Keira Knightley feels self-conscious about her "bad skin".
The 26-year-old face of Chanel admits she has a whole host of hang-ups when it comes to her much-photographed face.
She said: "I've never seen myself as being attractive in that glamorous way.
"I'm incredibly self-conscious about the fact that I get bad skin. Actually, I'm incredibly self-conscious about a lot of parts of it but, equally, I'm aware that it works in certain environments and for certain things.
"If you're using your face, if you're selling it, then you've become so aware of the flaws because people tell you. And they do so brusquely. So then you start seeing it."
She continued: "I'm not saying that I look in the mirror all the time and go: 'Oh my God, that's hideous!' I can look at myself and think: 'Oh, good. You look good today,' or 'Holy f**k. You look like s**t today'."
Q. Meryl, you said earlier that you were wearing a brand of shoes favored by Margaret Thatcher.
A. Yes.
Q. Do you think wearing those shoes brought you some good luck? And also, Mrs. Thatcher liked a little whiskey at night. Are you going to have a couple tonight to celebrate?
A. I am going to start with a couple. And then we will see if I can walk on the Ferragamos. Yes. Mrs. Thatcher wore those shoes. Yes, thank you.
Q. In researching your role, did you have a chance to meet Margaret Thatcher?
A. No, I haven't. Really, she has retired from public life almost entirely now in the last two years. So, no, I didn't. But I studied her, and I studied, you know, there's so much archival footage. And then the challenge was to imagine her present life, and that was completely an active imagination on Abi Morgan, the writer's part, and my part, but there was a lot of freedom in that, but also responsibility to a real person and to history.
So, it was — it was really very, very satisfying as an actor, as an artist, to make a film that starts out about Margaret Thatcher and ends up being really about all of us. So, that's all I'll say about that.
Colin Firth reveals where he keeps his Oscar and what qualities make a good spy
Did you watch the 1979 television series? Colin: I can't remember if I watched it all. I wasn't in front of the telly much at that time, but I remember its presence. It's just one of those things where it was just alive, in the air, whether you were watching it or not everyone was talking about. I remember my father talking about it. I remember friends talking about it, and seeing some episodes and being absolutely clueless as to what was going on. And thinking it was all probably too grown up and complex for me.
Do you have the qualities to make a good spy? C: I think it depends on which version of the spy we're talking about, in the mythology. A spy is something which lends itself to romanticisation, it's fairly polarised really because you do have your romantic spy whether it be Bond or the private eyes of the noir era, the Raymond Chandler figures, all of whom have loneliness and solitude as part of the romance. Through to Bond whose solitary nature is part of his romance as well. It's interesting that he's designed as someone you want to be. Boys grow up wanting to be like him, to be that unattached and dispassionate and ruthless, but in fact we're describing a sociopath. So it's an interesting thing to aspire to.
Is there anything of the period in the film that casts its light back upon today? C: I think in a world where you're not quite sure who's listening, I think it's probably more alive today than ever. I think because of the extraordinary technical facilities we have to spy on each other... we have CCTV all over the streets, which we just put up with. I think all of us would have been horrified - if we'd had a crystal ball in 1978 - and seen that we'd have a camera on every street corner and we'd put up with it. That we have journalists who are prepared to listen to our phone calls and read out e-mails, there's legal means by which the authorities can actually monitor your correspondence. I'm sure that was true then but it's much more easy to do it stealthily now. I'm not impugning the way that they go about their business but there are legal means by which they can and the that we're electronic now means that we are more vulnerable and from what I understand people who work in intelligence and who work in organised crime tend to write things down on little bits of paper because digital media is not to be trusted, it's easy to hack.
How much has winning the Oscar for your performance in The King's Speech changed things for you? C: There are two ways of looking at it if an immense piece of good fortune lands on you like that. One is to feel pressure and become paralysed by it and say you have to do everything right - and you won't. One doesn't do everything right, it's a roll of the dice every time. I think that's a dangerous way to go. Or you can say 'I've got that in the bag, I can do what I want,' and use it as a sense of freedom.
Here’s what the 34-year-old Haywire and Shame actor had to share with Josh Brolin (the two co-starred in 2010’s Jonah Hex):
On taking time off from work: “I just went off for two months traveling around Europe on a motorcycle and pretty much turned my phone off. I did 5,000 miles with my dad. We went through Holland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Italy … and then I did Spain and France by myself.”
On choosing roles: “I like characters that are flawed because we all are. When people break up in a script, you think, Oh, right, there must be tears shed here. But maybe the fact of the matter is that they’re both laughing. People are complicated. Our behavior towards one another is strange. So I like opportunities to investigate that.”
Published: Monday, Jan 9, 2012, 8:44 IST
By Akansha Naval-Shetye | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
Colin Firth
Not much has changed professionally or personally yet, for actor Colin Firth, who won his first Academy Award last year for The King’s Speech. The actor who’s best known for his roles in films like A Single Man, The English Patient, Shakespeare in Love and Bridget Jones's Diary among several others, is well aware of the Indian film industry as well and recalls working with Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai Bachchan too. Here the actor talks about his recent release Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and also reveals his Bollywood plans.
