Ioan Gruffudd, otherwise known as Mr Fantastic to hordes of Fantastic Four movie fans, stars as an intelligent BBC executive lured away by an American television network in The TV Set, the brainchild of writer/director Jake Kasdan.
It’s Been a While Since The TV Set was Filmed: Gruffudd said he finished this film right after the first Fantastic Four movie was released. “I remember reading this and going, ‘Oh, they’ll never cast me in this. Just put it down, there’s not a chance in hell I’d be seen in a comedy.’ I think at the time it was a vehicle that Jake had written with Ben Stiller in mind, I think. I thought I’m never going to be in that. And then one day I got the call from my manager. Jake’s assistant, Melvin, had been my manager’s assistant and he had been championing me to Jake, saying, ‘You’ve got to see this guy, Ioan Gruffudd. He’s really good. I think he’d be good for this part.’ And Jake was like, ‘What, Mr. Fantastic?’ So there was a bit of persuasion and then I got in the door and auditioned and got the part. I wanted to be involved in this genre. I think it’s a great genre, the comedy, and I think I’d be good at it, although not necessarily a broad comedy. I just wanted to get my foot in the door with these creative, great people, like Judd Apatow and Jake.”
The Audition Process Differs Depending on the Country: “It’s interesting. All the European actors are terrified of the audition process here. It’s come in, hit that mark, you have one go at it, and then you’re out the door. How on earth are you able to gain my talent and my ability from that one go at it? It’s nothing like the process of actually doing it once you get the part. You do it time and time again; it’s creativity with the director.
But in the UK it’s more often than not meetings. You sit down with the director who is the one in charge, he is the leader. The BBC or whoever has given him charge of the series, and off he goes and does his series. So it’s a very relaxed process in the UK. And then maybe you do a screen test for the powers-that-be, but it all comes from a place of trust and love and creativity.”
British Television and Slut Wars: Would we ever see the fictional show from The TV Set on British TV? “Well, it’s interesting because a lot of these reality TV show were spawned in the UK,” answered Gruffudd. “We invented Who Wants to be a Millionaire; The Dutch invented Big Brother. We started Pop Star and Pop Idol, which now is American Idol, so we’re guilty of our own demise really. I think the television over here is of the same quality, if not more superior, really, than a lot of the stuff in the UK. Things like The West Wing, Sopranos, the writing on these shows is just extraordinary.”
The Issue of Compromising as an Actor: Unlike what happens to the creative people in The TV Set, Gruffudd happily admits he’s never really felt like he had to compromise much over the course of his career. “It’s interesting, not to sound like a goody-two-shoes, I’ve been very fortunate that things that I’ve done in the past I’ve been immensely proud of. They’ve been immensely successful projects, either on TV or on film. I’m sure there’s a lot more luck than judgment there. Committing myself to a series like Hornblower in the UK allowed me then not to have to work, not to have to jump on the next project, because financially I was set up not to have to do that. I must admit, I’m probably in the top five percent of actors that a) are working and b) are able to be in that position of not having to work.”
Working with Sigourney Weaver: “She’s such a brilliant actress and to create those moments you have to come from a place of trust, and Jake had created that on set. Sigourney is a brilliant actress, full-stop, she’s a great theatrical actress so we come from the same sort of tradition. We knew what to expect of one another. Yes, there wasn’t much acting involved when you got given that by somebody as good as her and it was hard to stand there. I felt somewhat sorry for her whilst I was doing it.”
Both Weaver and Gruffudd have starred in huge franchise films, and their TV Set co-star David Duchovny made 'Mulder' into practically a household name with The X-Files. “That was interesting,” said Gruffudd commenting on their past work. “During the rehearsal process we were all sat there, David, Sigourney and I were discussing the fact that we all have dolls of each other. It’s amazing.” So who has the best doll? Gruffudd replied, “I think mine certainly looks like me because of my prominent nose. You turn it in profile, and you can say, ‘Yeah, that’s Ioan.’ I don’t know.”
A Little Update on Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer: Gruffudd hasn’t seen any of the completed footage yet. “Not a frame, not a frame. I’m actually going to do some re-shoots this weekend, but nothing too drastic. It’s just picking up the list of shots because there was a lot more green screen in this one, so I think there are certain angles they’re looking for. I think no news is good news, actually, in this circumstance. I think we’d certainly know and we’d been working on it sooner if there was a problem with it.” Reshoots had to be done on the ending of the first film, but Gruffudd says that’s not the case with FF2. “No, I don’t think we’re shooting any of the ending of it.”
Interacting with the Silver Surfer: Chris Evans as the Human Torch goes one-on-one with Silver Surfer, but Gruffudd revealed Mr Fantastic doesn’t. “Not directly, not one-on-one like that. But certainly collectively we have to trap him and catch him … or do we?”
Is There a Fantastic Four 3 in Gruffudd’s Future? “I’m sure they’d love to make another one. I’m sure it’s [dependent] on how well it does this summer. It’s a very competitive marketplace this summer with Spider-Man, Harry Potter, Pirates and Transformers, so who knows?” But Gruffudd confirmed the ending of Fantastic Four 2 does leave the possibility open. “Yes, yes, certainly, we shot it in such a way that of course we could go on to another adventure.” Pretending to zip up his lips Gruffudd added, “I’ve got to keep my mouth shut.”
