, and sometimes they can be the same feeling,\u201d she said. \u201cI think nerves are good. That\u2019s an indicator that you really care.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n For Oliver, it\u2019s the first time she\u2019s had the luxury of knowing a character she\u2019s playing so intensely.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it is rare to have that much information on a character,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve never done it before, but I imagine that\u2019s what it might be like to play a real person, a person in history where there\u2019s endless information on them. With Frances there was the book, and then that kind of got expanded upon when the show was cast, with the directors and screenwriters.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen a character comes off the page and is living in someone\u2019s body I think they take on a new life form.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The production process was very collaborative, with all of the cast playing a decisive role in the shaping of their characters: <\/span>\u201cWhen I was cast I was sent the first three episodes as the rest were still being written. One thing I thought was really great was that us actors were sent the drafts quite early on and asked for our feedback.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Rooney wrote half of the scripts for Normal People alongside Alice Birch, but how involved was she this time around? \u201cSally was finishing <\/span>Beautiful World, Where Are You<\/span><\/a> at the time. She was involved in the casting process and the beginning of the writing, but she took a step back for most of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n And her verdict? \u201cShe has seen the show now and loves it, which is all you can hope for really. I was lucky to chat to her before we started. She was so generous and lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n Frances\u2019s best friend \u2013 and former girlfriend \u2013 Bobbi is played by Sasha Lane, an American. In the book, Bobbi\u2019s background isn\u2019t specified, so was it a conscious decision to make her an outsider in Dublin? \u201cBobbi has this kind of otherworldliness about her,\u201d Oliver explains. \u201cThere\u2019s something quite global about her. They weren\u2019t looking for an American in particular; they cast the net very wide.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was there for Sasha\u2019s audition and when she came in we were just like, \u2018Yep, that\u2019s Bobbi!’\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Six of <\/span>Conversations<\/span>\u2018 12 episodes were directed by Irish filmmaker Lenny Abrahamson, who also worked on <\/span>Normal People. His CV also includes<\/span>\u00a0the Oscar-winning 2015 film <\/span>Room<\/span> starring Brie Larson and the comedy <\/span>Frank, based on the bizarre true story of \u201980s novelty musician Frank Sidebottom<\/span>. \u201cI\u2019ve been such a big fan of Lenny for a long while,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cHe casts so well and has such a gift for storytelling, and him giving me the part gave me so much confidence.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe went to his house in the summer, and he still has the Frank Sidebottom head. Joe got to try it on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Conversations<\/span> and <\/span>Normal People<\/span> also share the same intimacy coordinator, Ita O\u2019Brien. But what exactly does an intimacy coordinator do on set? \u201cWhen you\u2019re coming to work on those scenes, the intimacy coordinator will come in about a week before, sometimes longer, and you\u2019ll sit down with the person the scene is with and the director to talk about what kind of story you\u2019re trying to tell with the scene, what the quality of it is, which will determine how it\u2019s shaped.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Oliver describes the process as \u201cchoreography, like a stunt or a fight scene \u2013 i<\/span>t\u2019s all mapped out by Ita\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n The drama took six months to film, from April to October last year. \u201cLenny is incredible at giving everything so much space and time. He wants it to feel as lived in and as rich as possible. I loved that. The longer you spend on something, the better you get to know the people you\u2019re working with.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The experience was something akin to \u201ca long, lovely summer camp\u201d. But with that season now behind her, what does the future hold for the latest Rooney It-Girl?<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve just finished a show called <\/span>Best Interests<\/span>, alongside Michael Sheen and Sharon Horgan, written by Jack Thorne,\u201d she revealed. \u201cI\u2019ve been incredibly lucky with the people I\u2019ve worked with so far. It\u2019s a good feeling to work with people you\u2019re a fan of. It\u2019s kind of like meeting your heroes. It can be quite odd but amazing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Oliver has a \u201cgiant mental list\u201d of people she\u2019d like to work with: \u201cI\u2019m on a bit of a Joachim Trier kick at the moment, who made <\/span>The Worst Person in the World<\/span><\/a>. I think he\u2019s a genius. Everything he makes is just gold.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Given that Oliver\u2019s first ever professional acting role is the lead in a Rooney adaptation, she might just find that Mr Trier comes looking for her.<\/p> Conversations with Friends airs on BBC One from 10.40pm on Wednesday 15th June. All episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer<\/a>. Check out more of our Drama<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n By Scott Bates Published: Thursday, 02 June 2022 at 12:00 am Irish actress Alison Oliver made her screen debut as romantically conflicted young poet Frances in BBC Three\u2019s adaptation of Conversations with Friends, the debut novel from Normal People author Sally Rooney. Conversations is set in Dublin and follows Frances as she and her best […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":16402,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/alison-oliver-on-conversations-with-friends-nerves-are-good-thats-an-indicator-that-you-care.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/alison-oliver-on-conversations-with-friends-nerves-are-good-thats-an-indicator-that-you-care-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/alison-oliver-on-conversations-with-friends-nerves-are-good-thats-an-indicator-that-you-care-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/alison-oliver-on-conversations-with-friends-nerves-are-good-thats-an-indicator-that-you-care.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/alison-oliver-on-conversations-with-friends-nerves-are-good-thats-an-indicator-that-you-care.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/alison-oliver-on-conversations-with-friends-nerves-are-good-thats-an-indicator-that-you-care.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/06\/alison-oliver-on-conversations-with-friends-nerves-are-good-thats-an-indicator-that-you-care.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Scott Bates Published: Thursday, 02 June 2022 at 12:00 am Irish actress Alison Oliver made her screen debut as romantically conflicted young poet Frances in BBC Three\u2019s adaptation of Conversations with Friends, the debut novel from Normal People author Sally Rooney. 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