Has life changed personally and as an actor post your Oscar win?Not immediately, it’s still the same.
And the criteria for choosing your films?No, the idea hasn’t changed at all for choosing the film either. I still go through the same pattern of selecting work. Not specific and certainly not immediately. I think one would have to look back at everyone’s life and see if things changed. It’s very hard to measure a change because ‘a change’ as opposed to what.
What attracted you to the role in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy?I was actually the first of the current cast involved. What attracted me was a no-brainer — certainly if you look at what else was around at the time. The idea of doing it seemed very cool to me. It wouldn’t have done ten years back after a fantastic TV series, it would have seemed suicidal and also would have been too close to that time for it to be retro and far enough on to feel a little out of date, possibly. But I think now, 30 or so years on from the series, it seemed like a really interesting time to do it. When I heard it was Tomas Alfredson and John Hurt and Gary (Oldman), it was absolutely irresistible.
How was your experience working on this film?It was truly amazing. About Tomas Alfredson what I liked is the fact that he didn’t dwell on things too much. He didn’t overly shoot things. He was also very clear.And on working with other actors, they all are my favourites, so I enjoyed every bit of the time shooting for the film. I portray the role of Bill Hayden, he enjoys life. He’s also vain; he cultivates certain eccentricities that are part of his vanity. He’s not just a spy, he’s a bohemian, the artist, the one who has a slightly flamboyant twist to the way he dresses and rides his bicycle into the office. So yeah, there’s somebody who makes use of irony which is probably very useful if you’re a spy. But honestly, I would’ve played any part in this film; because of the project as a whole appealed to me, the whole aura of it appealed to me. Have you read the original John Le Carre novel on which the film is based? No, I’d never read the book. Obviously, I’ve read it now, more than once. You have worked with Aishwarya Rai in The Last Legion. Are you clued in to the Indian film industry? Yes, I have worked with Aishwarya in 2007; I know she is termed as the most beautiful lady of Indian cinema. I am also aware that the Indian cinema is making news with making reality cinema and reaching the international festivals.
Would you consider any film offer here?Can’t say it depends.
You are also actively involved with several charitable organisations. Which is the issue closest to heart?You can’t choose from your good deeds, it’s just that I like working towards all the issues as it gives me immense satisfaction and I am giving what I received, the love and a thanking gesture. For me it’s a way of saying ‘Thank you’ and going closer to God.
In theaters now, TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY is the big-screen adaptation of JOHN LeCARRE’S best-selling 1978 Cold War spy novel. Directed by TOMAS ALFREDSON, the film stars GARY OLDMAN, JOHN HURT, MARK STRONG, COLIN FIRTH, TOBY JONES and BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH. Probably best known for his Oscar-winning role in last year’s THE KING’S SPEECH, FIRTH also charmed audiences as the handsome leading man in such romantic projects as PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY and A SINGLE MAN. During our recent interview, FIRTH confessed to wanting a break from acting and that it took this story to get him back to work.
Tom Hiddleston strikes a pose for an exclusive JustJared.com photo shoot in New York City taken earlier this year.
The 30-year-old English actor can soon be seen on the big screen in the Steven Spielberg-directed flick War Horse, out Christmas Day.
Tom sat down with us to talk about his horse-riding skills, Avengers co-stars, and fanatical Tumblr fandom.
Just Jared: Hi Tom, nice to meet you! How long are you in town for?
TH: Good to meet you! Literally the weekend.
JJ: Are you in between filming projects?
TH: I’m just about to start a filming of Henry V, the Shakespeare play. It’s kind of like Shakespeare’s gladiator. It’s about a king who led his country into war against the French. The difference about Henry V is that he was at the front of the line and in English history, he somehow somehow strategically managed through this enormous feat of courage and intellect. It was something like the French army had three or four times the number of his troops. His troops were tired, suffering from dysentery, they’d been away from home for a week, they literally had…it was 9:00 and if we don’t fight now, that’s it, this is the only time. The French were like, ‘Oh, we could just have another croissant, we can do a little of this…’ and Henry was like, ‘Right, they’re not gonna attack us, we’re gonna attack them’ and it was literally like 300 against 3,000.
JJ: And you’re doing three of these movies?
TH: Yes.
JJ: And is it three different roles?
TH: No, it’s the same role, amazingly so. In the history plays, he starts off as Prince Hal, who’s the only son of Henry IV, and he’s a kind of rebellious drunk, basically. He’s just not what a prince should be. He’s kind of out there, rocking it out, being a punk, and hanging in the pub with lowlifes and prostitutes.
JJ: That’s the best kind of prince for TV and movies!
TH: Exactly! And the interesting thing about Hal is that he then grows up into this incredible king. It’s a good journey to play.
JJ: And when does that start shooting?
TH: It starts shooting as soon as I get home [in November].
JJ: Are you shooting all three consecutively? Are you shooting out of order?
