In the age of expedited trend cycles and public performance online, duality is a challenge. There is a unique pressure to persistently shed the old (the outdated) and reintroduce the new (the current), suffocating the little time left to hone separate, perhaps every contrasting, elements of oneself. Algorithms push for a full-fledged embrace of a specific archetype or aesthetic, giving one a mere five-second warning before the next season of inspirations, standards, and expectations comes full-speed ahead. 

Emily Barber has found home in duplexity. Perhaps as an actress specialized in film, television, and theater, she’s never had a choice. She demonstrates a keen balance between whichever worlds she’s inhabiting at once, unafraid to reach into the extremes of one character without worrying about sacrificing the depth of the other. This balancing act was on display this past year—Barber was filming her most recent project, crime drama series MobLand, while performing onstage in the musical Operation Mincemeat at the West End. One character (Alice), a multi-faceted and mysterious woman, and the other (Ewen Montagu), a self-absorbed brinksman. 

One could consider Barber’s entire career a balancing act, a non-stop pursuit of new worlds and perspectives. This constant flow, emulating the adrenaline-driven journey of a live performance, has taken Barber from beloved British dramas Bridgerton and Industry to comedy series Dreamland to period thriller-drama The Alienist. The most recent stop, MobLand—which is releasing new episodes each Sunday on Paramount+—places viewers in the heart of a power struggle between two warring crime families in South London: the Harrigans and the Stevensons. Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan, crowned jewels of acting royalty, play the heads of the Harrison family, whose dynamics only complicate with the introduction of their family “fixer,” portrayed by Tom Hardy. 

Fresh off the global premiere of MobLand, Barber is exhilarated but exhausted. She shares her relief for a sunny London day (finally), and her excitement for her upcoming trip to Sardinia. Despite her ceaseless workload this past year—and our thorough conversation rehashing the journey—she maintains an amiability and introspectiveness only possessed by an artist elated by their craft. “Maybe I just enjoy the extremes of everything,” she reflects, a simple way to sum up her whirlwind of a year. 

How did you bring in past experiences from working on other dramas—whether Industry or The Alienist—to help inform your performance for this series?

This certainly felt like the most unique and different process to anything I’ve ever worked on before. Purely based on the speed of it—in the fact that we were working within a quite tight deadline—but also the scripts were being written as we went. So, you could never chart your journey; you never knew where it was going. Nobody did. I was like, ‘Surely Helen [Mirren] and Pierce Brosnan must know what’s happening.’ But nobody did. The way that Guy Ritchie works is really unique in that he loves improvisation, sometimes doing the script, sometimes just throwing it out the window and trying something else. So really, it was a completely new process for me. It made me not prep in the same way or turn up to set in the same way. I think you had to be prepared to just play on the day and be ready to react from your fellow actor. Also because the scripts were being written, you didn’t have a huge amount of time with the scripts anyway.

It was quite exciting and quite an exhilarating way of working—and I actually think that’s where the magic happens—where it’s not too planned or formulaic…All of us just kind of went for it and embraced the chaos, I think.

‍You’ve also done comedies, such as Dreamland and Backstairs Billy. Do you find embodying comedy to be more challenging, or come more naturally, than drama performances?

It comes to me more naturally, I’d say. I’ve done a lot of comedy on stage, like Backstairs Billy and I’ve just done Operation Mincemeat. I do love an audience reaction. You can feel it when you’ve got the beats and when you’re in flux, in flow with the audience. I find [in] live performance and certainly live comedy, that’s the time where I find it most exciting.

I have been really challenged dramatically as well…I enjoy the extremes of both. Actually, the dream is that you can keep doing both. You can keep doing comedies and tragedies and yet [still be] constantly challenging yourself in all those angles. The actors that I admire are the ones that seem to be able to make you laugh and cry effortlessly, and Helen Mirren is certainly one of those actors.

Industry was really challenging, dramatically, and that felt like a play because we were doing night shoots and these long scenes of screaming at each other, kind of fighting, making up, seducing each other, crying, all these emotions. I think it’s the heights that you can go to in that, that I enjoy as well. So maybe I just enjoy the extremes of everything.

