Though it has been out for almost three months now few films this year have surpassed The Constant Gardener in terms of its critical acclaim. I am crossing my fingers come Academy Award nomination time because this is powerful, moving and dare I say it, mainstream, film that deserves to be recognized.
I got a chance to talk Ralph Fiennes about his lead role in The Constant Gardener, his vocal histrionics in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and his upcoming villainous turn as Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Check out the official website for The Constant Gardener
Daniel Robert Epstein: Is The Constant Gardener the closest you'll ever do to a straight up action movie?
Ralph Fiennes: [laughs] No, I've done Strange Days, that had a little action in it.
DRE: That was a long time ago, though!
Could you talk about how Justin's gardening is important to the character?
RF: I've always thought that gardeners are good at nurturing and most of them have that quality of patience, a degree of tenderness and they have to be persistent. I think those are qualities that Justin has. I haven't asked directly why John Le Carr why. It seemed quite clear to me that since Justin's journey is from someone who's quite gentle and probably not very confrontational, then something shifts in him and he gets stronger and more determined. I think within him already is this quality of patience and thoroughness.
DRE: His relationship with Tessa is such a surprise because she is quite the opposite.
RF: I think the story works because of that relationship. You want people who at best are very different. That works because if everything was always the same it would get boring.
DRE: This film has some incredibly striking African imagery because it was filmed on location. What was your African experience like?
RF: I think it was a great achievement to make the film in Kenya at all. Kenya doesn't have much of an infrastructure for hosting a film like this scale. It was extraordinary.
DRE: How was their reaction from the people there?
RF: I think when you go to areas that have poverty of that level, you're ready to feel shocked and some degree of shame, coming in as a rich westerner. In their eyes, we certainly are rich. But you're wrong-footed, because while you see these areas with no sanitation, no electricity, no running water, the spirit of the people with their enthusiasm and joy the thing I carried away with me was the sense of human contact. Whatever the differences of culture, background, wealth, all those things, there are these moments where you're welcomed to take someone's hand, have a conversation with someone. Suddenly, you're all bound together because you share your own common humanity in a simple moment and that's the most beautiful thing that I carried away from the film.
DRE: After City of God made such a stir it must have been a pleasure to work with Fernando.
RF: Oh it was fantastic and initially, there was another director attached and he left the project, so for a short time we didn't know who was going to direct it. Then Fernando brought his own particular spin and take and energy to the story, so I think complicated thrillers like this can become a bit heavy and bit plodding but he cleared out any dead wood in the screenplay. There's great energy in the film and I think it's very strong indeed.
DRE: Do you think because he comes from an under developed country that has affected his approach?
RF: Yes, he's not bound by or used to the style of the studio system. I think there's a generic language for a lot of filmmaking and I think it comes out of the commercial studio system. With him not coming from that background he didn't give a shit. There's a freedom and elusiveness in the way he shoots which I've not encountered before.
DRE: A film like this can reveal your politics a little; are you comfortable with that?
RF: Yeah, I have my thoughts about what's going on. I don't particularly feel comfortable about actors using whatever profile they may have to push their beliefs, and that's when they're extremely well informed. But like any citizen of the world, I guess I have some thoughts politically. Certainly Le Carr's angered about government collusion with big pharmacies, so there's little transparency between the big pharmaceutical companies, how they sell their drugs and how they test their drugs, how accessible are their drugs to the poorer nations. This is what this movie's pushing and I'm certainly behind that.
DRE: Hard to not be.
RF: Exactly.
DRE: Were you aware of all this kind of thinking before doing this movie?
RF: No, the political thing for me was less of a reason to do the movie that it was a great part to play. I was allured by playing a great character like Justin Quayle. It was great that, woven in and around the narrative, is this story that begs some questions about corporate and government behavior.
DRE: How do you choose your characters?
RF: On instinct. I respond to a part just intuitively when I read a script. It's about what I feel when I've read it. I don't plan a career. That doesn't work for me. I just have to go with my gut.
DRE: Fernando also gave you a lot of opportunity to improvise; how did you like doing that?
RF: I like to work that way but it doesn't happen often. It's good because little moments can have a feeling and a texture that is very real.
DRE: What attracted you to play Lord Voldemort in the upcoming Harry Potter film?
RF: I wrestled with it actually because I didn't know much about the world of Harry Potter. Then after thinking about it, I just thought this is such a full-on villain and while I've done some more realistic villains but nothing in that fantastical magical, children's realm. Then I saw some pictures that they drew for the look and that's when I really took the bait. He looked really strong. Actually, I shouldn't describe it, but I thought it looked really cool.
DRE: Are you signed on for all the films?
RF: Not all. I think I'm doing the next one. I have a big fight with Dumbledore in the next one.
DRE: Even though it was just your voice, how was it working on Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit?
RF: [light chuckle] That was fun. I didn't know what to expect. It's quite hard work because they wanted a broad, comedic vocal performance. The film has some fantastic moments. They're brilliant people; they're imagination is really quirky, and it goes on and on and on. They come up with one little idea for a momentous scene and it gets refined and refined until it's almost surreal.
DRE: Which is more important to you, the critic or the public?
RF: Ideally I think it's both. You want to have a critical success and you want people to go and see it. It's disappointing if something's well reviewed and no one goes to see it.
DRE: Do you want to work with David Cronenberg again?
RF: Yes. I love working with David. I had a great experience with him on Spider.
DRE: Are you looking to work with anyone in particular again?
