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How tough is it to find projects that are new and different?
“Well, I think you just are lucky. You’re only as good as your luck. You can’t rely on anything other than hope that a decent script will pop through your door, that somebody will think of you. The ratio of good to bad material is not very promising a lot of the time, but then there’s always something that makes you think, ‘That could be different. That could be interesting.’”
What do you look for in a script?
“It’s really hard to say and I actually don’t have a proper answer for you. I think, first of all, a lot of film scripts are written quite formulaic and the more you read, the more you notice the formulas and the more that kind of turns you off. Whenever you read something where somebody has tried something a little bit different… If the character in question doesn’t waltz in on the first page: ‘He’s the handsome, heroic sort of guy…’ I think, ‘Oh god, that’s so boring. Can’t he just be a little bit messed up? Can’t he be a bit normal?’ But there’s not like there’s one thing that you can look for.”
Is there a type of character you haven’t done yet that you’re anxious to play?
“No, not really. Not really. I suppose everybody wants to play a serious villain somewhere down the line.”
Why is it that it’s so appealing to play a bad guy?
“You know, I think because it’s sometimes a little bit more theatrical, even if it’s downplayed. There’s that kind of sense that you can play it up a little bit more.”
And speaking of other roles, you’ve got a bunch of films coming up. It seems like you’re keeping really busy.
“I don’t know how many of them are real and how many of them are just kind of things floating around on the Internet.”
How about The Jane Austen Book Club?
“That’s true. I just finished filming that. He’s called Grigg. He’s the lone male member of the book club.”
What’s it like to be the lone male?
(Laughing) “Daunting! Maybe that’s not strong enough of a word. I felt at times as though I was a mascot in human form. It was great, you know? The character finds himself in this group of women – five women and him – and he kind of almost ends up in the group by mistake. He doesn’t know any of them and he’s very sweet, but he’s still a little outnumbered. That’s basically how I felt.”
And you’re rumored to be in Bronte. Is that actually happening?
“No. It’s funny how a few people have mentioned that recently, but I don’t know anything about that.”
But you are in Evening, correct?
“Evening, yes. I filmed it a little earlier this year and that’s coming out sometime this summer or later this year. And then another movie called Beyond the Gates which we filmed in Rwanda a couple of years ago.”
