When she was cast as a sex therapist raising a teenage son in the Netflix comedy “Sex Education” (which debuts its second season on Friday), Gillian Anderson didn’t need to do much research. “I’m a mom of three kids, I’ve been in therapy since I was 14 and I have sex,” said Anderson. “I spent more time working on the balance of her as an appropriate professional and an inappropriate parent.”

More preparation was required for her forthcoming role as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in another Netflix series, “The Crown” (created by Anderson’s real-life boyfriend, Peter Morgan). “I did a lot of research and reading,” she said. “I’m asking for as much help as humanly possible.”

Still, Anderson has found time to consume other cultural offerings and discussed some of her favorites in a recent telephone call from London, where she is based. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.

1. “The Fact of a Body” by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich “It’s weird: I’ve done a lot of dark, gruesome series, and I’ve never been able to stomach murder stories. But somehow in turning 50, I’ve become completely fascinated, if not obsessed, with them. This is a study of a particular crime, but it’s also a memoir.”