Ioan Gruffudd, no stranger to period pieces having played Horatio Hornblower and having starred in The Forsythe Saga, returns to the land of costume dramas with Amazing Grace based on the life of William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was a British antislavery pioneer who took on the English establishment and helped to end the slave trade.
Ioan Gruffudd’s been making films since 1997, but he’s probably best known as Mr Fantastic in Fantastic Four. Since starring in that comic book adaptation, Gruffudd says that “slowly but surely” people are beginning to pronounce his name correctly (it's Yo-an Griffith). Gruffudd never once thought of changing it and says it’s just a matter of educating people to pronounce it right. Gruffudd explained, “Honestly, from the very word go it was, ‘I’m not going to change my name. It’s not going to stand in my way.’ And so far, so good.”
Familiarity with Wilburforce’s Story: “To be perfectly honest, I was slightly ignorant to the whole story,” admitted Gruffudd. “Whether that was me not paying attention or it passed me by [I don’t know]. But certainly, in British education, he is renowned and remembered as the British politician who abolished the slave trade. I think here, he is more of a footnote as far as the abolitionist history over here.”
Showing Off His Singing Skills: Yes, Gruffudd does his own singing. “I’m very proud of that,” Gruffudd said, beaming. “To be honest I think that I am a bit of a singer. Coming from Wales, being Welsh, we are all very proud of our singing heritage. But [director] Michael Apted and the producers never actually asked me if I could sing. It came to that morning and it was, ‘S**t, now he’s gonna sing. What are we gonna do?’ But luckily I wowed them all with it.”
Gruffudd had support in getting ready to take on singing duties. “Funnily enough, I got my old singing coach from drama college whom I hadn’t seen for 10 years since I left drama college. I called him up and asked him to help me out with the singing.”
Politics vs the Church: Although it’s not quite clear in the movie, Wilburforce did have to choose between being a minister and pursuing politics. “Absolutely. What he said was, ‘To praise God,’ whatever that means, to become a meditative monk or whatever or a preacher, I don’t know. Certainly in history, William Pitt the Younger - the Prime Minister at the time and his best friend - wrote him a letter asking him to reconsider, because he was such a great politician. He was getting so far in politics. ‘Please don’t give up that. Surely the religion can lead to action as well as meditation.’ Those are his words. They lifted his words from that letter to use in the script.”
Wilberforce Founded The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: But Gruffudd doesn’t have pets and didn’t grow up around animals, yet that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like them. “I always had this image if I had a pet, he would be free to roam the fields. I'd have to live on a farm.”
Unlike Gruffudd, Wilburforce’s life was full of animals. “It was a big part of his life. When you read about him, his house was filled with people or animals he was looking after. He was this incredibly rich guy, a wealthy man so he was able to be such an philanthropist.”
Easing Into Period Pieces: Are British actors more comfortable doing period pieces? “I know I’m as comfortable doing period as I am contemporary,” answered Gruffudd. “I suppose we grow up with it in a sense, in the theater. We get to put on costumes and play a lot of period dramas or plays, so we’re exposed to it a little bit more I think because of our theatrical background. And, I love it because you put a costume on or a wig on and you’re suddenly somebody else already. It’s like playing as a child: you put on a cape or your father’s jacket or your grandfather’s jacket and suddenly you’re able to play being that old man. Any prop ignites some sort of imagination.”
Gruffudd believes when it comes to watching period films, British audiences are more used to the genre because of their heritage. “It’s part and parcel of our heritage with literature, film and television and because of the theatrical background, we all a bit more aware, more used to period dramas.”
On Choosing Projects: Gruffudd loves how kids come up to him and want to pull his arms after seeing him play Mr Fantastic. He’s extremely gratified to get that reaction from kids. The ability to have that sort of affect on an audience is one of the reasons he picks certain films to star in, including Amazing Grace. “Even as a child, that’s why I wanted to be an actor, the magic of movies. ‘Wow, he made me feel this way.’ That’s why I wanted to do this movie because when I read the script I was bawling my eyes out at the end of reading it because of what he’d achieved, a sense of relief. I wanted to be that actor that affected me as a child. So, I got my chance to create that bit of movie magic. When you see the wonderment in a kid’s eyes; they’re so nervous and tentative because they can’t quite believe it’s you and then, obviously disappointed when I can’t stretch.”
Looking Into the Future – Gruffudd’s Got The TV Set: In addition to the second Fantastic Four movie, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Gruffudd’s recently wrapped work on the comedy The TV Set from writer/director Jake Kasdan. “I play a British executive who has been brought in to bring a bit of class to the whole proceedings but, of course, he tries to stamp his authority on it and be all about integrity. And, of course, he devolves into this character interested in numbers and figures and so we see his sort of demise.”
Gruffudd was ready for a comedy. “I loved the opportunity. That’s why I fought tooth and nail to get into that movie. I read it and immediately put it down and thought, ‘They’d never consider me for this.’ Then they couldn’t find the guy and funnily enough an assistant to Vin Diesel, who is now Jake’s [Kasdan’s] assistant said, ‘Listen, I know this great actor Ioan Gruffudd,’ because Vin is with my manager. This guy said [in Bronx accent], ‘This guy is fantastic, fuggedaboutit.’ So, he said, ‘Well, just sit down with him. He’s a good British actor.’ So I did. I sat down and persuaded Jake to give me the part by reading and proving that I could do it.”
