Post by lordfinally on Feb 7, 2008 20:32:34 GMT -5
Personally I like THIS one. It is all about ME.
Exclusive Interview With Tom Hollander - Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
By Joe Utichi
Joining the Pirates franchise for its two sequels, Tom Hollander plays a villainous little piece of work, Cutler Beckett. One of our most accomplished actors, Hollander has played roles in Enigma, Gosford Park and Stage Beauty, but one of his finest performances to date is the role of George V in Stephen Poliakoff's The Lost Prince. We meet him the morning after the night before - the film's European premiere - and it wouldn't be too controversial to suggest he was looking a little worse for wear...
Film FocusF: I assume last night's after party was quite an event...
Tom Hollander: Well, it was in proportion to the film that preceded it...
FF: I know you had to do a year in the Caribbean slaving away but it would have been nice to get a ticket...
TH: A year and a half actually. Did you not have a ticket? That's very selfish and bad...
FF: So have you finished filming the third one?
TH: No, we've got to go back in August, September and October so a bit to do yet.
FF: A big jump in scale, I should imagine, from the very many independent features.
TH: Well, yeah, each scene cost as much as the independent pictures. Some of them. One scene would have been Lawless Heart. Another scene would have been Bedrooms and Hallways. So that was extraordinary. It was a staggering scale and, in terms of superlatives, it was the scale that was most impressive. And the sheer resources. And the glamour. And the fame and beauty of my co cast-members. All of which were out of the ordinary. And when I became an actor I really just wanted to be on desert islands filming with Trevor Howard, Roger Moore and Edward Fox and this is the nearest I've got to it. The exotic location with the turquoise sea and the white beaches and coconut trees; that was pretty marvellous. And snorkelling on your day off.
FF: How did this come about?
TH: They rang me up, I pretended I wasn't interested and then dashed to do it.
FF: You've worked with a few of the cast before.
TH: Oh, you think it was an inside job? You think because I did The Libertine with Johnny Depp he gave me the job and it was an unfair thing and I shouldn't have got it? Is that what you mean?
I'd worked with Keira, I'd worked with Bill four times, I'd worked with Johnny once. I met Jack many times before - we were at the same school - maybe it was that. We were at the same school and last night we were wearing the same suit and the same shirt without having conferred which was quite odd. Not that it mattered but it was just funny.
What was the question? The question was, "Was it an inside job?" The answer is, "No." I had worked with them before, but that was just nice. A big casting director rang up my agent and said, "Would Tom like to audition for this part?" I did it, the director liked it, and I think there was possibly a moment where they said to Johnny Depp, "We've found this person to play this part," and he didn't veto it. So that's very nice of him. Next question.
FF: Was it a bit intimidating joining such a mammoth franchise?
TH: Yes. We were, in a sense, getting a free ride on something that was already hugely successful. That was a nice thing. The sense that we were the new elements so that if it didn't work we might have been blamed in some way was a worry but any sense of exclusion that I had from not being part of the original gang was fuel for my character which, as you can see from the film, has no place in the gang. Being ostracised in that way just helped me be nasty! That worked, though as the months drew on I did just become desperately lonely!
FF: Am I correct in saying you designed your own wig which Gore vetoed in favour of the Elton John creation you wear?
TH: I thought I'd have a nice wig like Johnny Depp's from The Libertine which I'd done with him. I thought he had a fetching wig and he looked very sexy in it. I designed a similar thing myself and the wig department tolerated that because they had the resources to, knowing they could just change it anyway later. But they were very sweet to me.
Gore took one look at my long, Michael Ball-like sort-of thing and I shook it from side to side and he went, "No. I want to see a dick. When you come on I want to see a dick. I see a guy with long hair like a hairdresser." So I was given the white thing that you see in the film. The problem with the story is that I would then say, "Which I hadn't seen previously except at an Elton John party," but you've already said that.
FF: But you learned to love it, I'm sure.
