The actress and acclaimed author spoke to Hello! Fashion about her new horror film, acting alongside Alice Eve, and how entering her 30s has made her reassess her skincare…
by NATALIE SALMON
In partnership with LA ROCHE-POSAY
Actress Nell Hudson on writing, acting, and growing up on Outlander…
Be the author of your own story
ell Hudson, like any good millennial, is something of a renaissance woman. The actress,
who you might recognise as Laoghaire MacKenzie from Outlander, comfortably flits between the role of thespian and author, with a critically acclaimed book out.
Her debut book Just For Today which was released last year follows the story of Joni and her hedonistic peers, and is a engrossing portrayal of friendship in the roaring noughties. It has received rave reviews from journalists and bookworms alike.
“There's a disco ball on the cover and it sort of gave the impression of very much being about sort of young people going to parties, but it's really not,” Nell explains, “It's a book about self discovery, which I think is a very universal feeling and theme. So I think in a way the details of where she lives and the type of life that she lives aren't relevant. And I hope it transcends the sort of circumstances that she's in.”
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“I think the primary difference between acting and writing is quite literally, you are the author of your own story.”
ndeed it has, despite being about a group of admittedly privileged Londoners it has really managed to capture the nostalgic loss of innocence that happens in our early 20s. One comment on Nell’s Instagram says, “This is an incredible story! I couldn’t put it down! One of the most relatable books I’ve ever read in my life!” another adds, “Get it, people. It’s a great story and so well written. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring these characters’ lives.”
Many actresses are making headlines for turning their attention from the silver screen to the pen - think Phoebe Waller Bridge and James Bond and Emerald Fennell writing the screenplay for Promising Young Woman. “I think the primary difference between acting and writing is quite literally, you are the author of your own story… with acting it is ironically a very passive job in that you sort of wait to get given an audition… and then you wait to get a role and then when you play the role, you're saying someone else's lines that someone has written for you and you're being directed by someone else,” Nell tells us through sips of her coffee, her dog Maggie who she brought to her Hello! Fashion Digital Cover shoot sitting protectively on her lap.
ell has spent a third of her life on the
show which gained her a legion of fans, “That was my first big job out of drama school. I was 21 when I got that show. I am 32 now. It's been like a decade of my life.” The Oxford School of Drama graduate wrapped season seven last year, which returned to our screens last month (June 16 2023). “It's bizarre because each series for me has been a milestone of where I was in my life at that time. So it's this really interesting way of like, chronological. My own life is in parallel with, without land and what I was doing or professionally.” For those of you who haven’t watched, the historical TV drama is based on the Outlander novels by Diana Gabaldon. Without giving too much away it follows the story of a former Second World War military nurse, Claire, who finds herself transported back in time to 1743. Nell deftly plays anti-heroine Laoghaire MacKenzie, Claire’s arch-nemesis and rival.
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She’ll be fine to watch her next film however. The Queen Mary stars herself and Alice Eve on the legendarily haunted 1937 ocean liner, “They had all these sort of crazy mystical ghost stories surrounding it. It seemed to have bad stories and it sort of survived several bomb attacks that it shouldn't have survived. So people think it's just slightly kind of supernatural.” The film is directed by Irish director Gary Shaw who wanted the film to be seventies style, a time when there was a huge resurgence of horror films, “Gary is a visionary… It's visually stunning, it looks like the shining,” Nell reveals. The ship is reportedly haunted by over 100 spirits, the most infamous being the ghost in Stateroom B340, where paranormal activity is so frequent and intense that members of the crew refused to go inside when it was active. For added authenticity, the film was shot on the actual ship, “It's a bit like a sort of time capsule. It's all perfectly preserved as to how it was, with elaborate patterned carpets and mahogany corridors.”
hile writing a book may seem to most like an ambitious endeavour, it was actually where Nell thought she’d find herself first, “I didn't think you could do acting as a job. I thought actresses were like just these movie star aliens that lived in Hollywood. I didn't realise it was a real job…. I knew that writing was a job you could do before acting was a job you could do when I was a child.”
