The Sense of Anticipation: Molina says the interest in The Da Vinci Code equals the amount of interest in his last major studio film, Spider-Man 2. “But I think the amount of interest in Spider-Man 2 was almost a foregone conclusion in the sense that there was already a built-in core audience of Spider-Man fans. And also because it was number two, there was a great sort of expectation that already had built up from a couple of years before, from number one.
I think that really was a case of just knowing how to wrangle that audience and how to wrangle that interest and to make it [work]. Whereas I think this was probably a bit more of a gamble because although the book had been a huge success, it’s never a guarantee that just because the book’s a big hit, the film’s going to spark off any interest.”
Molina continues. “[The Da Vinci Code] has a slightly different demographic maybe, although I think it overlaps here and there with something like Spider-Man. But I think certainly the interest on this film is enormous. Of course it’s thanks to the absolutely unprecedented success of the book, but also the fact that the film itself is being done by such a high caliber of people that are involved in it. Ron Howard and Brian Grazer… The actors playing the leading roles, they really constitute the best of the best so I think that gives the whole thing a sense that this is very much an event. This is an important film in the year.”
The Bishop Outfit: Molina plays a Bishop of Opus Dei and said wearing the ropes was actually a comfortable experience. “The bishop outfit is actually terribly comfortable. It’s all made to measure because if that’s what you wear all the time, then you’ve got to be comfortable. It was certainly a lot easier than wearing the Spider-Man tentacles. It was a nice change, really.”
Asked if he felt any sense of the spiritual weight of the costume Molina said, “Not in any real sense. It’s certainly enough to play a Bishop to look like a Bishop, but if you’re asking me did I have some kind of Road to Damascus experience then I’m afraid the answer is no.”
On Humanizing Villains: “I think I’ve always felt very strongly that playing a villain, you do the same thing... When you play a villain, the last thing you do is in some way turn it into an attitude where you’re basically telling the audience, ‘I am the villain.’ In the same way that if you’re playing the romantic lead in the movie, you don’t walk around carrying yourself around as if you’re the sexiest thing in the world. That would just be really boring. So I think what you try and do is just find - I don’t like using words like ‘the reality’ because there’s nothing real about it. But try and find that thing that’s very plausible and very authentic so the audience feels comfortable about suspending their disbelief and are willing to buy you in that role and go on this journey with you.”
That approach held true in playing Bishop Aringarosa. “I think it’s just with anyone, with any character, you have to believe in what you’re saying in the same way that he does,” explained Molina. “I always use the example that the actor playing Sister Mary Teresa has exactly the same responsibility as the actor playing Adolf Hitler. The responsibility is to represent those people as accurately as you can, regardless of whether they’re good or bad, evil or saintly. Regardless of what they’re like, you have to represent them. You can’t misrepresent them. You can’t suddenly decide, ‘You know what? I’m playing Mussolini but I’m going to give him an Irish accent because I think that works better for some of the dialogue.’ You can’t do that kind of thing. But when you’re playing a character that’s fictitious, really what they’re paying you for is to be as imaginative as you can.”
Page 2: Alfred Molina on The Da Vinci Code, Silk, and Spider-Man
