If you could become a TV or film character – either one you’ve played or not – for a week, who would you be? Doartpho At the moment, I’d like to be Mary Poppins, because she’s incredibly efficient and I need to tidy my apartment. Being her for a week would help me out massively. I’d like to see what Chloe Gemell from My Mad Fat Diary is doing. I wonder where she is now, what she’s up to? She’s very innocent, which I enjoyed. How would your most famous roles have differed had you chosen to play them with your natural Liverpudlian accent? TopTramp They probably would have differed quite a lot, although I feel Villanelle [from Killing Eve] would suit being a scouser. I think the accents were needed to help with the transformation, but I loved doing my own accent in Help and Prima Facie. I used to think I needed to change my accent to get away from myself, but now I don’t think that’s true, so I’ve really enjoying acting with my own accent lately. Being a Pisces – the most dreamy zodiac sign – what would happen if you wrote down your most vivid dreams and turned them into a screenplay? missspeck and dblublue I don’t like the thought of that! I am a very vivid dreamer. When I was doing Prima Facie, I had a recurring nightmare that I was on stage but the ceiling was too small, so I had to do the whole play hunched over. I definitely had anxiety dreams until the first preview. Was there a Pot Noodle import problem, as one didn’t feature in the opening scene in Prima Facie when it appeared on Broadway? RachelC There wasn’t. Justin Martin [the director] was always trying to find what was right for the opening. It just happened that he wanted to change it up when we got to Broadway. I was so glad, because when we filmed the National Theatre Live version, cemented for everyone to see, the noodles were dry because they hadn’t added any water. I took my first bite and one big noodle stuck in my throat. For the first two minutes, my eyes were watering. I thought: “I’m going to have to stop.” When the Pot Noodle was gone, I was like: “Thank God.” How do you keep yourself feeling safe while playing such intense and deep characters? MarwaKobeissi Just with all the stuff we put to one side when we really need it, like a really nice hot bath, cooking a healthy meal, getting good sleep, music, candles … anything that calms your nervous system when you come home from work to settle yourself. I have a tendency to become so consumed by work that I have my blinkers on. It’s important to keep friends and family near, otherwise I’ll come up for air after a job and I’m like: “Where is everyone?” and they’re like: “No, where were you?!” Villanelle is the greatest TV character of all time. You seem to master accents effortlessly, even switching within a scene. Does this mean you’re good at impressions? If so, who can you do? pegmiester My big one was Anastacia, when I was about nine or 10. My mum would have her friends around, I’d stand in the hall and do it in front of them. I was a very confident child. Where do you keep all your awards? Have you ever had any difficulties taking them through airport security? Tessa I haven’t had to take them through security – I don’t carry them around with me! They’re just on the living room floor. I don’t know what to do with them. Put them in the downstairs toilet? That seems a bit obnoxious: “Oh, look at my awards in the toilet!” You’re such a talented person, but is there a talent you wish you had? RachelC So many. Wish I played the piano. Wish I played the guitar. I wish I could do the splits. What was the specific moment you realised you wanted to be an actor? ValerieS23 I entered the Liverpool drama festival when I was 12. We were split into groups and everyone had to perform a monologue. I did a piece about the Hillsborough disaster and this young girl on the anniversary of her dad’s death at the football match. My dad hadn’t seen me act before, so he looked at me and said: “Just do your best.” I remember his face so vividly after I’d finished. I got such a sense of gratification from making my parents proud. It really made me hungry. What was your favourite kill as Villanelle? And did you get to keep any of the outfits? SydniZ and Skg0103 I always remember the hairpin. That was the first one. She took a hairpin that had a syringe in it out of her hair and stabbed someone in the eye. I kept a couple of pairs of shoes. I’m not sure I’d want to walk around in her clothes on the street! Chips and gravy or chips and curry sauce? Matt08 I love gravy – and this is mood dependent – but I’m more inclined to go for chips and curry sauce. I’m probably breaking a rule here by saying gravy’s northern. We don’t need the divide. We’re all friends here. Would you rather win an Oscar or see Everton win the league? Dixieboo The Oscar is considered the pinnacle of acting. You receive one of them … but I think I have to say winning the league, purely to see the joy and elation on my dad and my brother’s faces. What do you to cheer yourself up when you’re having a bad day or feeling down? Rachluvzstars Play some music. Cup of tea. Chocolate biscuit. And phone my mum. Is there anything you haven’t done already that you’d like to try, such as horror, comedy, romcom, sci-fi or musical? Imexpensive and kiralabosky I’d love to do sci-fi, but sci-fi that’s rooted in reality. I’d love to do something Black Mirror-esque. I’d really, really love to do a musical. I’m not fussy, as long as I can sing. Maybe a remake of a classic – not Mary Poppins, because Emily Blunt has done that very recently, so that’s her jam. Or a biopic. Killing Eve the Musical? Maybe not. Don’t go spreading those rumours! The End We Start From is in cinemas from 19 January