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0:43

It's all a blur. My aunt, Ilse,

0:45

called me and she just said,

0:47

get to the hospital. The doctor

0:49

came in and told us that

0:51

there's really not much more that

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that we need to go say

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goodbye. This doesn't happen to people

1:00

like me. A new true crime

1:02

10-part series from the Makers of

1:04

Sword and Scale, launches March 3rd,

1:06

subscribe now on Apple Podcast and

1:08

Spotify. Hello

1:20

and welcome to My Time Capital. I'm

1:22

Mike Fenton Stevens and my time capsule

1:24

is the podcast where people tell me

1:27

five things from their life they wish

1:29

they had in a time capsule. They

1:31

pick four things they really love and

1:33

one thing they'd like to bury and

1:36

forget. My guest in this episode is

1:38

the actor Marsha Thomasen. Marsha is well

1:40

known to television audiences for playing DS

1:43

Gen Town's End in the ITV drama

1:45

The Bay, which will be broadcast on

1:47

the 2nd, 3rd and 4th and 9th,

1:50

10th and 11th of March 2025 in

1:52

the UK. So it was on UK

1:54

TV yesterday if you're listening to this

1:57

on the day it goes out. It's

1:59

on ITV at 9 p.m. Or of

2:01

course you can watch it on ITVX

2:03

on Catch Up any time. Marsha has

2:06

actually lived in Los Angeles for the

2:08

past 20 years. Before moving to the

2:10

US, she appeared in a number of

2:13

popular UK TV shows, such as Pie

2:15

in the Sky, Playing the Field, and

2:17

Where the Heart is. But then she

2:20

performed alongside Eddie Murphy, in Disney's The

2:22

Haunted Mansion. She was then in Las

2:24

Vegas, seasons 1 and 2, and Marsha

2:27

was Victoria in Black Night. But her

2:29

big break, at least I think

2:31

that's what she'd call it, either

2:33

way it's a great job, was

2:35

when she joined the cast the

2:37

cast. have lost in the third

2:40

season, playing Naomi Dorit. Since then,

2:42

she's worked on Easy Money, Make

2:44

It or Break It, White Collar,

2:46

NCIS Los Angeles, The Good Doctor,

2:48

Seal Team, Magnum, P.I., and Freak

2:50

Angels, to name a few. She

2:53

voices the role of Diana Burnwood

2:55

in the video game hitman Absolution,

2:57

and Voice characters on the animated

2:59

series, Castlevania, and Freak Angels. Marsha

3:01

is married with one daughter. and

3:04

very kindly agreed to give up

3:06

some time to talk to me

3:09

via Zoom from her home in

3:11

LA at 8am in the morning

3:13

no less, which of course was

3:16

the afternoon in the UK so

3:18

I didn't have to get up

3:21

early, and what a breath of

3:23

sunshine and delight she brought to

3:25

my drizzly dank day. I hope

3:27

she does the same for you.

3:30

Here is the gorgeous Marsha

3:32

Thomas. Good morning. It's been

3:34

quite the morning. That's it.

3:36

My daughter announced at 720, it's

3:39

now 806, so I'm late, at

3:41

720, that it's 100 days of

3:43

school today, and she and her

3:45

friends have organized to dress

3:47

up as elderly women to

3:49

celebrate 100 years. And so

3:51

it was time to braid her

3:54

hair, put on a wig, find

3:56

the walking stick we have from

3:58

when she was Willie One. I

4:00

mean it's been a whole thing.

4:02

Yeah, yeah I know what it's

4:04

like. I'm lovely to see you.

4:06

It's um, you must be so

4:08

excited even though you've been doing

4:10

it a long time now. It

4:12

must constantly occur to you. Don't

4:14

you think that look at me?

4:16

Look at me. Look at me!

4:18

You know what? Do you not?

4:20

I don't know. I think... You

4:22

know, you're an actor, it's a

4:24

constant bloody struggle, you know, unless

4:26

you become, you know, an A-lister,

4:29

it's a constant grind, honestly. So

4:31

when these wonderful moments come up,

4:33

you definitely have to celebrate them

4:35

and enjoy them. But I don't

4:37

think I ever think, look at

4:39

me, though actually, you know, I

4:41

should, because look at me. Yeah,

4:43

you bloody should. It's a fantastic

4:45

thing that you've done. I mean,

4:47

I think maybe what I should

4:49

have said then was, you know,

4:51

what would Oldham Theatre workshop think

4:53

of you? I know. I know.

4:55

Yeah, and sometimes I get messages.

4:57

You know, you're leading me into

4:59

my first... I... Yes. Yes, you

5:01

are. You tell me when you're

5:04

ready, because... I'm ready whenever you

5:06

want to go. You want to

5:08

talk about it? It will go.

5:10

Well, yes, because it leads right

5:12

into it. Well, so what is

5:14

the first segment? It's a videotape

5:16

of my very first television job

5:18

on a show called the 815

5:20

from Manchester. And it was a

5:22

Saturday Morning Kids. To be honest,

5:24

it's been a videotape and then

5:26

I got it transferred to DVD

5:28

and now I have it in

5:30

MP4, you know. But for nostalgia's

5:32

sake, we'll call it the videotape.

5:34

It was a Saturday Morning Kids

5:37

show. It was presented by Ross

5:39

King and... Charlotte Hindley? Yes. They

5:41

had a segment on the show

5:43

called In Their Shoes. And they

5:45

came to Oldham Theatre Workshop and

5:47

they auditioned all the kids and

5:49

I was chosen to play the

5:51

role of Marsha, a stretch. And

5:53

basically, they were little dramas and

5:55

at the end of each drama,

5:57

there would be a dilemma. And

5:59

so in my one, it was

6:01

that me and Gemma Wardle, who

6:03

went on to a great career

6:05

in the West End, the two

6:07

of us, she played Gemma, I

6:10

played Marsha, and we were athletes,

6:12

star track kids, and Gemma started

6:14

smoking, and I discover her smoking.

