‘Towards Zero’: Anjelica Huston Compares Agatha Christie Role to Morticia Addams

“Vipers,” is how an elderly British widow, Lady Tressilian, played by the magnificent Anjelica Huston, describes the young relatives who have come to her cliffside mansion for a summer holiday in Towards Zero, a three-episode, 1936-set, murder mystery thriller based on Agatha Christie‘s novel.

We spoke with the Academy-Award-winning Huston about her character, whose nerves are tested when her golden boy tennis champion nephew Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) invites both his glamorous new wife Kay (Mimi Keene) and his glamorous ex-wife Audrey (Ella Lily Hyland) to the party at Gull’s Point. Woe to the aristocratic widow’s already-put-upon companion, Mary (Anjana Vasan). (Watch the video above for those cast members stories of working with the legendary actress.) Huston clues us in on why she loves Agatha Christie, how this role compares to her iconic character Morticia Addams, hitting it off with Matthew Rhys, and getting escorted to bed by director Sam Yates.

What did you love about this particular Agatha Christie adaptation?

Anjelica Huston: Well, I love Agatha Christie. It’s fun to play and it’s intelligent writing, which is always to be devoutly wished for. It is a coming together of a lot of brains, a lot of clever people, which is always a good thing because it makes you look clever, or you hope it makes you look clever. And I think the combination of good story, good acting, and all of these elements are conducive to a good script and turn out to be fun to do.

Why do you love Christie?

I love how smart she is and how she takes all these characters and gives one an attribute over the other, and she kind of matches them up. She is very conscious of her characters’ consciousness. Everyone falls into place around each other. You have no question about who’s carrying the cards.

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Why were you interested in playing Lady Tressilian?

Because she is a grownup. She is one of the few grownups in the story, and what she does and who she is, is informed by that kind of maturity.

She has seen a lot.

Yes, she has. And she sinks her teeth into it.

I love that choice of words because she calls her house guests “a nest of vipers.” Why does she call them that? 

She knows full well what they’re all capable of, and she’s not shining anything over. She is fully onto them. And I think part of her charm is the fact that she’s got it on all of them.

Was there a day on set that you remember as being particularly fun or challenging?

Every day was challenging and there was a lot of dialogue, a lot to memorize, so it kind of followed that I was just fully immersed in it. And I loved the actors. I loved what everyone was doing. I loved the way it looked. It was a very satisfying production to be part of.

There’s a standout scene where your character talks to a redemption-seeking WWI veteran, Inspector Leach played by Matthew Rhys. You two seemed to connect.

Yeah, I agree with you. I really like acting with him. He’s very mature and he’s very intelligent, and so you feel as though he’s thinking his way through the part. None of it comes lightly. It’s a lot of fun to work with someone like that.

His character is so traumatized by World War I and seems almost older than his years, so he’s almost like a peer to Lady Tressilian.

It’s true. They feel sort of like brother and sister. They have a kind of resonance.

One of your iconic roles is another powerful matriarch, Morticia Addams. What do these two formidable women have in common?

Well, neither of them takes any prisoners. They’re both very much in charge and they don’t question themselves. They know exactly who they are and what they’re after. And I think Morticia is, she’s got a good sense of humor, but she’s not going to let anyone know she’s joking.

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And would you say Lady Tressilian has a sense of humor as well?

Well, yes, she does. She’s very much got things worked out.

Did you think about how your character’s power is felt all over the house even though she doesn’t leave her room?

I thought about it, but mercifully, so much of the work was done for me by ringing that bell. Because every time it rings, your back straightened, you’re in for a bit of a ribbing. Lady Tressilian has that effect.

Is there anything else that you want to say about this series?

Well, I thought [director] Sam Yates was such a great adjunct to this set. He was so smart and so perceptive and so conscious of what it took, and I loved the way he treated me, I felt as though I had importance. He escorted me to my bed every morning. He offered me his arm and strolled me upstairs to my bedroom. There was a sense of decorum working with him that I haven’t always had, but was very welcome.

Towards Zero, Series Premiere, Wednesday, April 16, BritBox