Me and Mr Holmes: Laura Linney interview

As much at ease on stage as on film, actress Laura Linney’s latest role sees her back on screen with Ian McKellan in a new film about her favourite detective, Sherlock Holmes.. Interview: James Mottram. Picture: Getty

Dressed in a black cardigan, skirt and buttoned-up blue blouse, Laura Linney arrives looking as movie-goers know her: sparkling, blonde, slimline. In her new film, Mr Holmes, the American actress plays the frumpy British housekeeper to Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective. Her hair is greying, her waistline expansive.

It has been a while since Linney, now 51, has been in a major role on screen. She laughs, when I ask if she gained weight ...