TH: We’re shooting Henry V first, and then Henry IV part one and two in January, February, and March. It’s really exciting. Sam Mendes is producing it and it’s really part of a celebration of British culture because with the London Olympics, obviously people are going to be watching. So the BBC have wisely and brilliantly, I think, decided to program. A lot of the best British comedians are going to be doing some comedy stuff, the best actors, the best writers, there’ll just be a huge push, which is quite exciting. I think it’ll be airing here too, I guess NBC or something?
JJ: What was your childhood like growing up in London?
TH: That’s a big question! It was great. My father is from Glasgow, so I have a lot of Scot in me, which is quite useful sometimes. My mum is from East Anglia, which is sort of the bump on the far eastern coast of the UK and I have two sisters, who I love very much, one older, one younger. My childhood was pretty good.
JJ: Your younger sister’s an actress, what does your older sister do?
TH: She’s a journalist, and she lives in India, actually.
JJ: Do you and your younger sister tag-team and talk acting?
TH: Well, we sort of always have, in a way. Do you have any brothers or sisters?
JJ: I have four brothers.
TH: Do you still watch movies together?
JJ: My parents were really strict and we didn’t really watch movies, but we did stuff together.
TH: But you played together?
JJ: Yeah.
TH: You pretended to be whoever you pretended to be together. My sisters and I all watched - depending on who won the competition for the remote control or for the VHS - E.T. together and Indiana Jones and Star Wars and Dirty Dancing and Uncle Buck and basically all those movies of the ’80s that any child of the ’80s grew up on!
John Candy, what a hero. So nowadays, it’s funny, they’re interested in my work, but it depends what the projects are, actually. My mum’s brother’s family are big horse people, so they’re particularly interested in War Horse, which is coming out. Some of my younger cousins love the superhero stuff, they love Thor and Loki and The Avengers and stuff, so it’s nice. When Thor came out, I did a family and friends screening and brought a bunch of toys and threw them out and my youngest cousin got Thor’s hammer and he loved it!
JJ: When you were growing up, what did you and your sister pretend to be?
TH: Well, my mum’s sister’s children are very close to us in age so us and my aunt’s children, my cousins, are very close. We all used to play together in the summer, and my sister, Sarah, and the eldest daughter of my aunt, Zoe, used to write these plays, which we would rehearse loosely for a week and then whenever we had to go home – ’cause they lived in the countryside. The day before we went home, we would put on the show for our parents. It always felt like such a huge deal, but it was literally five people and a dog in the audience in the back garden. There was one amazingly innovative one when I look back on it, and it didn’t come from me.
My other cousin Matthew and I used to build the sets and the swords. There was one called TV Travelers, which was about two kids watching TV and they get pulled in and it’s kind of like Dungeons and Dragons or The Purple Rose of Cairo. And suddenly, they were traveling around in the world of the TV, which we thought was hugely creative at the time. And we did a version of Cinderella. It was very innocent and really cool.
JJ: Is that how you got interested in acting?
TH: That’s just kids playing, I think. Whether it’s cowboys and Indians or Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, you just play out whatever’s in your imagination. The weird thing about serious acting is I’ve always done impressions of people, all my life, and I did this thing called a balloon debate. The idea is there’s a hot air balloon traveling across the Atlantic and it’s going down and you have to give a speech as to why you should stay in the balloon. Six people are going to be chucked out and you want to stay. You can choose who you are so people would choose, like, Einstein or the man who invented the wheel, the president of the United States, Shakespeare, Mozart, whoever it happens to be, you could pick these fun people, and I chose to be some kind of TV commercial actor, which basically meant that I could, for half an hour, do impressions of all the popular TV commercials at the time. And the head of drama came up to me after that and said, ‘You know, you have something quite unique, do you fancy being in the school play?’ And that’s how I got into it, just messing around with TV commercials. Never told anybody that.
JJ: Thank you for sharing! What’s your go-to impression?
TH: I’ve been doing Owen Wilson quite a lot because Midnight in Paris just came out in the UK this last weekend… (does impression) ‘Yeah, you know, there’s a time machine, and I go back in time and meet all of you and, you know, it’s kind of interesting!’ I guess I do people that I’ve worked with. You know, Tony Hopkins… (does impression) ‘Hi, great! I’m Tony, nice to meet you. Yes. It’s going to be quite fun, isn’t it? Here we go!’
JJ: Those were really good! Now we have to get into War Horse. When did you shoot it and where?
TH: It shot last summer – summer of 2010. We shot August, September, October. We shot mostly in the English countryside in the county of Devon, which is where the first half of the story is set, and then various places that we found, because really, the only place that looks like northern France is the south of England cause there’s only a very small stretch of water between them.
Obviously the second two thirds of War Horse is set in northern France, where no-man’s-land was, and the fields of Flanders and the battleground of the first World War. It was absolutely amazing, truly. Steven Spielberg is a master filmmaker and excessively generous and very, very good at his job. Just watching the speed of his execution on a shooting day, the efficiency with which he gets everything he needs from his cast, his crew, and then the thrill for me and anyone else in the film was that everybody involved in the story has to ride. So we all went on this kind of riding boot camp for about six weeks and I fell in love with horses. There’s nothing like the feeling of galloping at full speed on the back of a horse. It’s like driving fast in a car, but the car is alive. Do you know what I mean? It’s a hell of an adrenaline rush.