6:16

I was mimicking, it's so bad,

6:18

I was mimicking Gemma's accent. I'm

6:20

from Manchester, I'm not from Oldham,

6:22

even though I spent lots of

6:24

time in Oldham. So I said,

6:26

Gemma, when did you start smoking?

6:28

I mean, honestly, only dogs could

6:30

probably hear me. It's outrageous. It's

6:32

outrageous. At one point... They put

6:34

the camera low on the ground

6:36

I was supposed to run past

6:38

it and I look directly in

6:40

the lens and they put it

6:43

on television. It's kind of amazing

6:45

that anybody ever gave me a

6:47

second job honestly. I've been telling

6:49

you for years you should take

6:51

that off your show real. So

6:53

at the end of our episode,

6:55

Gemma's cigarettes, I say, you know,

6:57

you have to stop smoking, you

6:59

know, coaches. He's never going to

7:01

pick you for the team. And

7:03

then she drops her cigarettes on

7:05

the floor and I pick them

7:07

up and I say Gemma and

7:09

I hold them out to her

7:11

and coach walks in. Oh no.

7:13

And so the dilemma is what

7:16

would you do if you were

7:18

in their shoes? Would you A,

7:20

admit that the cigarettes are yours?

7:22

B, blame the cigarettes on Marsha

7:24

or C, I don't remember what

7:26

C. And then the, and there'd

7:28

be a phone number for each

7:30

of the options. And so the

7:32

audience would phone in. and whichever

7:34

got the most votes they would

7:36

air that ending. So we would

7:38

shoot, we shot three endings and

7:40

that's what they did. And do

7:42

you remember what the ending was?

7:44

I don't, I don't. It was

7:46

such a long time ago. That'd

7:49

be a sign of the nature

7:51

of people if they were it

7:53

said, yeah, stitcher up, stitcher up,

7:55

go on. Yeah, seriously. It's got

7:57

a terrible old'em accent, stitcher up.

8:00

I was like doing, why was I

8:02

even doing that accent? And so yeah,

8:04

so that was a big deal. That

8:06

was my first acting job and they

8:08

came to workshop and some of us

8:10

got picked. It was so exciting. And

8:12

then I was 14. and then the

8:14

next year they decided to rework the

8:16

format and they hired five actors to

8:18

be the principal cast and then other

8:20

actors all from theater workshop would come

8:22

in to play different roles and every

8:24

week a different dilemma and I was

8:26

part of that principal cast of five

8:28

I played Julie this time and it

8:30

was incredible it just was it was

8:32

such a wonderful experience I mean at

8:34

that point it was just Fun it

8:36

was just a game really, you know,

8:38

it was that was so 1415 and

8:40

then when I was 17 I got

8:42

apart in a film that Antonia Bird

8:44

directed and it was It was for

8:46

BBC 2 and it was they called

8:48

it screen play it was very serious

8:50

and it was about homeless kids in

8:52

London and Robert Carlisle was in it

8:54

and Kay Hardy and Aiden Gillen and

8:56

and Stephen McIntosh the most incredible cast

8:58

and it was doing that I got

9:00

to go to London. It was so

9:02

exciting I was in a, I remember

9:04

Antonia and her partner took me to

9:06

the hotel, the hotel. It was a

9:08

B&B with a shared bathroom and I

9:10

could remember her saying, I was so

9:12

excited, I was away from home, you

9:15

know, and I remember, yeah, but Antonia's

9:17

face as she dropped me off, she

9:19

said, are you going to be okay?

9:21

Now I realize as an adult she

9:23

was like, what is this hovel that

9:25

we put her in? Same deal, same

9:27

deal. And it was that job that

9:29

I remember being with all those actors

9:31

and we did research and we went

9:33

to homeless shelters and centre point and

9:35

I just remember thinking, oh this is

9:37

what I want to do. And that

9:39

was the moment actually. But yeah, it's

9:41

the videotape of the 815. That's lovely.

9:43

It's produced a lot of good people,

9:45

isn't it? I mean, when people said

9:47

things up like that, this podcast sponsors.

9:49

children's theater group in Soam, near Italy.

9:51

And they did exactly the same thing.

9:53

They had a terrible tragedy there and

9:55

they set up this little theater group

9:57

for children and it's now got, I

9:59

don't know, over 500 members, they put

10:01

on five productions a year, they go

10:03

to Edinburgh. It's quite extraordinary. They've just

10:05

finished building their own theatre. Oh, that's

10:07

wonderful. You look at the effect it

10:09

can have on people. When you're that

10:11

age, if there are no facilities, no

10:13

opportunity to do things. You think, well,

10:15

it's a world that, you know, what

10:17

the rich kids go to that, they

10:19

can go to drama school, they can

10:21

afford it, you know, or they go

10:23

to schools that have got drama classes

10:25

even nowadays. Most schools don't. I know.

10:27

My school didn't, my school did not.

10:30

No. So these places are absolutely crucial

10:32

because you think of the, I mean,

10:34

it's around Jones came through, Sarah Lancashire?

10:36

Yeah. I mean, absolutely brilliant. My friend

10:38

Nicholas Stevenson. She's a wonderful actress and

10:40

actually we were just messaging each other

10:42

last week because there is a young

10:44

actress that is a friend of hers

10:46

who's coming to Los Angeles who I'm

10:48

meeting later today actually to give her

10:50

advice. My wizened advice. Yeah, been there

10:52

done that. Yeah. Oldham Theatre Workshop. changed

10:54

so many people's lives and I would

10:56

not be an actor and live the

10:58

life that I live without that place.

