Charlotte Spencer is feeling lucky. The Essex-born actress is starring in season two of The Gold, the BBC drama about the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery, which premiered in 2023 to rave reviews, and says that sharing the screen with Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville and Slow Horses star Jack Lowden is a "pinch-me moment".
The 33-year-old actress landed her first major film role in Tim Burton's 2012 fantasy film Dark Shadows alongside Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. She talks to HELLO! from her Hertfordshire home during a break from filming the TV thriller, Apollo Has Fallen – the latest in Gerard Butler's Has Fallen franchise.
Charlotte doesn't come from an acting background: her father is a builder and her mother works in a school. Her parents remortgaged their house to send her to theatre school, but she isn't the only famous face in her family – her sister, Jodie, a midwife, is married to Mamma Mia! star Jeremy Irvine. Here, the Sanditon star shares details of an on-set encounter with Johnny Depp, exchanging acting tips with her brother-in-law, and how her parents' leap of faith is paying off.
Q: In The Gold you play Nicki Jennings, a working-class detective who's determined to succeed in a male-dominated space. Is that what drew you to the role?
© BBC/Tannadice Pictures"It's interesting that we talk about female empowerment. I'd love to be able to – and this is where we should all get to – not have the question. That was definitely not what drew me to the part.
"What did was the character herself, how she has such a will to do good. The fact that she came from the same background as the villains but chose a different route. I think that's what’s important. We can all be dealt the same hand, but it’s how you choose to deal with it."
What was it like working alongside Hugh Bonneville and Jack Lowden?
"It's wonderful. When you get to go to a job and still learn, it's amazing. Because I play a detective, I interview different characters, so I get to interact with a lot of them. There are some moments where I’m in that room, going: 'Oh my God, I'm here!' It's a real privilege and a bit of a pinch-me moment."
© BBC/Tannadice Pictures/Jean-Paul MalherbeWhat inspired your acting career?
"I always wanted to do it. It's such a strange thing to know what you want to do from three years old. I'm fascinated with the psychology of people and telling stories. I basically love dressing up and playing pretend – I haven't grown up."
Were your parents supportive?
"They've been amazing. They remortgaged their house to send me to a theatre school and they're still paying it off now. So it had to work out. I don't come from the wealthiest background, but I think you can have privilege in a supportive family as well. That's its own privilege."
© Matt Smith PhotographyYour siblings aren’t actors either?
"No, my brother's an estate agent and my sister's a midwife. She married an actor: Jeremy Irvine [who starred in Steven Spielberg's War Horse] is my brother-in-law. They've been together a long time now, like ten years. She always said: 'No, I will never be with an actor.' And here we are."
© Sky UK/ Kevin BakerDo you share acting tips?
"Yes, we do, and we'll help each other out with tapes as well, which is so great."
One of your early roles was in Dark Shadows with Johnny Depp. What was that like?
"It was amazing. Tim Burton is wonderful. The set was so chilled out, it was such a lovely environment. I was only on that set for three days. I met Johnny for, like, two seconds. He was playing the vampire, so he had these massive, long fingers and tried to shake my hand.
"I actually met his daughter, Lily-Rose, who was quite young at the time, and she was such a sweetheart. It was a very family-oriented environment. I was very lucky to be on that."
© BBC/Tannadice Pictures/Jean-Paul MalherbeHave you found yourself taking on different roles as you’ve gone through your career?
"To be honest, if it's good, I'll do it. After the first series of The Gold I didnt work for a year, so you don't always know where your jobs are coming from and you’re just grateful to have the work. So yes, in some respects I hope that I've proved myself enough that I would be given the opportunity to go for some great roles – which I have, but you're never guaranteed anything."
All episodes of The Gold are available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