JJ: Had you ridden horses before?
TH: I’d ridden, but badly. And I’d ridden out in L.A. up and down dried up riverbeds, but I was supposed to be playing a captain of the English cavalry, and some of the stunt trainers thought I looked like a sack of potatoes on a motorbike. It was like, ‘That is an animal underneath you, and if you don’t behave yourself, you’re gonna get off.’
JJ: Did you watch the play before you started filming?
TH: Yeah, I saw the play a couple of times. It’s an amazing play. Have you seen it?
JJ: Not yet.
TH: It’s a very different beast, to coin a phrase, because the magic of the play is that the story’s heartbreaking. I mean, I defy you not to burst into tears just because of its kind of humanitarian compassion within it. But the magic of the stage show is the theatricality of it. The fact that two minutes in, some puppeteers walk on and you’re absolutely aware that they’re puppeteers and that they’re pretending to be a horse and five minutes later, you simply believe that there is a horse onstage. That’s real, pure theatrical magic.
The film is very different in that it has to be a literal representation of the breadth and shocking waste of the first World War and real horses, real men, real soldiers, real rain. The theater is a suggestive medium and the cinema is a literal medium, so that’s where the two differ.
JJ: Other than the horse riding camp that you went to, how else did you prepare for your role?
TH: Yeah, I mean, it’s set in the first World War, and my part is set in 1914. There’s always kind of a deference you have to pay to period. I watched a lot of war films of the time. They’re amazing, some of those old films. They still stand up. I mean, obviously the effects and style are a little different but there are moments which land in a very contemporary way. I read an amazing biography by a gentleman officer called Siegfried Sassoon, who was one of our celebrated war poets, and it’s called Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man and it’s really a diary of what his life was like up until war broke out in 1914. The first World War was really the war in which Europe lost its innocence. I think up until that point, the British and European life was very natural, very relaxed and really quite innocent, and I think the first World War and its shocking indifference to human life really made us change the world forever. It’s fascinating when you read a document like that and you think, ‘Life is kind of easy.’ Not easy, but just…simple. The war shows what we’re all capable of - it’s all about getting your head into gear. For something like The Avengers, I’ll read a bunch of comics and listen to some crazy music. Each job requires a different kind of preparation.
JJ: Do you break down a script and review each word? Work out expressions on your face?
TH: I never think about that. I just learn the lines as soon as I can and then the challenge really, for filming, is to show up and be there and respond to what’s around you. That’s where the gold dust is. It’s really strange, no amount of preparation will help you with the magic of spontaneity on the day [of filming]. You have to do all the homework to get yourself into the period, the costumes, the style, the voice, the hairdo or whatever it is, but once you’ve done all that work, you have to kind of let it go and just be there. If you’re always thinking about it, it just looks a bit over-thought. I’m sure your favorite moments in movies are things that just happen accidentally and the camera was there.
JJ: What was the most memorable scene that you shot for War Horse?
TH: It was probably my first day, which is a cavalry charge. This was the first and only time I’ll ever do it in my entire life. Captain Nichols, my character, leads a charge of 200 horses at 40 miles an hour across 400 meters of no-man’s-land into the German camp. We chase the German soldiers through their own camp and back into the woods behind them and then behind the first line of trees are rows upon rows of machine guns which the British army didn’t know where there, and it becomes a kind of coconut shy.
And you can’t fake this stuff. So Steven’s like, ‘You good to do this, Tom?’ And, no joke, I’m at the front of an army of 200 horses being ridden by 200 stunt men giving orders, and if any of us had fallen off, it would have been incredibly dangerous. And the cameras are both on two - what they call Russian arms. [They're] essentially metallic cranes, pointing back, raised from the roofs of very dynamic 4×4s. Pretty much everything was real except the bullets in the guns. So the German camp had 400 tents and fires and people cooking and extras running around. It just felt like I was there. The adrenaline of going that fast with 200 other horses going that fast behind you and the noise, apart from everything else, I’ll never forget the noise of a thousand horses’ hooves thundering across the earth. I got back to the base camp and Spielberg just literally stuck his head out from behind the tent where the monitors were and stuck his thumb up.
JJ: Sign of approval! Let’s get to The Avengers. How would you describe the whole shooting experience in one word?
TH: Ooh. Epic.
JJ: Sounds about right. What was it like working with director Joss Whedon?
TH: Fantastic. Joss has kind of got this pan-literacy about the genre and his dexterity in negotiating all the different story lines, all the different characters, all the different tones just so that it’s real and relatable and funny and dynamic and then just badass, because that’s what the Avengers has to be! So he was capable of directing intensely dynamic scenes between two characters, but also delivering action on the most incredible scale. I can’t say enough about Joss. Amazing director.
JJ: What was it like working with the other cast members?
