Born in Canada in 1972, the actor Tanya Moodie began her career in theatre. In 2020 she won a Royal Television Society breakthrough award for playing alpha mum Meg in the BBC Two sitcom Motherland. She has appeared in Sherlock and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and performed in numerous stage productions for the RSC, Royal Court and the National Theatre. Moodie has been a practising Buddhist since 1994, and lives in south London with her partner and daughter. Her latest theatre role is in Alice Childress’s 1955 play Trouble in Mind, directed by Nancy Medina, at the National Theatre, London, until 29 January 2022. The Motherland Christmas special is on BBC Two, Monday 20 December, 10.20pm.
1. Nonfiction
Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown by Anne Glenconner
I couldn’t tear myself away from this book. My Buddhist faith is primarily concerned with developing an indomitable spirit through overcoming life’s many ups and downs, and Lady Glenconner’s memoir reads as a manual for doing just that. She was a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, and you could look at someone like that and think their life is perfect, but she overcame a lot of personal struggles. She is a consummate storyteller, and her compassionate nature jumps off the page. And I like autobiographies because I get to be nosy; I spent a lot of time Googling the people she talked about.
2. App
I am a song magpie, and frequently use Shazam to identify and immediately download any song I hear that I suddenly can’t live without. BBC Radio 6 Music is on at our house all day, every day, and it’s always an eclectic mix – I Shazam a lot of stuff from Guy Garvey’s show on Sundays. I listen to just about every genre: my last two downloads were a 1955 album compilation of Bulgarian folk songs and Aaliyah’s 2000 single Try Again. I will definitely caterwaul along to all of it.
3. Food
Bunsik, London WC2
My daughter and I have fallen in love with these Korean corn dogs from Bunsik in Covent Garden. It’s not a well-rounded meal. It’s not one of your five a day. But it’s really fun street food – eating one is an event. We both just get such a kick out of it. So sometimes as a treat, if I’m in that part of town I’ll pop in and get some for us and reheat them in the oven at home. Our favourite is the one that’s half hotdog and half mozzarella stick, covered in cornmeal batter and breadcrumbs and deep fried. It’s just fantastic.
4. TV
My boyfriend and I are addicted to Succession. I mainly spend each episode shouting at the television. It’s the family we love to hate. I love the King Lear structure of it: “Prove to me who loves me the best.” I keep saying to my partner: “Why don’t they just walk away?” and he’s just like: “Because they want the money, babes.” Everyone’s work is impeccable: it’s extremely well written and well researched. I was at Rada with Matthew McFadyen and I just love him to bits in real life. It tickles me to scream at his character every week.
5. Film
Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2 (dir. Quentin Tarantino)
An important part of our courtship when my boyfriend and I met was exchanging lists of our favourite films and then watching each other’s suggestions. One of mine was Kill Bill – I will never get tired of it. I practically have passages memorised. I love that it’s a classic hero’s journey, but Tarantino has borrowed from all these other cinematic and literary styles and brought it all together in such an incredibly satisfying and exciting way. My daughter alerted me to “good for her” films – in which the girl triumphs in the end – and I would put Kill Bill in that category.
6. Artist
I’ve been collecting Abe’s paintings for some years now: I used to drive by his gallery in Brixton and I loved his work. He used to be an architect, then took a hiatus, went to Brazil and started to paint. The pigments are vibrant and rich, and he describes himself as a folk artist – he’s inspired by African art and magical realism. I have a painting by Abe called Amazing Grace: it’s a woman standing on a red backdrop in a royal blue dress. She has very dark ebony skin and red lips, and the whites of her eyes are very bright. I was mesmerised.
Trouble in Mind is at the Dorfman, National Theatre, London, until 29 January 2022
The Motherland Christmas special is on BBC Two, Monday 20 December, 10.20pm