TH: Yeah, I have. We've got a respectful relationship with one another. It's slightly frosty, but we live with each other.
FF: How was it filming both films back-to-back?
TH: Well it was just like filming one film, really, because it's one story, Pirates 2 and 3. Well, actually, Pirates 1, 2 and 3 becomes one story when you see them all. And all films are filmed out of sequence, as you know, so it was essentially the same process. It's just longer and deeper and brighter and weirder.
FF: No island fever?
TH: Not for me, because I was in and out the whole time. It's difficult for the crew, being away for such a long time. It's always the crew that do all the work.
FF: Is there to be a bit of retribution for Cutler in the third film?
TH: I've hardly got going, have I? But, no, I really shouldn't tell the story of the third one. There's lots to come. I'll be back. I adopt an Austrian accent and do a lot of working out in between two and three.
FF: Is it going to end? Is the third film to be the last?
TH: I've absolutely no idea at all. Don't ask me, ask Mr. Bruckheimer.
FF: He's very softly spoken for an uber-producer.
TH: Well they always speak very quietly those uber-producer types. I did that as Cutler Beckett, you may have noticed I don't raise my voice. It's a high status thing. I only met him one day on the set and he was taking lots of photos. I said, "Do you take photos of all your sets?" He was literally taking photos like a tourist might; a tourist who'd been given a day on a film set who'd never seen it before. It was absolutely bizarre. But he said, "Yes, I've got nothing else to do," which I thought was pretty cool.
FF: What was Gore like?
TH: He's a man obsessed. He's extraordinary and he hasn't had a day off for three years or something. So we all love him. He doesn't really know what to do when you're not in costume - he can't really talk to you - but when you're in costume suddenly we become chess pieces that he moves around.
FF: Is it fun playing a kind-of toffy villain?
TH: Well it's fun playing a bad guy. It's always good playing someone so nasty. Well, he's not that nasty, really, he's just sort-of cold. He's got that sneer, hasn't he, and he's got a plan, a very big plan, and he doesn't seem to care about all the characters that we love from Pirates 1.
FF: You get the impression he's that family member you don't invite to Christmas dinner.
TH: Gosh, well, I suppose so, yes. He probably wouldn't come, though. The family member you don't invite to Christmas is just sort of annoying whereas he's lethal. Well, in theory. Perhaps he was just annoying. He'd just sweep Christmas away; abolish it.
FF: He is Scrooge, really.
TH: He is, yeah, but I think of him as being more glamorous than Scrooge. I think of it as just bigger. He's the person who takes over the world, he doesn't just ruin Christmas. I think that satisfies my ego. Scrooge is a bit miserable, sits in a room and doesn't talk to people whereas Cutler Beckett dashes across the world in expensive clothes and relocates entire populations and wants to kill Johnny Depp.
FF: And you do it without having to worry about sword training.
TH: Exactly. I just sit around on soft furnishings. I don't have to do any of that, other people do it for me. David Mercer does all the killing for me. He does the dirty work while I just file my nails and plan.
FF: He's nothing without his henchmen.
TH: Well, he delegates. Jerry Bruckheimer would be nothing without his henchmen, is it? He's not shooting, he's going, "You do that, you do that and you do that. And I'll take some photos." He might not describe them as henchmen but in terms of the pyramid structure of hierarchy, Jerry's at the top and everyone else is right below him. In the film, Cutler Beckett is at the top and everyone else is just below him.
FF: Where does Jack Sparrow sit on that map?
TH: Ahh, interesting, he's sort-of floating around making up his own rules. He keeps changing his position, doesn't he? That's the thing about pirates. They're much more fascinating characters.
FF: Are you as involved in number three? I understand it's less East India Company and more Singapore black-market.
TH: Yes I'm involved. If anything I'm expanding.
FF: Do you want for a bit of action in three? Would you like be swashing your buckle?
TH: Well, wait and see what happens in three.
FF: That's more of a hint than saying, "Yes, I'd like to."
TH: Well it's not as much of a hint as it sounds but I do get involved.