In Nell’s case, writing is a family affair. Her grandfather co-founded a magazine with George Orwell called Horizon Magazine and her mother is a best selling novelist with several books on the Sunday Times bestseller list including After The Party and My Former Heart. “My mum was obviously my most terrifying reader. Nothing scared me more than showing the book to my mother.” Nell waited to show the book to her literary agent before she dared let her mother have a peek at it, “She was incredibly complimentary about it. I relaxed after that,” laughs Nell who is juggling getting her makeup done with trying to make polite eye contact with me as the camera crew prepares loudly behind us - clearly she’s used to the backstage fuss.
Nell has picked up everything she learned about beauty and looking after her alabaster skin on set. She wears sunscreen, “pretty much every single day,” she confirms. “I’m constantly nabbing little tricks and secrets from makeup artists and hair artists that I work with.” Nell was brought up on a farm, away from the glitz and glamour of the industry she finds herself in, “My mother was very intellectual and not one of these mothers that taught me how to look after my skin and hair and all that sort of thing. I'm very grateful for her but she wasn't that type of mum… So I kind of learned how to look after my skin and my hair from being an actor and from being on set. That was my education.”
Sounds like the perfect summer to us.
ow she’s a beauty devotee, “It feels
like an act of self love to really look after your own skin. I wear SPF Factor 50 every single day, treat myself to the odd facial and I just love skin products. They're so yummy and smell so good… it's a bit of an indulgence.”
Unlike most people I’ve interviewed, I actually do ask Nell about her skincare routine, because it’s genuinely glowing even on set at 9am. “I've got very sensitive skin that can flare up easily, I get rosacea sometimes.” The actress waxes lyrical about the importance of sunscreen, “La Roche Posay’s SPF is just so gentle and nourishing without being overly heavy or scented or chemically, I can't wear synthetic products. Both my dad and my brother have had, luckily benign melanomas, so I have to pay attention to that because it's in my family... we have very pale skin.”
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The actress possesses an unmistakably raphaelite quality, alabaster skin, flaxen hair and a hauntingly anachronic look. The distinctive features give her an ethereal appearance, so it's no wonder she gets roles in thrillers and aforementioned period dramas, “I have an old fashioned face and have a huge overbite and I think it makes me look like I'm from the past somehow,” she laughs. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was her first horror casting, “which was so gory. I can't really watch that film. I love horror films, but I like paranormal horror films, like ghosts and situations.”
m constantly nabbing little tricks and secrets from makeup artists and hair artists that I work with
"I'
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“I'm wearing less and less makeup as I get older because I'm finding it just nice to look more fresh… I'll do a little bit of concealer just on my nose because my nose is literally like Rudolph the rednosed reindeer at all times, and maybe under my eyes and then a bit of mascara, lip balm and I’m good to go.”
Nell's skin was prepped for the shoot using La Roche-Posay products
Dress by Zimmermann
Earrings by JLC
Bracelet by Monica Vinader
Dress by Bernadette
Shoes by Aquazzura
Dress by Zimmermann, Earrings by JLC, Shoes by Dune
“I didn't think you could do acting as a job. I thought actresses were movie star aliens that lived in Hollywood.”
The story follows two parallel couples, one couple in the 1930s, played by Nell and actor Wil Coban and one parallel couple in the present day played by Alice Eve and Joel Fry. “And we basically haunt the s*** out of them,” jokes Nell, “So that's what I do in a beautiful 1930s gown.” Because Nell and Alice were playing characters in different time periods, they only crossed paths a few times on set, “She [Alice] was really lovely, and I found out she had read my book. Turns out she can also add the Star Trek star to her growing book/fan club, “she was very kind and complimentary about it.”
W
I
Bracelet by JLC
Shoes by Sophia Webster
Dress by Millia London
Earrings by Astley Clarke
Rings by Astley Clarke
Shoes by Aquazzura
Corset top by HalfPenny
Skirt by HalfPenny
Necklaces by Annoushka
Earrings by Annoushka
It’s a wonder she has any time to put herself together; on top of her book, Outlander and an upcoming film to promote, she has more writing underway, “I've just signed with a screenwriting agent as of this year and have been going for some meetings. I'm writing a few projects… so hopefully watch this space.”
