A Russian interview with Tom Hardy & Guy Pearce done in Cannes, from the magazine Mini. I’ve translated it with help of google (and transcribed it too *phew*). You who know Russian, please to tell if I got something wrong!
Q: Guy, can I ask a question about your eyebrows. Do you really shave them?
Guy: What can you do when my character is this way. Rakes is strange, he has an over-developed ego, and I wanted to stress this, even visually.
Q:Tom, how about your beard, is it just for a role?
Tom:Yes, don’t worry!Q: Did you read the book on which the film is based?
Guy: I have deliberately stayed away from the book because the film’s director, John Hillcoat, immediately warned me that my character in the script had little to do. In the book he is a local, not an outsider, he’s a completely different character. So I did not want to get completely lost in that. Besides, I hate to read.Tom: I have to admit, I didn’t read the book. Half started and abandoned. Like for Guy, the script was enough for me. In general when it concerns work, I believe that an excess of zeal and information only hurts you. There is an idea of the role, which is a clear line that you follow. If we started dig into piles of material to dwell on your character, beginning to film can become neurotic.
Guy: Yes, Tom doesn’t like to rehearse. You know that he didn’t learn his lines? He wrote the words on large sheets of paper for assistants to hold, or someone read it out loud!
Q:John Hillcoat said in his interview that all the actors who played the brothers Bondurant, invested a lot of their own personalities in the characters. Is this really true?
Tom: Of course. After all, whoever I may pictured in front of the camera, I - it’s like I am me and no one else. So I simply couldn’t not invest a part of myself in Forrest. But regardless of this, we are different people. I for example, have no brothers or sisters. Generally, the filming involves a great team of professionals with extensive experience, talent and vision of what we do. We constantly interact with each other and influence each other as well as our characters. Otherwise it couldn’t be!Q: The Bondurant brothers are so different! Tom, tell us about Forrest.
Tom: Forrest - he’s a very paradoxical figure. He would like to be cool, but it doesn’t work. At heart he is a typical “mother of the family”: cooks, cleans, saves money for a rainy day. Knitted cardigan, a beard, a cigar like Clint Eastwood - a mix of male and female. Every day he does what he didn’t choose because he has to take care of his family. This, and not the ability to punch someone in the jaw, is a manifestation of masculinity in my opinion. But for me personally the cardigan helped to hide the excessive amount of muscles that I built for the filming of “The Dark Knight Rises.” I had to work on two very different roles, at the same time.Q:The script was written by Nick Cave, known more as a singer and songwriter. In your opinion, is he greater writer or a musician?
Tom: In my opinion, still a musician. And I think he sees himself that way.
Guy: No, no! Nick always says, “I’m not a musician, not a musician!” But given that he really is best known for the songs, if you think about it, one of their main components are the texts. So I see no contradiction. The script for the film as an extended version of his poems.Q:But Nick came to the shooting?
Guy: Yes, but not for long. Maybe a week. I think he didn’t want to be in the way and his children to get involved. In addition, a film, it’s a tedious process. A lot of time you just have to sit and wait.
Tom: Incidentally, he also starred in one scene! When you see the scene where all the firing of guns, and there’s a dead gangster in the car - you know, it’s Nick!Q: When you prepared for filming, did you find inspiration in old movies?
Guy: They sent me a whole bunch, but I forgot about them. Honestly, I got inspiration from talking with John and Nick Cave. They’re both so enthusiastic about the project and talked about it so enthusiastically, that nothing else was necessary!
Tom: In essence, we have submitted a film on a silver platter with a gold platter. In the production the best actors were involved, the best writers, top-notch staff. What more can you ask for?Q: You do a lot of films. How do you decide when you accept a role, and when not?
Guy: For me, it comes down to three factors. The character. The script. The director.
Tom: You forgot to add “money.”
Guy: That is also a powerful argument. But the crucial role it plays is normally in cases of dispute. That is, if I’m not entirely sure what role I like, but in the opposite doubt - how big the fee is will in the end decide the matter. Tom: Often the negotiations are delayed. Skeptical actors, directors questioned. At some point, when you have almost reached an agreement, the producer suddenly says, “I’ve thought about it and I’ve decided to offer this role to Brad.”
Q: But still, probably, it is nice to know that you have a job for years to come.
Tom: And you are happy to know that you’ll find a refrigerator full of food at home.
Q: Tom, you are a member of the charity “Help for Heroes.” Tell us about it.
Tom: We help soldiers returning from war, to heal their wounds, both physical and psychological. You can not imagine how many maimed people are returning from the battlefields. And they need dentures, cosmetic surgery, rehabilitation … I am very happy that my job allows me to contribute and help these people. We have to admit, I was lucky in life!