11:00

So I'm very grateful to David Johnson

11:02

and all the people that were involved

11:04

at that time. It was really a

11:06

game changer. Also, shout out to my

11:08

mom and dad and particularly my little

11:10

sister Christie because I lived in Manchester

11:12

and my mom used to take me

11:14

for rehearsals. Rehearsals will start at 7

11:16

p.m. And we'd have to drive an

11:18

hour to Oldham. She'd drop me off

11:20

and then she'd drive the hour home

11:22

and then she'd come and pick me

11:24

up at 10 o'clock an hour there

11:26

and an hour back with my poor

11:28

little sister in the car, you know,

11:30

just along for the ride. You know,

11:32

it's that kind of commitment. I just,

11:34

you know, I'm very grateful. No, that's

11:36

fabulous, isn't it? Four hours. Four hours

11:38

traveling traveling traveling. Right? But at the

11:40

time, four hours, four hours, four hours,

11:43

four hours, for hours, four hours, four

11:45

hours, four hours, four hours, four hours,

11:47

four hours, four hours, traveling, four hours,

11:49

four hours, traveling, four hours, traveling, traveling,

11:51

four hours, four hours, four hours, traveling,

11:53

four hours, traveling, four hours, traveling, four

11:55

hours, traveling, traveling, traveling, but at the

11:57

time, four hours, four hours, four hours,

11:59

four hours, four fun fun at our

12:01

home but yes my mom in particular

12:03

my mom because my dad worked nights yeah she

12:05

gave a lot of time I mean you

12:07

know she's a great parent bless her

12:09

yeah fabulous yeah all right well I'm

12:11

gonna put that videotape in then that's

12:13

number one bar shot are you enjoying

12:15

this yes it's very fun I have

12:18

to say it was very difficult

12:20

coming up with this list very

12:22

difficult It was a two-week process

12:24

for sure, so I hope as

12:27

I tell these stories. I'm very

12:29

pleased with number one. Lovely.

12:31

Worth to a great start. Okay,

12:33

right. So what's number two? Catherine

12:35

Johnson plotting the path

12:37

for America's first astronauts.

12:39

Tim Berners Lee and

12:41

Vince Cerf creating the

12:43

World Wide Web. These moments

12:46

changed everything. At a Viva.

12:48

We spark moments of

12:50

insight for our customers,

12:52

helping them reimagine processes,

12:54

rethink energy efficiency, and

12:56

reshape entire industries all

12:58

to build a better

13:00

world. Find out more

13:02

at Sparker moments.com. Welcome friends

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14:07

is it, a professional association

14:10

of diving instructors. And in

14:12

2008, I had to get

14:14

my Paddy certification

14:17

because I got a part in

14:19

a film where I had to

14:21

scuba dive. And what you don't

14:23

know about me is I'm very afraid

14:25

of the water. I can swim,

14:27

but I don't believe in my

14:30

confidence to swim. I just, I

14:32

think I'm not a very strong

14:34

swimmer. A lot of psychology,

14:36

but I just, yeah, I don't feel,

14:38

as long as I can, I love

14:41

the ocean, weirdly, like beautiful, I love

14:43

being on a beach and looking at

14:45

the ocean, and I'll dip my feet

14:47

in a little, but I don't want

14:49

to go for a swim, no thank

14:52

you. So I got this part in the

14:54

film, it's called Into the Blue

14:56

Two. Scuba certified and I was terrified.

14:58

We started and it's so funny because

15:01

it was me and some of the

15:03

other cast Laura Vandervore at Chris McCormack

15:05

and they were also confident so confident

15:08

and I was you know the little

15:10

scared one so annoying and so we

15:12

started in a pool and we you

15:14

know we had the no we sat

15:17

I mean we started so basic with

15:19

what do you call it? A snorkel,

15:21

a snorkel, thank you. And I was

15:23

afraid to even do that because I

15:25

don't like the idea that something that

15:28

could fly down the tube of the

15:30

snorkel. Like I'm like cycling myself out

15:32

so badly. And so even in the

15:34

pool we had to sit at the

15:36

bottom of the pool and every step

15:39

of the way was torture for me.

15:41

But I kept overcoming these obstacles with

15:43

great resistance, but then I would overcome

15:45

them. And then we had to go

15:47

to Catalina, which is a lovely island,

15:50

which is a lovely island here in

15:52

Southern California. and that's what we did,

15:54

we got a ferry. And that's where we

15:56

were going to complete our scuba certification. And

15:58

it was me and Laura. I was terrified.

16:00

And we get in the water and

16:02

it's time to descend. Nobody warned me

16:04

that there was just kelp. kelp. Like,

16:06

kelp. A blanket thick kelp. So we

16:09

started to go down and I'm being

16:11

slapped in the face by all this

16:13

kelp. And I said nope. and I

16:15

went straight back up and I was

16:17

like nope I'm out I'm not doing

16:19

it I'm not doing it and my

16:21

scuba instructor she was amazing she was

16:23

like Marsha I cannot certify you if

16:25

you don't go down there you will

16:27

not be able to do this movie

16:30

and of course as an actor you

16:32

know all you want to do is

16:34

go to work so I took a

16:36

breath and I went down and there's

16:38

a part of the scuba certification where

16:40

you have to take the mouthpiece out

16:42

of your mouth and then you do

16:44

this thing with your dominant hand where

16:46

you kind of you lift it you

16:48

lift it It knocks the tube and

16:50

it brings it back around to the

16:53

front and you put it back in

16:55

your mouth. And that's the thing you

16:57

have to do. So when you do

16:59

it, you have to take an inhalation,

17:01

take it out, now you're holding your

17:03

breath, not the thing, and bring it

17:05

around. And that was the thing that

17:07

was most afraid of. So I do

17:09

it, and I, it got tangled up.