FF: The henchmen always mess it up at the last minute and it's up to you to get the job done...
TH: Yes but no. You could be here all day if you're just trying to guess the plot, so I'd stop now if I were you. I suppose that could happen, but I'd just get another henchman.
FF: Well it's very tricky to ask you about a film that you've already shot that you aren't allowed to tell us about.
TH: Well, yes, I can imagine it's intriguing but you won't get anything out of me. Well, any more than you already have.
FF: What's next apart from the third?
TH: Well, I've just done a bit in The Golden Age, which is the second Elizabeth, with Cate Blanchett, which is Shekhar Kapur directing again. I acted with Samantha Morton who was being very brilliant as Mary Queen of Scots. I was playing her jailor who was sort-of in love with her but not really. And I'm in a film called A Good Year with Russell Crowe. The Ridley Scott one with Albert Finney and Freddie Highmore.
FF: Is that not set in Provence?
TH: It sure is, yeah.
FF: Are you just picking jobs based on their glamorous locations?
TH: Purely. No, I'm probably going to do a film called Magician after that with the guys who do Peep Show and that certainly won't be anywhere glamorous, it looks very grim.
FF: It's not going to be easy after a couple of years in The Bahamas and Provence...
TH: Yeah, well, it's a four week job and, actually, I'll go back to Pirates of the Caribbean after doing it so really Pirates will never end.
FF: But that's in LA this time.
TH: LA is quite nice. There are more varieties of cuisine available for a start. We had eaten the entire menu of the restaurant we had decided we liked several times over. Then we started ordering it backwards and mixing things up. Mixing the puddings with the starters. Just for fun. LA, you know, there's everything. There's Korea Town which I think we're all very excited about. We have been on the Bahamas for a very long time. I say "we," I barely went there. It's been going on for more than a year and I spent most of that time up Portobello Road. I'm not glad to have survived, it's the fact that I was never actually in the Caribbean.
www.filmfocus.co.uk/lookat.asp?FilmbaseID=94&FeatureID=100
Exclusive Interview With Tom Hollander - Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
By Joe Utichi
Joining the Pirates franchise for its two sequels, Tom Hollander plays a villainous little piece of work, Cutler Beckett. One of our most accomplished actors, Hollander has played roles in Enigma, Gosford Park and Stage Beauty, but one of his finest performances to date is the role of George V in Stephen Poliakoff's The Lost Prince. We meet him the morning after the night before - the film's European premiere - and it wouldn't be too controversial to suggest he was looking a little worse for wear...
Film FocusF: I assume last night's after party was quite an event...
Tom Hollander: Well, it was in proportion to the film that preceded it...
FF: I know you had to do a year in the Caribbean slaving away but it would have been nice to get a ticket...
TH: A year and a half actually. Did you not have a ticket? That's very selfish and bad...
FF: So have you finished filming the third one?
TH: No, we've got to go back in August, September and October so a bit to do yet.
FF: A big jump in scale, I should imagine, from the very many independent features.
TH: Well, yeah, each scene cost as much as the independent pictures. Some of them. One scene would have been Lawless Heart. Another scene would have been Bedrooms and Hallways. So that was extraordinary. It was a staggering scale and, in terms of superlatives, it was the scale that was most impressive. And the sheer resources. And the glamour. And the fame and beauty of my co cast-members. All of which were out of the ordinary. And when I became an actor I really just wanted to be on desert islands filming with Trevor Howard, Roger Moore and Edward Fox and this is the nearest I've got to it. The exotic location with the turquoise sea and the white beaches and coconut trees; that was pretty marvellous. And snorkelling on your day off.
FF: How did this come about?
TH: They rang me up, I pretended I wasn't interested and then dashed to do it.
FF: You've worked with a few of the cast before.
TH: Oh, you think it was an inside job? You think because I did The Libertine with Johnny Depp he gave me the job and it was an unfair thing and I shouldn't have got it? Is that what you mean?
