Yes. I’m not that nice to paparazzi. I don’t smile. It’s a really difficult thing because the accusation level that actors, when they’re a little shitty about paparazzi, is, “Well, it’s incredibly naïve if you didn’t think that was going to happen to you.” Well, that’s absolutely true. That’s the only thing I can be accused of is being entirely naïve. I never thought anybody would have any interest in what furniture I was buying, for instance. And when they’re taking pictures of your kids who didn’t choose it, that’s really irritating and, also, when I was at drama school for three years, I never once fantasized about that side of the job. I never did. I never fantasized about people taking your f***ing picture when you might be having an argument with your best mate and there you are going, “You (expletive),” and click, click.
They are the same all over the world. They’re really pond life, I suppose is the most polite… You know when you say, “You’ve got your picture,” you stand there and they don’t want you. I’ve got my wife and my family to just stand there and say, “Go on. Take your picture.” They don’t want that. They want the one where you don’t know that they are following. It’s like being hunted. They get so excited and they duck behind cars. It does make you feel incredibly aggressive when you’ve got your children with you.
Was there a particular moment where this first became a reality for you?
Yes. I did this really foolish thing of marrying a famous American and we sort of got together around her Oscar time. We were chased by five cars. It’s insane and boring. I remember ringing up somebody and saying, “What can I do?” And they said, “Well, look, it’s very simple. If you don’t mind getting photographed you can go out. And if you do, just stay indoors.” I went, “Those are my choices? Those are my two choices? I have to stay in?” So, that gets a bit irritating. But, it’s fine if I do go out on my own. I just get called ‘naked guy’ on occasion.
Can you compare shooting in London and the U.S.?
It doesn’t make a difference, to be honest. All film sets are pretty much alike. I guess, in the U.S., if you’re making a movie they’ve got more money and, because of the more money, you can hear the kind of whimpering of producers slightly louder when people are talking about a scene. Sometimes directors and actors like to talk about a scene before they shoot it, and you can see these producers going, “Just shoot it, shoot it, shoot anything, shoot it.” That’s slightly louder, but all over the world people are either lovely or they’re not.
Were you particularly good at any shot after completing your training?
My serve. I worked very hard on my serve and I remember, during filming, we went away for a weekend to this hotel. I went out to practice so I was out on the court on my own and there was this guy who I saw playing with his wife or something, and he was clearly a really good amateur. And I caught him checking out my serve and he finally came up to me and said, “I’ve been watching you serve and you look good. Do you want to have a set?” And I said, “No, thank you. I’ve got a shoulder injury.” And I went off because I knew my serve was [hot] but I didn’t really want to put anything to the test.
Pat Cash actually wanted to put me into a competition, a pro-amateur competition, and I said, “No, f***ing way.” The whole notion is I’m able to fool myself that I’ve got the stuff to be a professional tennis player. I don’t want to have it absolutely proved to me in black and white that, “No, you don’t have the stuff at all. No.”