17:11

It got tangled up! So it didn't

17:13

go smooth. So it kind of did

17:16

this weird, knocky, knocky thing, knocky thing,

17:18

whatever. And I could not be this.

17:20

and got it in my mouth and

17:22

I was going yeah pumping my fist

17:24

yeah yeah it was just incredible and

17:26

so when I think about that achievement

17:28

I'm just there's nothing I can't do

17:30

I was so afraid Mike and I

17:32

did it and then I got to

17:34

you know go I'd already been had

17:36

the pleasure of shooting in Hawaii for

17:39

lost yeah so I'd been there quite

17:41

a bit already a bit already on

17:43

Oahu but then I got to go

17:45

back and I had only been with

17:47

my husband boyfriend at the time for

17:49

a year and he got to come

17:51

to Hawaii and in England we think

17:53

of Hawaii as paradise don't we? You

17:55

know and so he got to come

17:57

to paradise with me and that was

17:59

the start of our many travels we

18:02

love to travel and yeah my paddy

18:04

scuba certification which by the way has

18:06

now expired. get me back in. Oh

18:08

it's a shame because I've got a

18:10

really good part in a film that

18:12

never mind. You know what's funny though

18:14

is I became so confident in the

18:16

water with the scuba that I even

18:18

when I wasn't working we would go

18:20

on excursions and scuba dive. I mean

18:22

it was really magical. I think when

18:25

you become a parent you become a

18:27

little more scared of the world and

18:29

your responsibilities and so on and I

18:31

just I'm just a bit I'm fearful

18:33

again. I think if I had to.

18:35

I would, but I'm not going out

18:37

on my way to do it, but

18:39

I did achieve that. Well, I think

18:41

the things that you actually get to

18:43

the end of and you achieve, that

18:45

at the start you were really terrified

18:48

of, are the ones you can be

18:50

most proud of. If you think yourself,

18:52

yeah, I'd love to do that. That

18:54

sounds great fun. And you would just

18:56

enjoy every moment of it. Well done,

18:58

but... It was no real effort involved,

19:00

it's just turn up and do it.

19:02

But if you start going down in

19:04

the sea, and I can absolutely appreciate

19:06

the feeling of terror that must have

19:08

created in you, to go down and

19:11

suddenly find yourself, it's really disorientating to

19:13

be in the middle of all that

19:15

kelp. Horrible. Oh, absolutely. That was, yeah,

19:17

it really was. Whenever I see kelp.

19:19

I think of it. You know, in

19:21

a film, if it's mentioned on a

19:23

nature show, whatever, I'm always like, oh,

19:25

I just see it washed up on

19:27

the beach. I'm like, oh, tell you

19:29

the story. That's my daughter. Did I

19:31

tell you the story? She's like, yes,

19:34

yes, you did. I've heard it before,

19:36

yes. Oh, yes, you did. I've heard

19:38

it before, yes. I've heard it's flying

19:40

on by. I can't believe it. Wow.

19:42

It just, yeah, it just goes on.

19:44

And we just remember them as these

19:46

little babies. Well, of course, you also

19:48

remember yourself right there. You remember yourself

19:50

as that? Yeah. She's 11. You go,

19:52

oh, I remember 11. Oh, 100%. Also,

19:54

she's this, she's my doppelganger. I mean,

19:57

she's a performer. You know, I know

19:59

what she's thinking. She's very similar. to

20:01

the person I was at that age.

20:03

Yeah. So I know all her tricks.

20:05

Fantastic. Well, I'm going to put you

20:07

up, your Paddy certificate goes in there,

20:09

and congratulations. Well done. Thank you so

20:11

much. Thank you. Okay, let's move on

20:13

to number three. Okay, so number three

20:15

is I have a collection every year.

20:17

I make a photo album. You know,

20:20

you can go online and, you know,

20:22

dragging the pictures or whatever. Tullula's life.

20:24

You know, our lives together as a

20:26

family. Number one is the first six

20:28

months of her life and then I

20:30

have an annual one every year and

20:32

I do it and I went with

20:34

a company that's far too expensive and

20:36

every year I go, oh my God,

20:38

but I want the consistency, you know,

20:41

and I have this collection of photo

20:43

books. And as you know, very recently

20:45

in Los Angeles, we had these fires.

20:47

And I was very lucky, we were

20:49

not affected, you know, we were affected,

20:51

but our home was safe and we

20:53

were safe and we were safe and

20:55

we were safe and we were safe

20:57

and we were safe and we were

20:59

safe and we were safe and we

21:01

were safe and we were safe and

21:04

we were safe and we were safe

21:06

and we were safe. And you know,

21:08

it was one of those things where

21:10

we couldn't turn the television off. We

21:12

couldn't disconnect for two whole weeks because

21:14

you needed to be aware of what

21:16

was happening, how the fires were moving,

21:18

what was going on. And on, the

21:20

fire started on the Tuesday night and

21:22

on the Wednesday night, a fire broke

21:24

out in Runyon Canyon, which is not

21:27

that far from my home. And so

21:29

they mandatory evacuated a bunch of people.

21:31

We were not in that mandatory evacuation

21:33

at that point. But we had to

21:35

run around the worst moments of my

21:37

life of my life. packing suitcases and

21:39

choosing what to burn. Oh my word.