You have a diverse portfolio in television, film, and theater. What is your experience preparing for each type of performance, and have you noticed any differences or similarities in those processes?

I mean obviously with theater you get rehearsal, which is great. You mainly get a month to play around with it. I love tech rehearsals in theater because you get to take your time and often that’s where you really work it out. And sometimes—I mean I’ve often spoken about how Guy Ritchie [and] working on MobLand, had a theatrical feeling to it because he creates an atmosphere on set that feels quite alive, like live performance.

I sometimes struggle with TV because oftentimes, as soon as it is ‘cut,’ you get taken back to your trailer or you get taken somewhere [off set] and your energy drops, and then you’re immediately back [on set] and you have to try and keep getting back to that place. Whereas, actually, Guy Ritchie’s way of working feels more like theater because it’s quick and there’s adrenaline and he creates quite an elevating energy and a dynamic on set. It creates an adrenaline, which I think is what I respond to the most.

This may be like asking you to choose a favorite child—but would you say you have a favorite kind of media when it comes to acting?

It is the favorite child question. I’d say that because I went into acting from a theatrical point—like my dream was to be a lead in a West End musical when I was a kid—I never really thought of myself doing screen work. And so this has been this whole new adventure that I probably never imagined I’d be doing. So as much as I would say theatre is my first love, I’d say I am actually falling in love with screen now.

Did you experience a specific moment of revelation when you thought, ‘I should pursue acting professionally,’ or did it feel kind of like an innate calling that you were naturally bound to do since you were younger?

I’d never made a decision, so maybe it’s always been something I’ve been doing. I did a lot of dance as a three-year-old, I wanted to go to ballet, and continuing to do that felt like a way to express myself. So I then forced my mum so that I could go to youth theatre and I found it so fun. I remember being like, ‘This is so fun. Imagine doing this all the time.’

I think when I was 14 I joined the National Youth Music Theatre, which is the national youth theatre in this country…They pick 30 people from the entire country and you do a production. That was the first time that I thought, “Okay, I must be pretty half-decent to have got into this.” And suddenly, you find your tribe. Most of those people are still my best friends now.

My dad will say I did Jesus Christ Superstar when I was about nine, and I got cast as Judas. He says that’s the moment [when he thought]: “She’s got something. I don’t know what it is, but...”

Do you have any strategies to find moments of intentional relaxation and peace amidst working on different projects where you’re being pulled by different genres and different elements?

You’ve asked me at a time where I went from doing a play in the West End—I probably had a tiny gap—and then went straight into rehearsing for a West End musical and then filming MobLand. So, I actually have not had a break in quite a long time, and I definitely know that my body and soul need it. I think it is incredible to be in this much…I think when you are in that flow and when you’re busy and you are being creatively challenged from every angle, I think the best work happens.

At the same time, I do think your body needs a break.  I do always say to any actor, young actor coming through, I’m like, “Just go on—if you want to go on holiday, go on holiday, or spend time with your family.” That’s really important. 

How do you continue to find inspiration around you, and how do you continue to unveil new layers of yourself, both as a performer and as an individual?

I’m really lucky that I get to do all the genres. [I’m] always finding new challenges, and being conscious of not wanting to play the same role twice. Often when you’ve been doing comedy, immediately what you want to be doing is the opposite. Somebody once told me about how actors, if we watch TV and film or theater, a lot of the time the critical part of our brain can’t switch off, because it’s our medium. So that’s not really a way to nourish ourselves creatively. A lot of the time art galleries, going to the ballet, going to music concerts, experiencing new cultures, all those things influence [me and my inspiration]. And just watching people a lot of the time…The parts I often get are the ones that I can see, or I know someone [who is similar to that role]. You really do need to be living life to meet those people to then recreate them. I think it’s really important to watch people, so I try and do as much of that to nourish myself in a creative way and not just always hang out with actors.

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Photographed by David Reiss

Styled by Anastasia Busch

Written by Julia King

Hair: Alexis Day using Olaplex ‍

Makeup: Alexis Day using Armani Beauty