I'd worked with Keira, I'd worked with Bill four times, I'd worked with Johnny once. I met Jack many times before - we were at the same school - maybe it was that. We were at the same school and last night we were wearing the same suit and the same shirt without having conferred which was quite odd. Not that it mattered but it was just funny.
What was the question? The question was, "Was it an inside job?" The answer is, "No." I had worked with them before, but that was just nice. A big casting director rang up my agent and said, "Would Tom like to audition for this part?" I did it, the director liked it, and I think there was possibly a moment where they said to Johnny Depp, "We've found this person to play this part," and he didn't veto it. So that's very nice of him. Next question.
FF: Was it a bit intimidating joining such a mammoth franchise?
TH: Yes. We were, in a sense, getting a free ride on something that was already hugely successful. That was a nice thing. The sense that we were the new elements so that if it didn't work we might have been blamed in some way was a worry but any sense of exclusion that I had from not being part of the original gang was fuel for my character which, as you can see from the film, has no place in the gang. Being ostracised in that way just helped me be nasty! That worked, though as the months drew on I did just become desperately lonely!
FF: Am I correct in saying you designed your own wig which Gore vetoed in favour of the Elton John creation you wear?
TH: I thought I'd have a nice wig like Johnny Depp's from The Libertine which I'd done with him. I thought he had a fetching wig and he looked very sexy in it. I designed a similar thing myself and the wig department tolerated that because they had the resources to, knowing they could just change it anyway later. But they were very sweet to me.
Gore took one look at my long, Michael Ball-like sort-of thing and I shook it from side to side and he went, "No. I want to see a dick. When you come on I want to see a dick. I see a guy with long hair like a hairdresser." So I was given the white thing that you see in the film. The problem with the story is that I would then say, "Which I hadn't seen previously except at an Elton John party," but you've already said that.
FF: But you learned to love it, I'm sure.
TH: Yeah, I have. We've got a respectful relationship with one another. It's slightly frosty, but we live with each other.
FF: How was it filming both films back-to-back?
TH: Well it was just like filming one film, really, because it's one story, Pirates 2 and 3. Well, actually, Pirates 1, 2 and 3 becomes one story when you see them all. And all films are filmed out of sequence, as you know, so it was essentially the same process. It's just longer and deeper and brighter and weirder.
FF: No island fever?
TH: Not for me, because I was in and out the whole time. It's difficult for the crew, being away for such a long time. It's always the crew that do all the work.
FF: Is there to be a bit of retribution for Cutler in the third film?
TH: I've hardly got going, have I? But, no, I really shouldn't tell the story of the third one. There's lots to come. I'll be back. I adopt an Austrian accent and do a lot of working out in between two and three.
FF: Is it going to end? Is the third film to be the last?
TH: I've absolutely no idea at all. Don't ask me, ask Mr. Bruckheimer.
FF: He's very softly spoken for an uber-producer.
TH: Well they always speak very quietly those uber-producer types. I did that as Cutler Beckett, you may have noticed I don't raise my voice. It's a high status thing. I only met him one day on the set and he was taking lots of photos. I said, "Do you take photos of all your sets?" He was literally taking photos like a tourist might; a tourist who'd been given a day on a film set who'd never seen it before. It was absolutely bizarre. But he said, "Yes, I've got nothing else to do," which I thought was pretty cool.
FF: What was Gore like?
TH: He's a man obsessed. He's extraordinary and he hasn't had a day off for three years or something. So we all love him. He doesn't really know what to do when you're not in costume - he can't really talk to you - but when you're in costume suddenly we become chess pieces that he moves around.
FF: Is it fun playing a kind-of toffy villain?
TH: Well it's fun playing a bad guy. It's always good playing someone so nasty. Well, he's not that nasty, really, he's just sort-of cold. He's got that sneer, hasn't he, and he's got a plan, a very big plan, and he doesn't seem to care about all the characters that we love from Pirates 1.