21:41

You know, you know, so of course

21:43

I got my jewelry, I got, you

21:45

know, and my poor daughter, she was

21:47

running around, is the house going to

21:50

burn down? And it was, you know,

21:52

you want to be able to tell

21:54

your child, no, it's going to be

21:56

fine. But I didn't know, because all

21:58

around us, houses were burning down, people

22:00

have lost everything. Oh, it was just

22:02

awful. you know, because they just, they

22:04

mean so much, like, obviously I have

22:06

the memories in my head. But just

22:08

the physical embodiment of this life that

22:10

we've lived together with our daughter who

22:13

means the world to us. They were

22:15

just very important to me and they

22:17

were incredibly cumbersome. And so I packed

22:19

them up and we packed all our

22:21

things and we got it all into

22:23

the car and then we kept monitoring

22:25

the television and thankfully they put that

22:27

fire out so we didn't have to

22:29

leave. We did leave the bags packed

22:31

for another week. We just weren't sure.

22:33

and those very important photo albums with

22:36

all of our adventures and this life

22:38

we've lived together remained packed. So yeah

22:40

I would put those in there. Oh

22:42

I'm not surprised. It's a strange thing

22:44

about photographs isn't it that actually you

22:46

take them and then you can put

22:48

them away somewhere and not really think

22:50

about them or look at them for

22:52

a long time but the moment you

22:54

do you instantly remember them and you

22:56

instantly remember everything about them. They are

22:59

little pockets of life. Yes, well I'm

23:01

an archivist, I like to, I recently

23:03

just, you can see those are my

23:05

daughter's books on the shelf there because

23:07

I've switched to a Kindle, I'm an

23:09

avid reader, and I'm in two book

23:11

clubs, so for my book club books,

23:13

I read hard books, real books, but

23:15

for everything else I read, I read,

23:17

I read it on the Kindle, because

23:19

I just don't have the space for

23:22

all these books anymore. Could you talk

23:24

to my wife for me? Sorry. I

23:26

recently started making a document with all

23:28

the books that I own. Why? Just

23:30

because I like to do it. And

23:32

it's the same. I have digitized all

23:34

the photographs from my childhood. all the

23:36

photos I've ever taken by hand did

23:38

it myself scanning the I did you

23:40

know at one summer we spent in

23:42

England at my husband's parents house and

23:45

I said get the photos out I'm

23:47

digitizing and I did them all so

23:49

we have all of that in the

23:51

cloud thankfully but these books that I

23:53

made they're special because I those with

23:55

the specific images from that year that

23:57

I chose to put in these books

23:59

so yeah And it must have been

24:01

very frightening. I spoke to somebody else

24:03

who was talking about the sky being

24:05

full of ash and just falling everywhere.

24:08

Horrible. Oh, it really was. Sounds like

24:10

Pompey. Exactly, it felt like end of days.

24:12

Everything was covered in ash and you would

24:14

just see it floating. You know, and now of

24:16

course, there's the massive cleanup that needs to

24:19

happen. Goodness, how long that's going to take

24:21

and what that's going to do to the

24:23

air. It really is just unthinkable that

24:25

this happened. Yes. But things like

24:28

this happen all over the world, all

24:30

the time. And you become desensitized to

24:32

it because it's happening over there. And

24:34

then when it happens right in front

24:36

of you, it just becomes more real,

24:38

but it's all real. Yeah. And you

24:40

know, one tragedy is no more important

24:42

than another. I mean, you know, people

24:44

are going through all kinds of things all

24:46

the time. Yeah. But this was, you know, we

24:48

really went through something. It really made

24:51

me think. Well, those books are precious

24:53

then. So we will very safely

24:55

put them in there for you.

24:57

Great. Thank you. Thank you. We

24:59

have two more things to go,

25:01

Marsha. So one you want to

25:03

be one you'd like to forget.

25:05

Yes. Okay, so let's talk, let's do

25:07

the one I want to keep and

25:09

then we'll move on to forget. So

25:11

I would like to put some kind

25:14

of gaming suite in there. And by

25:16

that I mean a Nintendo switch, a

25:18

PlayStation 5. So as a child, I

25:21

used to We had a Commodore 64 and

25:23

I think we had a Nintendo, but I

25:25

wasn't that into gaming at that time. And

25:27

then in the pandemic, we had bought on

25:29

sale a Nintendo switch for my daughter that

25:31

we were going to give her on her

25:33

birthday in June. And then of course the

25:35

pandemic happened. And we had this Nintendo switch

25:37

in a box. And we were like, well,

25:40

we've got nothing to do. It's got to

25:42

come out. So our family became obsessed with

25:44

this game Animal Crossing. I don't know if

25:46

you're familiar with it. It really, yes. So

25:48

that game came out at just the

25:50

exact right moment. They made a killing

25:52

because everybody was home and playing this game.

25:54

And so we were building our island, you know,

25:57

I mean my husband, it's so funny I like

25:59

to mock him. now because he was

26:01

really into it and he would say

26:03

it until 2 3 a.m. building our

26:05

landscaping our island just making it just

26:07

so. Tropicana we called it which I

26:10

named after club Tropicana because I love

26:12

one. So Tropicana and then I moved

26:14

on to this open world game that

26:16

called Breath of the Wild it's it's

26:19

a princess elder yeah breath of the

26:21

wild and it's it's an open game

26:23

which means anything can happen you can

26:25

do anything and there are these challenges

26:27

and I never you know that's Tetris.

26:30

This was a real surprise to me

26:32

and I was more than anyone in

26:34

my family into this game and then

26:36

I completed Breath of the Wild and

26:38

then a new game came out two

26:41

years later. Also the same Zelda, Tears

26:43

of the Kingdom. I completed that game.

26:45

My whole family haven't even finished yet.