Nell is one of those classic over achievers, but without the cliche annoyingness you’d expect. “If I was only interested in one thing I would do one thing. But I'm not. I think to be honest, acting is such a feast or famine career that you have to have some other stuff going on. Otherwise you'd go mad. I think creativity is an energy and it needs to come out in some form or another.”
So how does one very busy millennial unwind over the warm months? Well, if you’re Nell you don’t. She is moving house with her boyfriend, who works in TV production, so any plans of far-flung holidays are out the window, “My plan is actually to have a bit of a staycation summer and just do up my new house and settle in. I've lived in London for 10 years, and I've never had a garden so I think I'm just going to be enjoying sitting out there in my own private little tiny patch of green.”
m wearing less and less makeup as I get older, because I'm finding it just nice to look more fresh.
"I'
"
“I think the primary difference between acting and writing is quite literally, you are the author of your own story.”
Indeed it has, despite being about a group of admittedly privileged Londoners it has really managed to capture the nostalgic loss of innocence that happens in our early 20s. One comment on Nell’s Instagram says, “This is an incredible story! I couldn’t put it down! One of the most relatable books I’ve ever read in my life!” another adds, “Get it, people. It’s a great story and so well written. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring these characters’ lives.”
Many actresses are making headlines for turning their attention from the silver screen to the pen - think Phoebe Waller Bridge and James Bond and Emerald Fennell writing the screenplay for Promising Young Woman. “I think the primary difference between acting and writing is quite literally, you are the author of your own story… with acting it is ironically a very passive job in that you sort of wait to get given an audition… and then you wait to get a role and then when you play the role, you're saying someone else's lines that someone has written for you and you're being directed by someone else,” Nell tells us through sips of her coffee, her dog Maggie who she brought to her Hello! Fashion Digital Cover shoot sitting protectively on her lap.
Dress, £1,375, Frame
“I didn't think you could do acting as a job. I thought actresses were movie star aliens that lived in Hollywood.”
ell has spent a third of her life on the
show which gained her a legion of fans, “That was my first big job out of drama school. I was 21 when I got that show. I am 32 now. It's been like a decade of my life.” The Oxford School of Drama graduate wrapped season seven last year, which returned to our screens last month (June 16 2023). “It's bizarre because each series for me has been a milestone of where I was in my life at that time. So it's this really interesting way of like, chronological. My own life is in parallel with, without land and what I was doing or professionally.” For those of you who haven’t watched, the historical TV drama is based on the Outlander novels by Diana Gabaldon. Without giving too much away it follows the story of a former Second World War military nurse, Claire, who finds herself transported back in time to 1743. Nell deftly plays anti-heroine Laoghaire MacKenzie, Claire’s arch-nemesis and rival.
The actress possesses an unmistakably raphaelite quality, alabaster skin, flaxen hair and a hauntingly anachronic look. The distinctive features give her an ethereal appearance, so it's no wonder she gets roles in thrillers and aforementioned period dramas, “I have an old fashioned face and have a huge overbite and I think it makes me look like I'm from the past somehow,” she laughs. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was her first horror casting, “which was so gory. I can't really watch that film. I love horror films, but I like paranormal horror films, like ghosts and situations.”
N
"I'm constantly nabbing little tricks and secrets from makeup artists and hair artists that I work with"
Sounds like the perfect summer to us.
La Roche-Posay Anthelios Invisible Fluid SPF50+
SHOP HERE
La Roche-Posay Anthelios Invisible Fluid SPF50+
SHOP HERE
La Roche-Posay Anthelios Invisible Fluid SPF50+
SHOP HERE
Dress by Zimmerman, Earrings by JLC, Bracelet by Monica Vinader,
Bracelet by JLC, Shoes by Sophia Webster
Corset top by HalfPenny, Skirt by HalfPenny, Necklaces by Annoushka,
Earrings by Annoushka
