See the standard disclaimer.
Was sword fighting dangerous at all?
It is dangerous, yeah. They're real swords. They're really sharp, pointy swords. But my old dance training (I was a dancer in another life), was very beneficial to me because it's like dancing in a way. But, I don't know whether I'll ever use it again.
Talk a little about the actual choreography.
We learned it in sections, so that [director] Martin [Campbell] could kind of get how he was going to shoot it, because it's really quite hard to choreograph dancing or anything like that in movies. You do your whole thing, and then you get to the set and the camera. There's no way the camera can see you, because they're shooting you from behind. So, we pretty much [guessed] how the camera shot, the layouts, which way we were going to shoot it, and we learned it in sections, and then we built up speed. It was really, oneeee... twoooo... threeee... and it got faster and faster and faster.
And how long a process was that?
About four weeks. But, that wasn't just for the sword fight scene. I had the choreographer to work with for our dancing, I had horseback training, horse riding training and then the sword training, and then I worked with my dialect coach to get the Spanish accent. So, it was like, two hours here, two hours there, then I'd go out to the stables, then I'd met Antonio [Banderas] for two hours, then I'd go to the voice coach. It was really a treat, because, usually, you don't get that privilege. Usually you have to turn up and just get on with it. But when you're working with swords, you have to have that time.
Was filming the dance scene very difficult?
Yeah. That was the first thing they scored, so we got it all together pretty early on. But, the funny thing was that we did all this training before and we'd say, "So when are we shooting the dance scene?" "Oh, that's not until, like, four months away." Really? So, every now and again, Antonio and I would go off into a corner and just go through the dance before we forgot it.
Is he a good dancer?
Yeah, he's one of those people that you can just.... You know, he's never had dancing lessons in his life, and just does it.
How was it working with him?
Really good. He's a very unassuming man. Antonio has this huge energy, very professional and very giving. I never felt intimidated or unknown, going down and working with these two guys. It was really, really cool.
You made The Phantom before this. But, for sure, some people didn't get the joke of The Phantom. Were you worried that people just wouldn't get Zorro?
People just don't get things, sometimes, you know? In Australia, The Phantom is the biggest hero. What Martin Campbell's done in Zorro is [create] characters that are very solid. And you care about the characters. So all the mystique of Zorro, all the action, all the dancing, all the swordplay, it's always a bonus. And I think it was very difficult in The Phantom to make that jump from real man to man in purple suit. I think the idea of a black mask, a black hat... black is much more feasible then a purple suit. It's much more realistic.
And were you aware of Zorro's popularity in this country beforehand?
Where I come from, too. I'm from Wales, and on Saturday morning they used to re-run the TV series, and I knew who Zorro was, yeah. It's an international thing.
What was your dream when you were a kid? Did you want to be a singer, a dancer?
I wanted to be on the stage. I never thought for one minute that I would be in films. I wanted to be on the stage. In the beginning of my career was the singing, dancing, musical comedy and the English National Opera. Then, when I finished 42nd Street, I didn't quite know what to do next. Whether I wanted to just go from musical to musical, re-create somebody else's role or just do straight acting. So I kind of hung up my tap shoes for a while. I'll just do the straight acting.
What is your family's background, because you look quite convincingly Latina in the film.
My mother's Irish and my father's Welsh. But, we've tried to track our family back, and we're blocked. We're at a crossroads down there after my great-great-grandfather, and no one seems to know anything. So, I don't know.
Was Anthony Hopkins a national hero?
Sure. Oh, yeah. When I first worked with Tony on the play, he had just won the Oscar for Silence of the Lambs. He'd just been made a knight, and we're very proud of him.
Tell us a little bit about working with the dialect coach, because in the film, there's quite a range.
Yeah. For me, I really wanted to do the majority of stuff with a Spanish accent. And that's the way it worked out.
At one point, you even had a Castillian lisp.
Yeah. Well, it was one of those things. Do we do that lisp thing? I tried it for a while and then it seemed to me that all my lines had this lisp in it, you know. No, we can't do this. My head had decided on Basque and we couldn't do that. So we kind of smoothed out the edges a bit.
How much did you enjoy your character?
Very much. When I first read the script, it was great! I get to dance, I get to sword fight, I get to horse ride and now I get into a solid, emotional side with Anthony Hopkins. So it wasn't just the damsel in distress. She's the blood of Zorro, so I kept playing with that. You know, that kind of fiery thing. She didn't know where it comes from. But [the character] was a great one to play. I liked the combination of the humour and the emotion and all those things.