26:47

Somehow I've become this gamer and then

26:50

I bought my husband a PlayStation 5

26:52

for his birthday last year. Well I

26:54

just play Assassin's Creed on it and

26:56

you know Mario and just I mean...

26:58

I've just become a real gamer, and

27:01

my husband says I'm hilarious because I'm

27:03

shouting at the screen, and I'm, but

27:05

I just, hours can go by, and

27:07

you know, sometimes it's an actor when

27:09

you're not working, you have hours to

27:12

spare, right? And so, I watch far

27:14

less television and far less movies, which

27:16

isn't necessarily a good thing, because I

27:18

do love TV and movies, because I

27:21

play video games a lot. But it

27:23

seems that you're involved in it, you're

27:25

involved in it, you're part of fulfilling

27:27

that desire to perform, by performing through

27:29

this thing. I hadn't thought of it

27:32

that way, but you're absolutely right. I

27:34

love it. And there's a new assassin's

27:36

creed coming out. People listening to this

27:38

that are into game, it'll be like,

27:41

yeah, yeah, assassin's creed has existed for

27:43

years, but I just woke up to

27:45

it. And so I just finished the

27:47

last assassin's creed has come to it.

27:49

And so I just finished the last

27:52

assassin's creed, and now a new one's

27:54

coming out. It's really been kind of,

27:56

you know, you discover a new side

27:58

of yourself when you're growing. person. And

28:00

I was like, whoa, I had no

28:03

idea, right? You know, and look at

28:05

the pleasure. it gives me so much

28:07

joy I love it and actually the

28:09

pandemic as awful as it obviously was

28:12

for some of us who got through

28:14

that so very luckily I discovered a

28:16

love for tennis I didn't play tennis

28:18

as a kid I started playing tennis

28:20

I played two times a week now

28:23

I love tennis I always followed tennis

28:25

loosely my mom is a big tennis

28:27

fan but tennis and video games came

28:29

to me through the pandemic two things

28:32

that I enjoy so very very much.

28:34

So we could put a combination pandemic

28:36

discovery, gaming, sweet, tennis, I don't know.

28:38

I'll put ping pong on it. Don't

28:40

bother with ping pong, I'm no good

28:43

at that. Sadly I discovered my love

28:45

for red wine. So I went the

28:47

wrong way. I discovered that too. No,

28:49

I'm right there with you. I hadn't

28:51

had any wine. I had any wine.

28:54

I had some health issues when I

28:56

was in my 20s. and I had

28:58

to stop drinking wine and beer too

29:00

much sugar content to acid it. Yeah.

29:03

Well, I, you know, I threw that

29:05

to the wayside in the pandemic and

29:07

I definitely discovered red wine. It's funny

29:09

because I'll be in a restaurant with

29:11

friends and they'll bring the wine menu

29:14

because I do now drink wine. It's

29:16

lovely. But I don't, I'm so ignorant.

29:18

I'm like a grown woman who knows

29:20

not a thing about wine because I,

29:22

all those formative years I paid no.

29:25

I paid no attention. and I say

29:27

okay I'll have one of those. I

29:29

don't know. You think it's the waiter?

29:31

Oh lovely, do you know what I

29:34

really think you should set up a

29:36

little video of you gaming and shouting

29:38

at the screen. That's what my husband

29:40

says. That's it. Just set it up

29:42

and send it in to the people

29:45

who make the games and say I

29:47

want to be in this. Well you

29:49

know there's a whole channel, there's a

29:51

whole streaming service, I forget what it's

29:54

called, my daughter watches, people gaming. They

29:56

do? The thing is, is I need

29:58

to keep my image intact. I cannot

30:00

expose... myself in this way. You know,

30:02

my husband says you're hilarious. I said

30:05

no, they can't know. The very serious

30:07

Jenna Townsend. You bloody thing! It'll be

30:09

worse than that. The language is foul.

30:11

So no, we can't, we cannot, we

30:13

cannot. Fantastic though. Although I have done

30:16

a few of those games where you

30:18

just do the voice for the character

30:20

and then they add it on. Oh

30:22

yes, that's fun. Yeah, you can be

30:25

anybody. Yes, I did one years ago,

30:27

a motion capture one for the game,

30:29

hit Man 5. Very, very fun. A

30:31

lot of work. Yes, it's hard work.

30:33

But I didn't even game at that

30:36

time, I never played the game. And

30:38

now it's too old. Like I got

30:40

it out, I was like, oh, let

30:42

me see. No, it doesn't, the former,

30:45

doesn't work. All right. And so you've

30:47

got one thing. you could just go

30:49

yes I don't want that anymore thank

30:51

you yes well this was really difficult

30:53

because I have a lot of big

30:56

feelings right now about the state of

30:58

our world and all the things that

31:00

are going on and so those things

31:02

just kept you know and I was

31:04

like no no we're not doing that

31:07

this with you know we're not going

31:09

there but they kept intruding intruding so

31:11

I to bat them out of the

31:13

way so then it's a funny job

31:16

we do as actors so what I

31:18

want to put in there what I

31:20

want to forget is every role that

31:22

I got really close to getting, that

31:24

I didn't get, that I then had

31:27

to see the poster for, or the

31:29

eight seasons that it's on for, the

31:31

commercials and so on. Because, you know,

31:33

as actors, we audition for many parts.

31:35

And for the most part, you just

31:38

let them go. You audition, you don't

31:40

think about it anymore, you move on

31:42

with your life. However, and you know

31:44

this, there are the ones you get

31:47

really close to getting. It's between you.

31:49

and the person that got it. You

31:51

were this close to this wonderful opportunity.

31:53

They sit you in a room always

31:55

together, don't they? And they say, we've

31:58

arranged the contract before. and you know

32:00

what you're going to get and you

32:02

know how much it's going to be.

