Actress Tuppence Middleton revealed on The Life of Bryony podcast that her OCD gripped her so fiercely that she feared her co-star’s children would have norovirus and pass it onto her during kissing scenes with him.
While playing Elizabeth Taylor opposite Johnny Flynn, who portrayed Richard Burton in The Motive and the Cue, Tuppence 38, was terrified that they would give the illness to their father, who would then give it to her during the intimate scenes.
Speaking to the Mail’s Bryony Gordon on her Life of Bryony podcast, the Downton Abbey star said: ‘I had to be in rehearsals very close to the actor playing Richard Burton, Johnny Flynn and you have to be touching them all the time, and you have to kiss.
‘And one of my big worries at that time was, well, I told him, and he was very open with me about it.
‘I said, “I’m worried that maybe your kids are going to get norovirus, and then you’re going to be up all night taking care of them.
‘“And then you’ll have it before I even know that you have it, while it’s incubating in your system.
Tuppence Middleton, 38, revealed that her OCD gripped her so fiercely that she feared her co-star’s children would have norovirus and pass it onto her during kissing scenes with him
While playing Elizabeth Taylor opposite Johnny Flynn (pictured together), who portrayed Richard Burton in The Motive and the Cue, Tuppence was terrified that they would give the illness to their father, who would then give it to her during the intimate scenes
‘“And then, when we’re rehearsing, you’re going to pass it to me, and a few days later, you’ll get symptoms—and I’ll already know that I have it.” You know, this kind of spiral of madness.’
Tuppence’s memoir, Scorpions, told how she has been so struck down by OCD that she opens and closes the door eight times before she goes out.
She said her OCD is a ‘constant background noise’ in her life which has affected her career significantly.
In fact, it led to her not wanting to do kissing scenes.
‘If you use tongues, there’s more chance for infection… that’s a high-risk area for someone with OCD’, she said.
The Sense 8 actress also revealed that the condition can become so overwhelming that she has had to ask her partner to check whether she has shut the stair gate for their child – despite knowing she has already done it.
She said: ‘The thing with OCD is that you can get to a point in your life where I’m sure there are people out there who have been completely cured of it but I feel like it’s something that I just live with at varying degrees at certain points.
‘The problem is that there’s always something new, always a new environment.
Speaking to the Mail’s Bryony Gordon on her Life of Bryony podcast, the Downton Abbey star said: ‘I had to be in rehearsals very close to the actor playing Richard Burton, Johnny Flynn and you have to be touching them all the time, and you have to kiss
Tuppence (left) has transformed into Elizabeth Taylor (right) for a new photoshoot as she prepares to portray her on stage
Tuppence’s memoir, Scorpions, told how she has been so struck down by OCD that she opens and closes the door eight times before she goes out
‘Every job I take on comes with a new set of people, a new setting, and new routines I have to establish, which, for me, means new checking behaviours.
‘Then, having a child became a new thing to fixate on. Is she getting ill? Is the stair gate shut?
‘I’ll stare at it for so long that I eventually have to ask my partner to check because my brain just won’t trust what my own eyes are seeing, even though I know I’ve shut it, I convince myself that I haven’t, and the fear spirals from there.’
Tuppence also told how intrusive thoughts, which is a hallmark of OCD, can take over her mind, making day-to-day tasks challenging.
‘An intrusive thought is something that obliterates all other thoughts,’ she explained.
‘It comes seemingly out of nowhere, not necessarily triggered by anything, but it disrupts your ability to go about your daily life.
‘It can be an obsession with illness, contamination, needing to count things a certain number of times, an obsession with odd or even numbers.
‘For some people, it’s explicit thoughts they don’t want, or fears they’ve harmed someone without realising. Religious thoughts, safety concerns—it’s a huge spectrum.
Tuppence will act alongside actor Johnny Flynn (left) as Elizabeth’s on-off husband Richard Burton (right) in the production
Tuppence, who welcomed her first child in 2022 with Swedish film director Måns Mårlind, admitted that OCD has made parenting particularly challenging (pictured together in 2022)
‘But at its core, it’s an unwanted, unpleasant thought that becomes so big you can’t ignore it.’
Tuppence, who welcomed her first child in 2022 with Swedish film director Måns Mårlind, admitted that OCD has made parenting particularly challenging.
‘Soft play is a bit of a nightmare,’ she said. ‘It’s chaotic, full of germs, kids running around everywhere, and you just have to let go.
‘But that’s hard for someone with OCD, you’re wired to control things, to make sure everything is safe, and kids are the opposite of that.’
However, she has also found moments of unexpected relief.
‘You’re so busy looking after this tiny person that you don’t have as much time to worry about whether you left the oven on so the focus shifts. It doesn’t make the OCD disappear, but it forces you to prioritise.’
Tuppence credits her partner with helping her manage the challenges of OCD and says that her relationships have become much easier once she has been honest with them about the condition – and she acknowledged how grateful she is for her loved ones to be patient.
She added: ‘Rushing out the door and making us late, I used to just brush it of, nut now, I say, “Actually, I’m struggling with the tap, or I’m really struggling with this candle, and it’s going to take me a little longer.”
‘It’s about fostering understanding.’
Strikingly, Tuppence admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic—a period of intense anxiety for many—actually provided an unusual sense of relief for her.
‘I felt that COVID was so scary and awful for everyone, but my OCD was actually better than it had ever been during that time,’ she said.
‘Finally, people were washing their hands and keeping their distance.
‘That common-sense thing, of course infection spreads less if you wash your hands, if you think about hygiene. All those things I had been obsessing over for years, suddenly everyone was hyper-aware of them, and I just felt very calm about it.’
To listen to the full interview with Tuppence Middleton, search for Life of Bryony wherever you get your podcasts now.
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