Did you have enough room to improvise?
Oh, yes. The majority of the swordplay. All those little things were improvised, and the end of the swordplay where my father comes in... yeah, very much so. And Martin Campbell is really good at directing action, he's really good with actors, he was particularly good with me. So he was very easy with us. He wasn't like, "No, you stand here." No, he wasn't a dictator in any way.
Was Melanie Griffith on set, and if so, how does that affect love scenes?
Melanie was not really on the set. She had just given birth to Stella, so she wasn't there. And, we got on really well from day one. She said to me once, "Do you mind if I come in and see the rehearsal of the sword fight?" and I went, "No." She was really charming. There was never any sense of two women. She's an actress -- she understands.
Have you ever been in a situation like that, where you have love scenes and the other person's significant other is there and may not understand?
No, no. I think if you're doing a love scene and the partner's there, they should just go away. I would never do that, you know? I have a lot of friends and I go and see actors on sets and things. I don't particularly like being on sets if I'm not working. It's, like, probably the most boring thing in the world. It's just tedious.
Are you married?
No. No, I'm not married.
Where are you from?
I have a house in Palisades, but I come from Wales. I sold my house in London two years ago and so I go between -- well, I'm actually starting my next film in 10 days -- and so I go back to London until the end of the year, really. So, I'm all over the place.
And what is that movie?
It's called The Entrapment with Sean Connery.
So, what's The Entrapment about?
We play international art thieves, and it's a wonderful, romantic movie. It's similar to The Thomas Crown Affair. It's a really great character.
Sean must be several years older than you.
He is.
This happens a lot lately -- older actor, younger woman romantic-thriller co-star. What's your take on that?
I've never done that before. But what's really interesting in the script, is it's discussed, that's part of the story. I keep telling him he's old enough to be my grandfather. You know, and we're business partners and our personalities are the same, we're on the same line. And it's much more of that kind of relationship as opposed to, you know, doe-eyed coquettish love affair. They're business partners, and all of a sudden, it gets a bit... "Whoa... this is getting out of hand... we shouldn't be doing this. This is not the way we should be working together."
Why would anybody be attracted to Sean Connery?
Exactly. I find him far more attractive than any other guy.
Did you get that role as a result of this?
I think from word of mouth. I met Sean in Rome. Sean actually only saw Zorro, like, three weeks ago. We talked about the project and then we screen tested in New York. Sean's producing it and he really wanted me. I think it was more of a name thing, like, I'm not a name. I think they wanted Sean Connery and a whoever. But Sean really wanted me for it, and then I got it.
You mentioned word of mouth. There's been a big buzz about you for a movie that's six months from coming out. How have your last six months been? How has that affected your career?
It's been quite long, to be honest with you. I was, like, this movie was never going to come out. And I really wanted it out. Because they pushed it back. They wanted to do it in the spring, and then they wanted it for a summer release. And it's like, now where is that girl? They've been talking about this movie for years.
When did you actually finish?
We finished shooting last June.
Because you were at ShoWest two years ago.
We were there two years ago. We flew up from the set.
Right. You had actually started working on it that long ago.
Yeah. ShoWest was like in April or something. We finished [at the] end of June, but it's a strange thing. In a way, I don't want to let go of it. I want to be in this six month period because it's familiar and intimate. Now, I get calls: "Oh, there was a screening yesterday... There's going to be a screening Saturday. Do you want to bring anybody?" And in a way, I don't want to let that go. Especially now that it's a completely different thing. I have a strange thing about wanting to keep it with us.
Well, regardless of what the movie does, you've had a successful pre-opening buzz.
Yes, it's been really good. I just sat tight for a while. I read everything that was coming up and when I read The Entrapment -- I thought the title of it was going to be changed, actually -- but that movie had a good buzz about it. And that seems to take it forever to get into play. But there has been a buzz and it is exciting. I think if factors happen to you, you have to enjoy it, 'cause it may, it does, end.
Well, was your move to California a conscious career choice to work?
Yeah. I was happy with the way things were going back home, both professionally and personally, and I just decided that I was going to come to America to meet the people. I've had an agent over here for years, and he said, "You've got to be here to meet the people. You just can't fly in for one meeting."
Do you plan to return to any more plays?
Oh yes. Yeah. But not right now.
(c) TNT's Rough Cut 1998
|
E-mail, comments or suggestions: Comment Form. See the standard disclaimer. |
|