32:04

Ridiculate. Yes, that's the thing, here's what

32:06

you could win. Yes. Right. And so,

32:08

and then, you know, unfortunately

32:11

you don't get that job, and then

32:13

the poster comes up and the commercials

32:15

for me. And then it's very successful

32:17

and it's on for, you know, a

32:19

decade or whatever. And, you know, there

32:21

are certain shows that my family know

32:24

a persona non grata in our home

32:26

because... I recognize that that's not necessarily

32:28

healthy too, but it's so difficult. You

32:30

put your heart and soul into it

32:32

and then you get picked at the

32:35

post. There's no silver medal. You either

32:37

win the gold or you don't. And

32:39

then, you know, to see whoever is

32:41

lucky enough to get it, to go

32:43

on. to, you know, I mean, if

32:45

I could tell you some of the

32:47

great successes that are out there that

32:49

I was this close to getting, and

32:52

I realize I'm very fortunate, I have

32:54

a lovely career, but like I said

32:56

at the beginning, it is hard work,

32:58

it isn't, nothing is given, it's always

33:00

striving. And so, you know, I

33:02

am a little embittered at times, and

33:04

at the moment, there's a show that

33:06

I didn't get a few years ago,

33:08

and it's coming back on the great.

33:11

you know it just makes you it

33:13

just is a wait and it doesn't

33:15

feel good yeah and so I guess I just

33:17

want to put that in there yeah be good

33:19

for them to go because over

33:21

all these years I've bad times

33:23

where weeks and weeks of being

33:25

completely depressed at not getting something

33:27

just why because also yes because also

33:30

they spend weeks and weeks torturing you

33:32

they're so difficult to get to the

33:34

point where you are in that room

33:36

at that final stage and there's so

33:38

much that could come from it and

33:40

then when you don't get it it's

33:42

gutting it's absolutely gutting and then unlike

33:44

people who aren't actors or do jobs

33:47

in the public eye most people they

33:49

go for a job interview they don't

33:51

get it it's very upsetting of course

33:53

but then they don't have to see

33:55

the person shocking and jiving and dancing

33:57

you know doing the very thing that you

34:00

You could have won. Look at me

34:02

as a bank manager. Yeah. Exactly. It's,

34:04

our job is absolutely nuts. It's nuts.

34:06

Oh, it's just crazy. On the one

34:08

hand, you've got people coming up to

34:10

me in the street telling you how

34:12

much they enjoyed your work in such

34:14

a thing. And meanwhile, you just found

34:16

out that you didn't get the thing

34:18

because they're going another way, because this

34:20

person has more Instagram followers. Or whatever

34:22

it is, you know, the highs and

34:24

the lows of our industry are crazy.

34:26

I don't know if I'll ever stop

34:28

feet. I mean, I guess when you

34:30

get so close to a big thing

34:33

that you really wanted and you really

34:35

wanted and you don't get it, it,

34:37

it, it, it really hurts. It really

34:39

hurts and the constant reminder of... seeing

34:41

it on the television and you know

34:43

on big posters around the world so

34:45

I just I don't what is it

34:47

I'm putting in is it the feeling

34:49

I'm putting in I think it's this

34:51

bad feeling I just wish I didn't

34:53

have yeah I wish you could just

34:55

let it go just go well there

34:57

you go yeah I move on yes

34:59

and sometimes it's easier than others it

35:01

depends on what you wanted it and

35:03

sometimes I mean there's a show that's

35:06

been on the air for eight years

35:08

yeah And it shoots in Los Angeles,

35:10

that's the other thing, there's those details

35:12

too, because as I become, you know,

35:14

I've become a parent and so on,

35:16

I really would like to stay at

35:18

home. You know, there's nothing more wonderful

35:20

than going to work and coming home,

35:22

but for our job, we travel so

35:24

much. And so that one particular show,

35:26

it's been on the air now for

35:28

I mean, they've had an incredible run.

35:30

It's been on the air for eight

35:32

years shooting in Los Angeles. Maybe the

35:34

thing to think of is all those

35:36

other people who are looking at you

35:39

in something and going, I can't believe

35:41

it. So I think, I know an

35:43

actor, I was working with an actor

35:45

whose wife was auditioning for Lost and

35:47

he said it's extraordinary process. You have

35:49

to go through this whole thing and

35:51

agree this massive contract that's going to

35:53

be, they're joining in series three and

35:55

I think it might be my role.

35:57

It might be my role. Wow, exactly,

35:59

you're right. That is another way to...

36:01

I have been very fought, the fortunate

36:03

person to win the role. It's both

36:05

sides, and then also I've lost the...

36:07

roles. Speaking of Lost, that process was

36:09

quite arduous. I audition for three roles,

36:12

two other roles before I got the

36:14

role of Naomi. I audition for the

36:16

role of Juliet. I audition for the

36:18

role of Nikki, I audition for the

36:20

role of Nikki, I think she's called.

36:22

That was that couple that showed up

36:24

I think at the end of season

36:26

in season two, who... were on the

36:28

island, the plane, they were on the

36:30

plane, and then they were thieves or

36:32

something, and then they ended up, spoiler

36:34

alert, dead at the end of the

36:36

season and everyone. The audience hated these

36:38

characters, they got written off the show.

