As she makes her Royal Shakespeare Company directorial debut, Selina Cadell talks to Maureen Paton about coaching Sigourney Weaver and lessons learned from a four-decade career

By Selina Cadell

Excerpt:

In a strikingly varied career, the actor, director and drama teacher Selina Cadell has an intriguing sideline: as an occasional acting coach to Sigourney Weaver. Who knew that the star of four Alien films, three Ghostbusters films, Gorillas in the Mist, The Ice Storm et al would need, or indeed want, to be coached? Yet it has emerged quite naturally out of her 42-year friendship with Cadell, who explains: “I’ve noticed that some directors are very loath to direct big stars, so I think just to have someone they can sit down and talk the story through with is very valuable – since stars have to carry a film and there’s a huge amount riding on their shoulders.” (Sigourney Weaver later confirms to me over the phone from New York that “directors are afraid to direct you if you’re well-known because they assume you think you know everything - but we all need to be directed. When I played an autistic woman in the film Snowcake, Selina’s advice gave me a lot of courage.”)

See all…