Williams: 'Ghost' was hard but rewarding'

Olivia Williams has revealed that she cherished working under the direction of Roman Polanski on The Ghost.

The 41-year-old actress said that she wanted to be involved in the film from day one because it would enable her to work for "one of the greatest and most interesting directors alive today".

Her interest in taking the role of the wife of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) was coupled with a slight trepidation at the expected parallels drawn between the character and Tony Blair. In the film, Lang is haunted by recriminations over war crimes and is holed up on an island with his wife, his memories and a ghost-writer (Ewan McGregor).

"If you attempt for the moment to clear your mind of the modern parallels," Williams told The Observer, "the character on the page is just a f**king gift. They just don't come along that often, women of that, of my, age. And, without giving away too much, to have Roman Polanski create your denouement for two hours – again, thank you, Lord."

Williams added that working for the Oscar-winning director, who is currently under house arrest in Switzerland for a decades-old child sex charge, was "unnerving" at times, especially given his reputation as being tough on casts. "Fortunately, the day before I went on set, Ewan did an impersonation of him doing his screaming fit, so when it first happened it wasn't quite the stab to the heart," she said.

"It was for all of us I think a hard but rewarding experience, to be looked back on with smiles. And for me, always hoping to look for an interesting role… at my age, to be able to say something other than, 'Dinner's ready, honey' was an absolute gift."

The Ghost, based on the Robert Harris novel of the same name and known as The Ghost Writer in the US, is due to be released on April 16 in the UK.