36:40

And then they brought me in a

36:43

third time. And that's no shade to

36:45

the actors, the people did not like

36:47

these characters for whatever reason. And then

36:49

they brought me in a third time

36:51

for Naomi. I mean, what is nice

36:53

is... that they did keep bringing me

36:55

back. It was like they did want

36:57

to find something for me. And then

36:59

they did. And it was incredible. Yeah,

37:01

I bet. But I had an agent

37:03

many years ago who always used to

37:05

say to me, don't worry Mike, that's

37:07

one door shutting, but that mean another

37:09

one will open. And I used to

37:11

go, yeah, yeah, sure, yeah, whatever. And

37:13

actually, do you know what, now when

37:16

I look back on things, I think,

37:18

well, I'm glad I didn't get that

37:20

because I got that. Or I did

37:22

that. Or I had the time to

37:24

play PlayStation. You know, I mean, sometimes

37:26

those things are precious as they seem

37:28

to be. They absolutely are precious time

37:30

with the family. If I'd gotten that

37:32

show that shot in LA, sure I'd

37:34

been home, but I wouldn't have this

37:36

formative time in my daughter's life. You

37:38

know, I've been in and out of

37:40

jobs, you know, doing different things, but

37:42

not that full long commitment. And those

37:44

hours of very long. And so, you

37:46

know, it's trying to find the flowers

37:49

where they are, right. here, which is

37:51

just, it's fabulous, such a British drama,

37:53

really, it's done in such a British

37:55

style, but it's, it's fantacity successful, isn't

37:57

it? It's amazing, lovely cast, and they

37:59

did say to me... We'll ask Dan

38:01

Ryan if you'll come on the thing.

38:03

I said he won't. He might, you

38:05

know. No, he sent me a message.

38:07

He won't? No, he doesn't like talking

38:09

about himself in public. I don't blame

38:11

him. Some people don't. That's very funny.

38:13

I love talking about myself in public.

38:15

Oh, Dan would be wonderful at this,

38:17

but yeah, I can appreciate that. You

38:19

know, this really felt like a challenge,

38:22

you know, at first, like the list,

38:24

like how, what, and it's been. so

38:26

enjoyable putting this together and thinking about

38:28

my life and the things that are

38:30

important and it's really been lovely. But

38:32

I do want to say about the

38:34

Bay, that cast is incredible and I

38:36

do, you said it's quintessentially English and

38:38

it really is and that's where my

38:40

heart is. That's where it all started

38:42

for me and I love coming back

38:44

and getting to do. You know, these

38:46

last few years I've been back a

38:48

lot, I was doing Cobra and also

38:50

the Bay and it's been, and it's

38:52

been great for my daughter because both

38:55

of those shows shot in Manchester, my

38:57

husband is a Mancunian and so we've

38:59

gotten to spend all this wonderful time

39:01

with the family. She really knows England,

39:03

which is great. Yeah. And that cast

39:05

have really become family, the cast of

39:07

the Bay. We're very close, and I

39:09

love the show, and I'm so excited

39:11

that finally, because we finished shooting this

39:13

last series ages ago, people are finally

39:15

going to get to see it, because

39:17

it's a good one. It's really good.

39:19

Well, I look forward to seeing it

39:21

myself. I hope I don't get a

39:23

job that gets in the way. There

39:26

you are, you see. Well, if you

39:28

do, you can watch it on catch

39:30

up. So it's fine. Yes, I can.

39:32

Okay. Honestly, Marsha has been really joyous

39:34

talking to you. Thank you so much.

39:36

Oh, thank you. You are so bright

39:38

and fun to talk to. So thank

39:40

you very much. Thank you so much.

39:42

Well, I'm thrilled to have been asked,

39:44

thank you, and I can't wait to

39:46

hear. You know, when I listen to

39:48

myself, I sound soo, my cutie, and

39:50

it's so funny. Like, people are like,

39:52

you haven't lost your accent, no, I

39:54

haven't, I've lived in Los Angeles for

39:56

over 20 years. I don't know how

39:59

I still sound so mank. Thank you

40:01

so much. You have been

40:03

listening to my time capsule

40:05

with me Mike Fenton Stevens

40:07

and my guest Marsha Thomason. The

40:09

new series of the Bay began

40:12

on UK TV yesterday if you're

40:14

listening to this on the day

40:16

it goes out. Anyway, it's on

40:18

ITV at 9 p.m. That's a

40:20

Sunday evening. Or of course you

40:23

can watch it on ITVX, on

40:25

catch-up anytime. Thank you for listening

40:27

to Marsha and me. If you

40:29

enjoyed it as much as I

40:31

did, then do subscribe if you

40:34

haven't already done so. We have

40:36

over 460 episodes already out there

40:38

for you to enjoy with all

40:40

sorts of people. If you have

40:42

any questions or you want to

40:44

suggest a future guest, do contact

40:46

me through social media or email

40:49

my time capsule at my time

40:51

capsule podcast@gmail.com. There's a lot of

40:53

that in that sentence. Anyway, the

40:55

theme tune you can hear playing

40:57

was written and performed by Pass

40:59

the Pease music and it's available

41:01

through all streaming sites and this

41:03

was a cast-off production which you

41:06

can support and get ad-free with

41:08

a bonus episode each week if you

41:10

subscribe to A-cast Plus. Check it out.

41:12

The whole thing was skillfully produced by

41:15

John Fenton Stevens. Right, all this talk

41:17

of the bay which of course is

41:19

a fabulous bay at Moorcom in Lancashire

41:22

which faces the... green hills of the

41:24

lake district in the distance. It's made

41:26

me wish I was on holiday again.

41:29

Yeah, I stayed in Walkham once. The

41:31

B&B described itself as a stone strode

41:33

from the beach. That's probably why all

41:36

the windows were broken. Anyway, I arrived

41:38

late and the door was locked so

41:40

I knocked and a window on the

41:42

first floor opened and the landlady stuck

41:44

her head out and said, yes. I

41:46

said, I'm staying here. She said, we'll

41:48

stay there then and shut the window. Bye.

41:58

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