Which is still sort of remarkable because when you put photos of your makeup next to him it does look still so close.
And also, the body. Kazu helped design the padding and the wig and everything. You know, the silhouette of Churchill is so famous. And that’s sort of what we wanted to capture. Not only the man in closeup, but also how the man looks and moves through space.
You just informed me of something I’d never known about Churchill before this interview. I mean, I’d assumed he’d visited the United States, but never knew that he’d gotten injured and, no doubt, was in a hospital for a couple of days. Was there anything in your research that you discovered that you were unaware of that sort of stuck with you?
I think It was that he was a genius. He’s indispensable. One of the indispensable men of history. What I carried with me was the achievement. What I learned was his list of achievements some of which are superhuman. He’s incomparable to other men. And what he achieved in one lifetime, it’s like he lived the life of five men.
One of my favorite scenes in the film, I don’t know if anyone has talked to you about this before, is actually the scene where Churchill is on the phone with FDR.
Oh yeah. Yeah.
It not just because Joe makes the choice not to show FDR, which makes it more powerful, but it’s the camera is on you the entire time. You have to sell this scene. And it’s a heartbreaker because you realize, basically, it’s like there’s no lifeline coming from the United States at this critical moment in history. When you do a scene like that, is it important for you, afterwards, to go look at the monitor, see it plays out? Or are you just trusting Joe that you nailed it?
No. It was a bold choice to not have FDR on the other end of the phone only represented as a voice and to hold the camera on me through the entire conversation. I thought it was very bold that Joe said, “I’m not going to shoot the other side, I’m just going to hold it on you.” But I did not go to the monitor, no. We did a couple of takes. I don’t remember doing many takes of it, actually. Maybe two. Three, maybe, at the most. And Joe came out and he said, “That was great. It was fabulous.” I said, “You happy?” And he said, “I’m very happy.” I said, “Then we move on.” Yeah. It was a nice acting exercise. I mean, obviously I’ve used the telephone in movies, but never quite that way. It was a challenge to do.
I also love the scene with you and Lily James when Churchill discovers that her brother had died in the War. It’s quite moving. Can you talk about working with Lily, how you guys rehearsed that scene and sort of how you nuanced it at all?
You know, funny, we came in, we had a real instinct for the scene. We did one rehearsal and Joe just said, “Oh my God. Don’t do anything else. Get the camera. Let’s just shoot it.” We just found the groove immediately. So, it was very surprising to him, and he just said, “Ooh it’s marvelous. Let’s just now shoot it. Get it on film.” Lily was a joy. She did her work, was always present. A very present person and ready to work when she arrived. You know, was just ready for the day. Really, very talented and a real sweetheart to be around.
Last question. You’ve earned a ton of well-deserved praise for this performance and there’s already a lot of talk about awards and Oscars and all sort of stuff. I know you’ve been through this awards season game before, but how are you approaching this one so that you don’t, like anyone else, sort of lose your mind through all this craziness?
You know, things could be worse. That’s how I look at it. You know, people treat you very nicely. They’re responding to the film very favorably. Pretty much everywhere you go, people are very nice and responsive and complimentary. Really, you know, one can get a little tired of hearing the same question over and over again, but in the scheme of things I feel very privileged to do what I do and be in the position I’m in. So, you just have to have a very positive attitude towards it all. As I say, there are lots of people who are worse off. And I feel very lucky to do what I do, and to have really been in a film that people really seem to love.
“Darkest Hour” is now playing in limited release.
