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Compiled by: Jack Foley
Q: So how did you get the role of King Arthur?
A: It’s not everyday a film of this size and scale
comes to Britain, so there were rumours going around for some
time that a big Hollywood production company was coming to the
UK to do a movie about King Arthur. When you hear this, you immediately
assume that they’re going to cast a couple of A-list American
actors for the film, but to Jerry Bruckheimer’s credit,
he decided that they were going to go to the UK to cast.
I suppose when you cast abroad, there’s not as much pressure
to cast anyone other than the people you want for the film. So
I got sent the script and was asked to go to the US to meet Jerry
and the director, Antoine Fuqua. The next day, they offered the
part to me. It was very exciting to be involved with something
like this.
Q: Because you grew up learning about the legend of King
Arthur, was it at all daunting to take on the role?
A: It’s strange. A lot of people have asked me
if I felt a lot of pressure playing King Arthur, or being in a
huge movie like this. But at the end of the day, you approach
it like any other part – you just jump in there and do it.
You can’t play heroic and you can’t play status. It
has to be in the fabric of the script. When two actors are together,
you can only be given status if the other actor gives it to you.
So you do go into a movie like this knowing it’s a huge
part, but it’s not any more daunting than any other role
as long as the direction and the script support you, which in
this case, they did.
Q: Speaking of the script, how faithful is it to the
King Arthur story?
A: I always take scripts how I find them. I’m not
one of those people who feels that if it’s based on a book,
it has to be just like the book. I like this script. I like the
momentum. I like the way it sets up the story and then sets these
guys out on a mission from hell.
The writer, David Franzoni, told me about his historical research
and how he arrived at this concept. He gave me a lot of background
on the original King Arthur myths, and it was enlightening because
so much of my knowledge of King Arthur was based on children’s
storybooks and movies.
I soon realised that I didn’t know that much. It’s
a very elusive myth that came together over a long period of time,
and our film is based on the things that the writer learned from
his research.
It’s set in a time when the Roman Empire was pulling out
of Britain, society was collapsing and chaos reigned – all
of which make for a very exciting backdrop for the movie. I think
it’s important to view this film as one interpretation of
this legendary story.
Q: How would you describe King Arthur as a person?
A: Arthur had a strong faith and belief in Rome and what
it stood for, but that changes in the movie. Because the world
is evolving, he has to reconsider how he fits into the scope of
things. He is slightly in denial about his English heritage, but
he is a man of these people and of this land. In fact, he is possibly
the one man who can unite this land. He’s an interesting,
dramatic character – someone who feels conflicted, and that’s
part of the draw of playing someone like this.
Q. Horse-riding is something that you confessed you weren’t
too thrilled with the idea of. Can you explain further?
A. I’d done very little riding. The stuff I’d
done was in the movies, and not very successfully. When Jerry
and Antoine asked me to do it, no one actually said, ‘can
you ride’, so I kept very quiet about it. I was in denial
about it, until eventually someone came along and said I had to
get on a horse tomorrow.
I spent a good two months, really, getting ready before going
to Ireland, but it was very necessary, because 70 per cent of
this movie is on horse-back, and it was important that both I
and the knights looked like we belong on those horses. Ultimately,
you want to deliver for a director, so if Antoine says I want
you to ride, at speed, into this hostile environment, with a horse,
you want to have the confidence to do that, so the work was put
in.
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Q: What can you tell us about
your romantic scenes with Keira Knightley, who plays Guinevere?
How awkward is it for actors to film love scenes?
A: I’ve done a number of love scenes and it’s
often a very technical process. You have to remember that we have
a crew of 50 guys standing five feet away and we’re all
trying to capture certain frames and you’ve got to fill
the frames to get certain images across. So it can be quite technical,
and I suppose that takes away some of the awkwardness one might
feel in that situation.
Q: How interested were you to see the finished film?
Any surprises for you?
A: Yeah, it’s pretty extraordinary. A film of this
scale and size takes so long to put together that the filmmakers
and actors can’t really see it in totality for some time.
Seeing the finished film, I just loved the scale of this. I am
very happy with the end result
Q: You’re currently making Sin City with Robert
Rodriguez. How has that experience been?
A: I was just in Texas finishing up on that. There’s
lots of guns, lots of shooting, and it has Benicio Del Toro, as
Jackie Boy, and Rosario Dawson, as Gale. I play Dwight. It’s
a pretty crazy world these characters are living in.
Q: Any truth to the rumors of you playing James Bond
someday?
A: It’s all complete media speculation and it’s
been going on for a while now. I think it’s all due to a
combination of me wearing a tuxedo, in The Croupier, and driving
BMWs in the Hire short film series I did for BMW. It’s really
surprising to hear these rumours because Pierce Brosnan has done
such a fantastic job as Bond.
He’s reinvigorated that franchise and made the company a
lot of money. As far as everyone knows, he’s going to do
another one and I don’t understand why people just don’t
come out and say, "He’s our man. He’s our Bond
and he’s great." I don’t know why they don’t
back him like that. But I can tell you that they’ve never
approached me.
Q: What was it like to work with Julia Roberts, in Closer?
A: That whole experience was a huge treat from start
to finish. She was so good and so nice that it was a pleasure,
an absolute pleasure. We did a lot together in the movie. If you
know the play, then you know that there are some very tough, emotional
scenes, dealing with the breakdown of a relationship. And when
you’re working with probably the biggest actress in the
world, you don’t know what’s going to come with that
– you just don’t know. And I was just bowled over
by how pleasant and easy she was to work with. I was incredibly
comfortable and had a really great time.
Q: As an actor, do you feel that your career is always
gaining momentum? Is your sense that the roles you get just keep
getting better and better?
A: I’ve always been in it for the long-term. It’s
a lifelong thing for me, it’s a craft, it’s something
I want to keep doing. And I’m hugely fortunate that I’ve
been introduced to American audiences.
I was never chasing the American film market, it just happened,
and suddenly the whole film world opened up and I was being asked
to work with really great people, so I’m nothing but grateful.
I was only unemployed for a couple of years in my hometown ,of
Coventry, before going to drama school. That was pretty tough.
And I had a year or two of struggling a bit, when I first left
drama school, but then I landed the TV show, Chancer, and that
laid the whole foundation for my career.
Q: Would you ever consider moving to Hollywood?
A: No, I live in London with my family and I’m
very settled and very happy there. There’s no need to live
in Hollywood. It’s not like every movie’s made there.
It’s true that as an actor you go where the work is, but
the work can be anywhere now.
Q. When you weren’t filming, what was the night-life
in Ireland like?
A. [Deadpan] We were professionals, all of us, It was
wrap, home, bed, sleep work.
Ray Winstone
Q. Perhaps you can tell us on behalf of all the actors
what the experience of boot camp was like?
A. I think that’s a question for Ioan… Well,
actually, funnily enough, there was a method behind my madness,
because I wasn’t at boot camp!
Q. I knew this! I was wondering if you had dodged the
boot camp, and were willing to admit to it?
A. No, I was working on something else, earning a living
[laughs]. And I thought if I went to boot camp, it would kill
me and we wouldn’t be able to finish the movie! Over to
Ioan.
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