HELENA BONHAM CARTER: Well, I just put make-up on. The witch was fun. I had a perverse pleasure, particularly in this profession which is so ageist and it’s so anti-wrinkle, to then become a witch and have people just pile it all on. I love that. Except that it took 5 hours, I didn’t love that. That was hideous. Then I thought I’m unbelievably stupid to not think this through (laughing). “Oh yeah, I’ll be a witch. That’ll be great.” And then suddenly I’m stuck there.
When you wear those things, I don’t know if you guys have done stuff, you have no idea what you look like. And you forget that you’re wearing it. Other people do treat you differently, definitely treat you differently, and you do forget. It was weird because I was pregnant throughout that so it was weird being a pregnant witch. I had morning sickness so all those fumes and the make-up and the rubber, it was hideous. I was in a really bad mood but luckily, because I sleep with the director, he just sort of scheduled me so I only had to do it two nights. Perhaps he would have actually narrowed it down to one…
I love changing what I look like because I always feel super strange whenever I do watch something that I’m in. I think I’ve gone into a crazy character and then I watch it and then I think, “God, it’s me again.” So it’s nice to have the witch. At least I look different.
Speaking of sleeping with the director…
HELENA BONHAM CARTER: I slept with him months to get the part, and then we got pregnant (laughing).
How are adventures in mommy land?
HELENA BONHAM CARTER: It’s kind of a daze. I’m not really here. I mean, I’ve just beamed in my body but my brain, I don’t know where it has gone. I can do milk and that’s about it for the moment. But it’s stunning because he’s only 6 weeks old so it’s a huge change. He’s adorable. Multi-tasking? I can’t even do two things at once. I can’t even do one thing at once. It is amazing.
Do your instincts just automatically kick in so you know what to do?
HELENA BONHAM CARTER: No, no! No idea. It’s like this parent thing in the film, it’s like when you become a parent you think, “Ohhh.” One doesn’t have a clue.
DANNY DEVITO: We were in the hospital when Rita had the first baby and it was late at night. I was sleeping in the hospital for a couple of nights and there’s a moment where we had the kid and I handed it to her, and she handed it to me (laughing). You don’t know. You don’t know what to do, what to say. It’s like now there’s the three of you. It’s so bizarre.
How does having kids affect your work?
DANNY DEVITO: There are so many great things about having kids besides the fact that you can just relive your childhood, if you had one. If you didn’t have one, it’s a good thing to experience. You can get down on the floor and you can play with the kids. You can do all the reading and you can do all the building and drawing, all those things that we love to do. Actors love to play. It’s great. It’s also an education, a phenomenal education, just one after another. I have 3 kids and just to go through that, read books that you haven’t read, and just do things that you haven’t done. Go to museums, all the great fun things that you can do carrying that silly bag around with all the crap in it.
What sets “Big Fish” apart from other year-end films?
DANNY DEVITO: I feel it’s a magical, whimsical, emotional, important film. A film that I would place in the top echelons of film history at this point. This movie is for every person out there. Everybody is going to be taken on a Tim Burton experience with an amazing amount of identification for every man and woman in the audience.
HELENA BONHAM CARTER: That’s pretty good.
PAGE 3: Leaving a Legacy and the Vision of "Big Fish"
Additional “Big Fish” Cast Interviews:
Albert Finney/Jessica Lange and Ewan McGregor/Alison Lohman
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"Big Fish" Photo Gallery
"Big Fish" Soundtrack News
"Big Fish” Trailer, Credits and Movie News