TH: Fantastic! A lot of the time, we were all pinching ourselves. We were holed up – this bunch of superheroes were holed up in Albuquerque, New Mexico and there’s an element of, you know when everyone’s away from home. I guess it’s like camp or something, you just kind of band together because nobody’s got anywhere else to be. No one’s got home to go to, so it’s like, ‘Does anyone wanna play some ping-pong after work?’ It was really great.
JJ: You have a fight scene with each superhero, basically?
TH: Well, kind of. I have a one-to-one with every superhero, yeah.
JJ: We’re gonna go through each superhero, give me the first word that comes to mind. Chris Hemsworth.
TH: My brother!
JJ: What was your favorite prop on set?
TH: There’s a couple of quite cool props, actually. I’d say my favorite prop would have to be Loki’s spear. Does it have to be one I use or could it be someone else’s?
JJ: Someone else’s could work too.
TH: Okay…okay. Sam Jackson has these amazing screens. They’re kind of like uber iPads or something. So from his command base in the Shield, the base of operations, he’s got these incredible screens which he’s just able to pull stuff up on.
JJ: Like Minority Report?
TH: Yeah.
JJ: Do you know what Tumblr is?
TH: I do know what Tumblr is.
JJ: Have you heard about the massive fan following you have on there?
TH: I have, yeah.
JJ: Do you know what the fans call themselves?
TH: Somebody did tell me this. Um…
JJ: The Hiddlestoners.
TH: The Hiddlestoners. Yeah. It’s pretty cool. It’s quite creative.
JJ: Do you know what happens when they get excited to see you? They get a Hiddleboner.
TH: (laughs) I didn’t know that! They get a Hiddleboner. That doesn’t seem to be related to my name any more! Hiddleston, yeah, but the boner…Hiddlestoner, I can see that, because my name is there. Hiddleboner…I…yeah. Okay. Wow. I should be hugely flattered, shouldn’t I? I am enormously honored and flattered.
JJ: Do you have any funny or special talents that people don’t know about?
TH: I’m sure I do, but I’m sure I don’t think that they’re funny. You can ask my girlfriend.
JJ: Offbeat hobbies or anything?
TH: I have to say I did nothing I enjoy more than a marathon round of table tennis. I’ve got to say, Captain America, Chris Evans, and Thor, Chris Hemsworth, they might have bigger biceps than me, but put them on the table tennis table. There’s a degree of frustration at their inability to beat me.
JJ: Do you have any favorite bands, albums, songs?
TH: At the moment, I love the new Bon Iver album. I just love it.
JJ: Favorite TV show?
TH: My favorite TV show of all time is an old British comedy called Fawlty Towers. Do you know it?
JJ: I don’t!
TH: It’s really stupid. It’s about a guy played by Jon Cleese who runs a hotel and he is the grumpiest, most misanthropic man you could ever hope to meet. Why would he run a hotel? Why would you run a hotel if you hate people? People turning up to the hotel is a massive hindrance and a bore for him, so the comedy comes from, of course, the fact that it’s an enormously popular hotel.
JJ: What’s the last movie you saw?
TH: The last movie I saw was 360. It’s the new Fernando Meirelles film with Anthony Hopkins, Rachel Weisz, and Jude Law.
JJ: And you’re in a movie with Rachel?
TH: I am in a movie with Rachel called The Deep Blue Sea. Before that, cause I want to mention it, was Gavin O’Connor’s Warrior with Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton, which had me crying like a lost child. I loved it.
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" is a film of subtleties; among those, Colin Firth's character stands out.
The English actor, in his interview with HitFix, explains that his role as MI6 agent Bill Haydon is the opposite of Gary Oldman's George Smiley in a lot of ways.
"Haydon is a fantasist. He wants to be seen," Firth said. "He's the one who flirts outrageously. He wears red socks."
The commentary on details like socks is part of the "complex stuff" of the movie. It is Smiley's charge to uncover who in MI6's upper ranks is doubling as a mole for the Soviets, during this tale of espionage and the Cold War. Firth is among the "suspects," each character giving out in drips and drabs of the "odd gesture and odd line."
Firth's oddness, he said, is informed by "Lawrence of Arabia," that Haydon would be the type to "lead people into battle on a camel.
Check out the "King's Speech" actor's take on the helpfulness of John le Carre's original "Tinker Tailor" novel and more in the video above.
As Downton Abbey prepares to celebrate Christmas in grand style, spare a thought for valet John Bates, who stands wrongly accused of murdering his scheming first wife Vera. Last seen being led away in handcuffs by police in front of tearful new wife Anna, he’s up in court and could hang if found guilty. TV Choice caught up with actor Brendan Coyle who plays him…
Downton Abbey is one of the highlights of Christmas TV, isn't it?
I really hope so, the scripts were amazing for the Christmas episode. I don’t see what all the other actors are doing, so when I watch it I’m a punter as well. I’m really looking forward to it.
So what can you tell us about this episode?
Absolutely nothing! It’s been nice talking to you and I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year! I’ve spoken to the producers and I just can’t say.
What was it like filming the trial scenes?
Very atmospheric and intense, especially filming in the cells. Courts are designed to make you feel small so when I walked up the stairs into the dock, it was pretty intimidating.
