It’s Hit and Miss with CGI Characters: Lord of the Rings did it right with Gollum, Star Wars totally missed the boat with Jar Jar Binks. Was Nighy concerned about taking on the role of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest central CGI-enhanced character? “I wasn’t really concerned. I was reassured by Gore, the director, who was has a background in that kind of stuff. This is the first time of have ever been involved in anything like this. The script was great; the part is terrific; and Gore… The process has kind of moved on. I think every time they make a movie with special effects, it never stops. It kind of moves on.
This is presumably, currently, state of the art. For instance, there was not a lot of blue screen or that kind of work. I was allowed into the main population, even though I had to wear seriously unsettling trousers and dots all over my face, which is averagely hard to front, particularly when you are standing next to Johnny Depp. I was aware that the creature would be, hopefully, to a large degree, informed by whatever I did on the day. But as for whether it was going to work out or not, I didn’t know.”
Watching the Finished Product: Sitting through the film and seeing how the CGI has completely altered his look was a little weird for Nighy. “It is surprising, actually. I wasn’t entirely convinced. Gore said, ‘It is going to be the performance. The performance will be the inspiration for the crew ship. It will be truly and properly informed by whatever you do.’ I figured, ‘He is a nice guy. What do I know? Why would he lie to me?’ But I couldn’t work out how that would be.
I also didn’t mind it too much. My job was to inhabit, as it were, the creature and to provide something for them to work on and that was the gig. I am fine. To the degree which it is identifiable as me, was not something I particularly concern myself with at the beginning because I figured it wouldn’t be. I just thought it was me informing a creature. Obviously I had seen pictures. It didn’t look much like me. Do you know what I mean? I don’t know whether it is is just because I am me… I am sort of surprised to what degree it sort of looks familiar.
It is spooky, obviously, because it’s weird experience. I have never done anything like this before although I have done animations, but it is not quite like the same thing. It is satisfying to see that the stuff, the movement, the physical stuff and the kind of attitudinal decisions that I made - we made - at the time, survive. They are in it. They are there, even though they are delivered by this weirdo (laughing). But they were my decisions, and it is kind of familiar to me in quite a big way.”
Watching Pirates 2 Aids His Performance in Pirates 3: Now that he knows exactly what his character will look like on the screen and interacting with other performers, Nighy says it will change how he plays Davy Jones in the third Pirates movie. “I think so. I hope so. I was astounded when I actually first saw stuff I had done, because it is quite broad, in terms of performance. It is quite big. Our choice to do it Scottish was also kind of radical, in terms of that accent. Actually for once in my life…I am not a fan of myself, I am happy that other people like it, but I don’t watch myself very much.”
What Advice Would He Give to Other Actors Doing CGI Characters?: “That is a good question. Can’t answer it, but it is a good question (laughing). No… I would say, ‘Keep the faith when they give you the trousers. Don’t panic.’ It is tough. You walk on a film set and everybody else has got a costume. Everybody else is looking very glamorous, and in this case, pirates. I don’t know whether I have got any particular advice except that to trust now, that the process is such that what you do will in some way arrive on the screen. Have faith is all I can say. It is a lousy answer. I am sorry…”
Page 2: Bill Nighy on Tapping Into His Inner Pirate and the Legend of Davy Jones
