Natalie Dormer doesn’t scare easily.
She once shaved her head for a role.
She has a tattoo on the inside of her left forearm that reads: FEAR IS THE MIND-KILLER.
All of this was to prep for the April 2014 London marathon.
It’s a reasonable questionfor those who aren’t acquainted with the 33-year-old actress’sunstoppable drive.
After all, she’d never competed in a race that long before.
“My way of surviving it was a nap at lunch,” she says.
“But you have such long days that if you don’t, you really fall down from it.
So, juicing before and eating later is, for me, a good nutritional compromise.”
To be a successful theater actor, she also believes it’s important to train like an athlete would.
“You have to be fit.”
Dormer is that rare breed of actress who doesn’t work out with a personal trainer.
Emotional support from her colleagues has proved equally important to her success.
“This amazing thing happens where people come out of the woodwork,” she says.
And everyone on-set in the morning is, like, ‘How far did you run this weekend?’
The support was really wonderful."
She’s found support in other unlikely places as well.
The show is all about striving for powerwhy wouldn’t politicians like the show?"
“You know what they say,” says Dormer of her resilient character.
“Third time lucky!”
Read the rest of this feature by downloading the digital edition of SELF below.
Top: Dress, Versace; 888-721-7219 for similar styles.
Circle earrings, Trademark, $198;Trade-mark.com.
Earrings, $965;RobertoCavalli.com
Above: “We do have a laugh.
Styled by Melissa Ventosa Martin.
Photo Credit: Bjarne Jonasson