You have a great on-screen partnership with Joanne Froggatt who plays Anna, is she a big part of this episode?
Yes, it’s a process we go through together and we’re really happy with what we’ve done. I’ve been pretty blessed with acting partnerships and it makes a big difference. We hit it off straight away as actors and as people. She’s a dream to work with, a cracking woman and I love her — she’s great.
What about the cult of Mr Bates — you have an army of admirers, don't you? I honestly don’t know about that and I don’t really engage. I finished series two of Downton Abbey, had four days off and then went straight into filming a new Sky One comedy drama called Starlings, so that’s been taking all my attention. When the show was airing I was on location in Derbyshire and I’ve also moved house, so it’s been a full on year. I haven’t really thought about the impact of Bates in series two.
Why do you think he’s been such a hit?
We live in a culture and a time where everyone’s encouraged to say what they think and feel, and maybe some people need to shut up just a wee bit. He’s a man of few words, very stoic. It’s about a different generation and a different way of communicating.
What will you be doing this Christmas?
I haven’t decided yet but I love the build up. I try to keep it at arms length as much a possible because it’s a bit too commercial, but I’ll get the tree up. I celebrate my birthday at this time too so I associate it with winding down, stopping work.
You mentioned Sky One’s Starlings, which is a complete gear change for you.
Yes, I play Terry who’s married to Jan [Lesley Sharp] and is incredulous at the family he’s spawned and the extended family he’s attracted. They’re an eccentric bunch but, like starlings, they move as a unit. It’s seemingly random but they are actually finely tuned to each other.
Did you enjoy the change of style?
It’s one of the happiest experiences of my life. We just laughed the whole time. It’s heart-warming, funny and tender.
Do you have any new year’s resolutions?
I’ll try to get to Old Trafford more. Sir Matt Busby was my great uncle so I love Man United, but I can never get there enough.
Do you get special treatment?
Absolutely not, I’m not a celebrity supporter. I’m there with my pie and Bovril like everybody else! Mary Comerford
If you’re the kind of person who gets obsessive about all things Tolkienian, it’s been a pretty big week. Sir Ian McKellen made it official Tuesday, announcing on his Web site that he’ll playing Gandalf in the upcoming two-part movie adaptation of The Hobbit, which begins filming in New Zealand next month. Along with recent reports that Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett,andthe guy who plays Gollum are also Hobbit-ready, it would seem that the band, as they say, is really getting back together. But for anybody who’s followed the Internet hand-wringing about the on-again-off-again production, it can feel presumptuous to assume anything until we actually see the opening credits roll. For most of 2010, McKellen kept us guessing about his involvement in the Lord of the Rings prequel the way some actors keep us guessing about their sexuality. As least with McKellen, there’s never been any mystery about the latter. This is a man who famously went on a talk show in Singapore, a country with strict laws against homosexuality, and asked the host, “Can you recommend any decent gay bars?” But when it comes to his future as Middle Earth’s favorite wizard, he’s been downright cagey.
Last September, McKellen caused a minor stir when photos of him at a London rally showed the actor wearing a T-shirt that read “I’m Gandalf and Magneto. Get over it!” Somebody eventually figured out that the picture had been Photoshopped, and McKellen was actually wearing a shirt that read, “Some people are gay. Get over it!” The fake T-shirt was vaguely funny, assuming it made any sense. (To be honest, I still don’t understand. Was the joke that McKellen has played multiple movie roles and that can be confusing? Or that he’s played two seemingly non-gay wizards while he is, in fact, gay?) But it would’ve been so much more poignant had somebody thought to Photoshop his shirt with the message “I may or may not be Gandalf again. Get over it!” With all due respect to the gay community, they don’t have to contend with nearly the same anxiety and helplessness as a Lord of the Rings blogger.
I met with McKellen at the Savannah Film Festival, where he was given a lifetime-achievement award. During his acceptance speech, he talked about how the Georgia governor nearly replaced Martin Luther King Day with “Ian McKellen Day,” and how he became the first openly gay man to legally serve in the American military (long story). Prior to the ceremony, I was invited to speak with him at the local college’s library. McKellen teased me about wearing shorts (complimenting my boyish calves, thank you very much) and proved that he has a healthy sense of humor about himself. Except, of course, when it comes to Photoshopped t-shirts that make fun of wizards and homophobia.
Eric Spitznagel: I’m not sure what I should call you. Is it Sir Ian or just Ian?
Ian McKellen: Just Ian, please.
So the bloom is off the rose with the whole knighthood thing?
Well, I don’t know about that. There are some tremendous actors in the U.K. who have been knighted, and I’ve spent much of my life admiring many of them, like Laurence Olivier. So it’s very flattering to be in their company. But you also end up in the company of people you don’t admire, including some rather dodgy politicians. I tend to discourage people from calling me “Sir Ian,” because I don’t like being separated out from the rest of the population. Of course, it can be useful if you’re writing an official letter, like trying to get a visa or something passed through Parliament. They’re impressed by these things.