RF: I worked with the Hungarian director, Istvn Szab, on Sunshine and we'd like to find something to do together. Cronenberg and I have talked about doing something else together. I'd also like to work with Katherine Bigelow again. It's hard to make a good script then to make a movie from it.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
I got a chance to talk Ralph Fiennes about his lead role in The Constant Gardener, his vocal histrionics in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and his upcoming villainous turn as Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Check out the official website for The Constant Gardener
Daniel Robert Epstein: Is The Constant Gardener the closest you'll ever do to a straight up action movie?
Ralph Fiennes: [laughs] No, I've done Strange Days, that had a little action in it.
DRE: That was a long time ago, though!
Could you talk about how Justin's gardening is important to the character?
RF: I've always thought that gardeners are good at nurturing and most of them have that quality of patience, a degree of tenderness and they have to be persistent. I think those are qualities that Justin has. I haven't asked directly why John Le Carr why. It seemed quite clear to me that since Justin's journey is from someone who's quite gentle and probably not very confrontational, then something shifts in him and he gets stronger and more determined. I think within him already is this quality of patience and thoroughness.
DRE: His relationship with Tessa is such a surprise because she is quite the opposite.
RF: I think the story works because of that relationship. You want people who at best are very different. That works because if everything was always the same it would get boring.
DRE: This film has some incredibly striking African imagery because it was filmed on location. What was your African experience like?
RF: I think it was a great achievement to make the film in Kenya at all. Kenya doesn't have much of an infrastructure for hosting a film like this scale. It was extraordinary.
DRE: How was their reaction from the people there?
RF: I think when you go to areas that have poverty of that level, you're ready to feel shocked and some degree of shame, coming in as a rich westerner. In their eyes, we certainly are rich. But you're wrong-footed, because while you see these areas with no sanitation, no electricity, no running water, the spirit of the people with their enthusiasm and joy the thing I carried away with me was the sense of human contact. Whatever the differences of culture, background, wealth, all those things, there are these moments where you're welcomed to take someone's hand, have a conversation with someone. Suddenly, you're all bound together because you share your own common humanity in a simple moment and that's the most beautiful thing that I carried away from the film.
DRE: After City of God made such a stir it must have been a pleasure to work with Fernando.
RF: Oh it was fantastic and initially, there was another director attached and he left the project, so for a short time we didn't know who was going to direct it. Then Fernando brought his own particular spin and take and energy to the story, so I think complicated thrillers like this can become a bit heavy and bit plodding but he cleared out any dead wood in the screenplay. There's great energy in the film and I think it's very strong indeed.
DRE: Do you think because he comes from an under developed country that has affected his approach?
RF: Yes, he's not bound by or used to the style of the studio system. I think there's a generic language for a lot of filmmaking and I think it comes out of the commercial studio system. With him not coming from that background he didn't give a shit. There's a freedom and elusiveness in the way he shoots which I've not encountered before.
DRE: A film like this can reveal your politics a little; are you comfortable with that?
RF: Yeah, I have my thoughts about what's going on. I don't particularly feel comfortable about actors using whatever profile they may have to push their beliefs, and that's when they're extremely well informed. But like any citizen of the world, I guess I have some thoughts politically. Certainly Le Carr's angered about government collusion with big pharmacies, so there's little transparency between the big pharmaceutical companies, how they sell their drugs and how they test their drugs, how accessible are their drugs to the poorer nations. This is what this movie's pushing and I'm certainly behind that.
DRE: Hard to not be.
RF: Exactly.
DRE: Were you aware of all this kind of thinking before doing this movie?
RF: No, the political thing for me was less of a reason to do the movie that it was a great part to play. I was allured by playing a great character like Justin Quayle. It was great that, woven in and around the narrative, is this story that begs some questions about corporate and government behavior.
DRE: How do you choose your characters?
RF: On instinct. I respond to a part just intuitively when I read a script. It's about what I feel when I've read it. I don't plan a career. That doesn't work for me. I just have to go with my gut.
DRE: Fernando also gave you a lot of opportunity to improvise; how did you like doing that?
RF: I like to work that way but it doesn't happen often. It's good because little moments can have a feeling and a texture that is very real.
DRE: What attracted you to play Lord Voldemort in the upcoming Harry Potter film?
RF: I wrestled with it actually because I didn't know much about the world of Harry Potter. Then after thinking about it, I just thought this is such a full-on villain and while I've done some more realistic villains but nothing in that fantastical magical, children's realm. Then I saw some pictures that they drew for the look and that's when I really took the bait. He looked really strong. Actually, I shouldn't describe it, but I thought it looked really cool.
DRE: Are you signed on for all the films?
RF: Not all. I think I'm doing the next one. I have a big fight with Dumbledore in the next one.
DRE: Even though it was just your voice, how was it working on Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit?
RF: [light chuckle] That was fun. I didn't know what to expect. It's quite hard work because they wanted a broad, comedic vocal performance. The film has some fantastic moments. They're brilliant people; they're imagination is really quirky, and it goes on and on and on. They come up with one little idea for a momentous scene and it gets refined and refined until it's almost surreal.
DRE: Which is more important to you, the critic or the public?
RF: Ideally I think it's both. You want to have a critical success and you want people to go and see it. It's disappointing if something's well reviewed and no one goes to see it.
DRE: Do you want to work with David Cronenberg again?
RF: Yes. I love working with David. I had a great experience with him on Spider.
DRE: Are you looking to work with anyone in particular again?
RF: I worked with the Hungarian director, Istvn Szab, on Sunshine and we'd like to find something to do together. Cronenberg and I have talked about doing something else together. I'd also like to work with Katherine Bigelow again. It's hard to make a good script then to make a movie from it.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
I really enjoyed this interview. I had no idea he was going to be in the next Harry Potter film so that is indeed exciting. The calibur of interviewees this site manages to land continues to impress me and is a driving force as to why I maintain my subscription.