FF: You get the impression he's that family member you don't invite to Christmas dinner.
TH: Gosh, well, I suppose so, yes. He probably wouldn't come, though. The family member you don't invite to Christmas is just sort of annoying whereas he's lethal. Well, in theory. Perhaps he was just annoying. He'd just sweep Christmas away; abolish it.
FF: He is Scrooge, really.
TH: He is, yeah, but I think of him as being more glamorous than Scrooge. I think of it as just bigger. He's the person who takes over the world, he doesn't just ruin Christmas. I think that satisfies my ego. Scrooge is a bit miserable, sits in a room and doesn't talk to people whereas Cutler Beckett dashes across the world in expensive clothes and relocates entire populations and wants to kill Johnny Depp.
FF: And you do it without having to worry about sword training.
TH: Exactly. I just sit around on soft furnishings. I don't have to do any of that, other people do it for me. David Mercer does all the killing for me. He does the dirty work while I just file my nails and plan.
FF: He's nothing without his henchmen.
TH: Well, he delegates. Jerry Bruckheimer would be nothing without his henchmen, is it? He's not shooting, he's going, "You do that, you do that and you do that. And I'll take some photos." He might not describe them as henchmen but in terms of the pyramid structure of hierarchy, Jerry's at the top and everyone else is right below him. In the film, Cutler Beckett is at the top and everyone else is just below him.
FF: Where does Jack Sparrow sit on that map?
TH: Ahh, interesting, he's sort-of floating around making up his own rules. He keeps changing his position, doesn't he? That's the thing about pirates. They're much more fascinating characters.
FF: Are you as involved in number three? I understand it's less East India Company and more Singapore black-market.
TH: Yes I'm involved. If anything I'm expanding.
FF: Do you want for a bit of action in three? Would you like be swashing your buckle?
TH: Well, wait and see what happens in three.
FF: That's more of a hint than saying, "Yes, I'd like to."
TH: Well it's not as much of a hint as it sounds but I do get involved.
FF: The henchmen always mess it up at the last minute and it's up to you to get the job done...
TH: Yes but no. You could be here all day if you're just trying to guess the plot, so I'd stop now if I were you. I suppose that could happen, but I'd just get another henchman.
FF: Well it's very tricky to ask you about a film that you've already shot that you aren't allowed to tell us about.
TH: Well, yes, I can imagine it's intriguing but you won't get anything out of me. Well, any more than you already have.
FF: What's next apart from the third?
TH: Well, I've just done a bit in The Golden Age, which is the second Elizabeth, with Cate Blanchett, which is Shekhar Kapur directing again. I acted with Samantha Morton who was being very brilliant as Mary Queen of Scots. I was playing her jailor who was sort-of in love with her but not really. And I'm in a film called A Good Year with Russell Crowe. The Ridley Scott one with Albert Finney and Freddie Highmore.
FF: Is that not set in Provence?
TH: It sure is, yeah.
FF: Are you just picking jobs based on their glamorous locations?
TH: Purely. No, I'm probably going to do a film called Magician after that with the guys who do Peep Show and that certainly won't be anywhere glamorous, it looks very grim.
FF: It's not going to be easy after a couple of years in The Bahamas and Provence...
TH: Yeah, well, it's a four week job and, actually, I'll go back to Pirates of the Caribbean after doing it so really Pirates will never end.
FF: But that's in LA this time.
TH: LA is quite nice. There are more varieties of cuisine available for a start. We had eaten the entire menu of the restaurant we had decided we liked several times over. Then we started ordering it backwards and mixing things up. Mixing the puddings with the starters. Just for fun. LA, you know, there's everything. There's Korea Town which I think we're all very excited about. We have been on the Bahamas for a very long time. I say "we," I barely went there. It's been going on for more than a year and I spent most of that time up Portobello Road. I'm not glad to have survived, it's the fact that I was never actually in the Caribbean.
www.filmfocus.co.uk/lookat.asp?FilmbaseID=94&FeatureID=100