I was under the impression that British theater actors, at least the good ones, are all drunks. And yet talking to you now, you seem completely sober. Are you the exception that makes the rule, or is it just too early in the day?
(With an expression of exaggerated umbrage.) Well, there are many famous drunk actors, the most famous of which is probably W.C. Fields. So I’ll thank you not to be so rude about the Brits.
There are actors who feel the need to have a little drink before they go onstage, and they probably act worse as a result of it.
Even Peter O’Toole? Or Richard Burton?
I don’t know anybody who does that. If drinking was a requirement for someone to be an actor, and they couldn’t function on stage without a drink, then I would think they should perhaps change their jobs. I don’t see how you could be in control if you’re inebriated, do you?
I guess not. But I’ve heard such amazing stories. Oliver Reed throwing up on Steve McQueen, and Robert Newton stumbling on stage and saying “If you think I’m pissed, wait till you see the Duke of York.”
Perhaps you should ask Anthony Hopkins about this. I think he would have a very strong negative view on drunk actors.
Obviously you’re not a big drinker. Do you have any vices?
[Laughs.] None that I’m going to share with Vanity Fair.
Well, are you superstitious? Can you say the M word? The Scottish play that dare not speak its name.
Macbeth? Absolutely. All the time. Macbeth was a very lucky play for me.
You’re positive you haven’t just ruined this interview by mentioning it?
That’s nonsense. Do you know the origin of that myth?
I vaguely recall something about actors dying or getting hurt every time the play was produced. Isn’t it like the Spider-Man of Elizabethan theater?
Yes, well, that’s the story anyway. The most likely explanation is the most practical. Macbeth is a very popular play with audiences. If you want to sell out a theater, just mount a production of Macbeth. It’s a short play, it’s an exciting play, it’s easy to understand, and it attracts great acting. So in the old days, if you were in a touring company and you found out that you were doing Macbeth, it meant there was trouble. There probably wasn’t enough money in the kitty to pay the actors. So even mentioning Macbeth was considered bad luck.
Are you superstitious about anything?
I don’t think I am, no. As a kid, I was a bit cautious about not stepping on cracks in a sidewalk. But I think that was more of a challenge than a superstition. I have little routines in the theater. Once I’ve established something, like the order of putting on makeup and a costume, I have to invariably do it in the same order every time, even if I only did it by chance the first time round. That is a superstition of sorts, but it’s a practical one, because it means as you go through the same routine each day and don’t miss anything. If you suddenly decide to change your shoes and pants before putting on your makeup rather than after, for example, then you may forget to put on your underpants. Which does happen on occasion.
If I’m hearing you correctly, you’re telling me that you went commando during the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy.
I’m not familiar with that phrase.
Gandalf may not have been wearing his tightie-whities.
[Laughs.] No, I’m afraid you’re mistaken.
Are you impressed that I went this long without bringing up Gandalf?
No. It always happens, eventually.
Does that get annoying? You’ve done so many roles, both in movies and on stage. And yet people probably aren’t running up to you on the street and saying, “Holy shit, it’s Uncle Vanya!”
You’d be surprised. They do say that. But yes, I see what you mean. And it’s perfectly obvious why that is. If you’ve been in a film that’s seen by millions and millions and millions of people, you’re more likely to be recognized for that than for your theater performances, which were seen by considerably less people. Why would I get upset by that?
I don’t know. Why would Russell Crowe throw a phone at a hotel clerk? Why would Christian Bale have a meltdown on a movie set? Why would Mel Gibson call a traffic cop “sugar tits”? Actors have a reputation for being touchy.
Yes, O.K., I see. But it would be silly for me to take that personally. There are people who’ve enjoyed my work in the theater and they let me know that it was special for them. I’m not going to say, “Well, you should have seen me as Gandalf!” It doesn’t worry me at all. It’s not the same thing as being so identified with a part that you couldn’t go on to do anything else. I’m not in that position, thankfully. I’m not like James Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey who just did the one part over and over again and it turned him mad.
Does Gandalf know where all the gay bars are in Middle Earth?
[Thunderous laughter.] Of course not! Gandalf is 7,000 years old. There’s no sex in Middle Earth.
Tolkien was the only authority on that world, and I don’t think he was very interested in sex, at least not with the evidence of Lord of the Rings. Other people can read into it what they like or what they can. But I don’t really see it. Although I have heard speculation that Sam and Frodo might be an item, but I don’t think Tolkien really saw it that way. I don’t think Peter Jackson does either.
Here’s a hypothetical epic battle: Albus Dumbledore versus Gandalf the White. Who wins?
[Long pause.] Well, the real wizard, of course.
And who would that be?
[Rolls eyes.] I cannot believe I have to answer these silly questions. The real wizard.
Your money’s on Gandalf?
Obviously.
I think you might lose that money. Other than using his staff as a flashlight, what exactly are his magical talents?
I can’t help you with that one. I should probably chat with Michael Gambon [who plays Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films] before saying anything derogatory about Dumbledore’s magical abilities. You know, he and I often get mistaken for each other. I saw Mike recently when he was doing a play in the West End and I asked if he gets mistaken for me. He said it happens all the time. But he never corrects them. He told me, “Oh, I just sign your name.”
