Your Questions Answered: Part 3.
Actor Rupert Graves takes part in the second exclusive "question and answer" series, giving his replies to a host of queries put forward by his fans.
Christina from San Francisco asks:
I recently read an article with Catherine Deneuve saying that she only speaks "movie Russian", how about you...do you only speak movie Latin and Italian?
Rupert Graves: Yes I do.
Brendan Kailer Lieb from New York City:
I recently saw the revival of "The Elephant Man" on Broadway.
It was a strange production in that the aspects of the original text, which at times were very Brecht-like in structure, were magnified by this production to the point where we as an audience felt quite distant from the characters.
I was wondering why the director chose this approach and how as actors you justified the very stylized staging ?
Rupert Graves: It's written in a very Brechtian way. There's a lot of public addressing. I think the director needed to create a production which was his own and unlike the original.
Jeff Moore from Escondido USA:
Have you ever thought about starting your own theatrical company ?
Rupert Graves: It would be very nice to have your own theatrical company, but I'm not a very good manager. It is something I'd like to do one day, perhaps.
Claudette from Belgium:
Rupert would you like to make a film directed by Lynch or Polanski ?
Rupert Graves: I haven't seen a recent Polanski film, but I love David Lynch and would love to work with him.
Jamie from New Jersey:
Was there ever a role you badly wanted but didn't get, and during the shooting of which film do you think that learned a lot as an actor and why?
Rupert Graves: As far as roles go, there must've been, but I can't remember anything in particular. If I don't get things I put them out of my mind. In regard to learning, I suppose my first film - Room With A View - because I'd never done a film before and was working with people like Maggie Smith. It was trial by fire, my steepest learning curve.
Mary Ellen Walsh from Lakewood:
Since you starred in at least three movies with Helena Bonham Carter, is she one of your favorite actors/actresses to work with?
Rupert Graves: I really like working with Helena. We have a nice complicity. She was in the first film I did and the second film I did, and I've enjoyed working with her very much. I've done four films with her (she also had a small part in Maurice).
Rachel Dear from New York:
Twenty years later, what's your take on the film, Maurice and your performance as Alec Scudder ?
Rupert Graves: I haven't seen it for 20 years, but I enjoyed doing it. I'd quite like to see it again.
Trudy Poet in New York:
Rupert, do you enjoy our literary discussions on the message board ?
Rupert Graves: I do when I have the time to read them, they can be very interesting.
From David Watt:
Which Hollywood great from the classic 30s to 50s period would you most like to have acted alongside and which favourite role from a film of this period would you like to play in a remake?
Rupert Graves: Spencer Tracy and Marlon Brando, an English actor called Robert Donat. Philip Marlow is the part I would like to play, in any of the Chandler adaptations.
Jasmine Rouf from Dorset:
Dear Mr Graves, there is a commonly known adage that says "you cant put a price on love" but there is another saying that "everything has a price." So if you could put a price on love how much would it be?
Rupert Graves:I go completely with the first adage - you can't put a price on love. There's nothing I'd rather have than love.
Lori from Boston, USA:
How do you keep your stage performance fresh, playing the same role night after night? And do you change aspects of it based on the audience's reaction, either during a performance or from night to night?
Rupert Graves: You keep it fresh by trying to play the truth. If you're doing a comedy and nobody laughs ever, it would be a good indication that you're doing something wrong and should change it. Although you create a performance and a character, the great thing about theatre is about how you feel and how everyone else feels on that moment. You try and create an energy.
Part Four Continues Here. |
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