Here’s another hypothetical battle. Gandalf versus the Pope. Who wins that one?
I can’t touch these questions, I’m sorry.
Really? I’m surprised you have cold feet about poking fun at the Pope. I heard you like to rip out the passage in the bible that condemns homosexuality as a sin.
I do, yes. It’s Leviticus 18:22 that I object to. And I only do it when I’m in a hotel room and there’s a Bible in the drawer next to the bed. I don’t want those nasty, homophobic sentences lying within 12 inches of my head. I’m the sort of person who doesn’t write in ink. I only write in pencil so it can be rubbed out. I never turn down the corner of a book. I respect books, but what I don’t respect is that particular little verse. It’s not the whole of the book.
You don’t have a problem with the rest of Leviticus?
I don’t mind there being injunctions against eating shellfish or the injunctions against wearing cotton and wool clothing. I only get offended when it suggests that men shouldn’t make love to each other.
What about a line like “Any person who curseth his father or mother must be killed.” That should probably go too, right?
Well, perhaps.
“People who have flat noses, or are blind or lame, cannot go to an altar of God.” That can’t be right. “The eating of fat is prohibited forever.” Obviously not in America.
There’s a lot in there that doesn’t make sense. But I can’t take on all the worries of the world, you know. I can only talk about being gay and being an actor. I’ll have to leave those other battles to somebody else.
Let’s talk about another controversy. Your T-shirt that never was. The one that was Photoshopped to read “I’m Gandalf and Magneto. Get over it.”
Yes, I was a little disappointed about that. Because the original T-shirt was much more interesting. “Some people are gay, get over it.” I was proud to wear that shirt at the anti-Papal march. If some people want to make a joke about it, that’s O.K. But there was a serious intent behind the real shirt.
What was the joke, exactly? I don’t get it. “I’m Gandalf and Magneto. Get over it.” What does that mean?
I don’t really know.
It’s like the caption of a New Yorker cartoon.
I don’t find it funny. It’s a very serious matter, my campaigning on behalf of young people. I don’t want to pretend that it’s something we can all laugh about and you don’t have to worry about being gay anymore. People have a very, very hard time of it. It’s not a joke to me.
Let’s move on to something that is funny. You’ve got a Lord of the Rings tattoo, right? Any regrets?
Oh no, not at all. It was a sweet idea. The hobbits had such a wonderful time on their first big job, and they wanted to commemorate it in some way. I happily joined in. I’m very proud of that little tattoo. I can’t see it very well. It’s very small and very discrete. I’m very happy to keep it.
What does it say again?
It says nine in Elvish.
Are you positive? Sometimes people don’t do their research before getting a tattoo.
Elijah Wood sorted it all out for us, so you’d have to ask him. It’s on my upper arm, so when I look at it in the mirror, it’s usually upside down and it actually spells Gucci. I don’t know if there’s any significance to that.
Would you ever get another tattoo?
Not a Lord of the Rings one, no.
But you’ve been in plenty of productions since. How about Waiting For Godot? Didn’t you do almost four hundred performances of that show?
Three hundred and sixty. We did a tour of Australia, New Zealand, and Africa.
That’s worth commemorating. How about a stage direction from the script, something like, “Let’s go. Yes, let’s go. [They do not move]?”
[Laughs.] No, no. My body isn’t a temple, but nor is it an advertising hoarding. I don’t think I shall be putting anything else on it.
If you’ve yet to see Susan Blackwell’s interview with Daniel Radcliffe for her Broadway.com video series Side by Side by Susan Blackwell, you’ll want to spend the next 16 minutes watching the video. Because Radcliffe is a bit of a slob — “I’m not clean or even vaguely pleasant to be around in a domestic situation,” he says after telling a story about how he once spilled Diet Coke, took off a sock to clean it up, then put the sock back on — friend Blackwell gives him a tutorial on how to clean her apartment. They start by washing windows in honor of his role in Broadway’s How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Having just seen the show last week, I can confirm that Radcliffe is telling the truth when he claims to be still having a great time this deep into the run and that co-star John Larroquette still finds things to do to try to make him break character and laugh.
The interview, however, hits its stride when he sits down to learn how to sort laundry (“Dan Radcliffe is touching my underwear, double thumbs up”) and gets both charmingly flustered and thoughtful. After deciding his drag name would be Cricket Bunches, Blackwell decides if he can explain the rules to cricket to her before she gets bored, he won’t have to scrub her toilet. Cut to him scrubbing her toilet. In the lighting round of the interview (conducted in her shower), they play the game “Would You Buy Me That?” (I had to watch that twice). Enjoy!
As Downton Abbey prepares to celebrate Christmas in grand style, spare a thought for valet John Bates, who stands wrongly accused of murdering his scheming first wife Vera. Last seen being led away in handcuffs by police in front of tearful new wife Anna, he’s up in court and could hang if found guilty. TV Choice caught up with actor Brendan Coyle who plays him…
So what can you tell us about this episode?