KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS CRASH 64

By Crash redaction

ACTRESS KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS SPLITS HER TIME BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE. HER NEXT FEATURE IS “ONLY GOD FORGIVES”, THE LATEST OFFERING FROM NICOLAS WINDING REFN, DIRECTOR OF “DRIVE”. SELECTED TO COMPETE AT CANNES, THE FILM SHOWS A WHOLE NEW SIDE OF THE ACTRESS AS SHE PLAYS A DIABOLICALLY CASTRATING MOTHER. A NEW CHALLENGE FOR AN ACTRESS WHO CONTINUES TO AMAZE US WITH EACH NEW ROLE…

How did you get your start in film?

My first film was “Under the Cherry Moon” with Prince, which has morphed into a cult classic. It was a romantic comedy I did when I was twenty. But I didn’t like the whole American show business aspect of that movie, so I came back to France and started over from scratch. I wanted to make a total break with Hollywood and everything I had done up till then, so I started doing theater again. Eventually I did a Swiss film that was selected for the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. I’m fortunate enough to be able to work between France and England and put together a career in both languages, but my work in one country ends up helping out in the other: now British filmmakers contact me because they’ve seen my work in France, and the French call me because they like my American and British work! Marion Cotillard and Charlotte Rampling are two other actresses who manage to work in both languages. It’s tough and you have to work twice as hard. Sometimes you get offered supporting roles, so you have to do a lot of them because it’s your job, and no one can afford to work just a fortnight a year!

How did you meet Nicolas Winding Refn?

I had never heard of him before, since he was still working on “Drive” at the time. He was planning to do “Only God Forgives” in English, so he called me. It turned out to be a French production so it worked out perfectly. Then I watched his movies, but I already thought he was interesting anyway: I liked him right away. He’s a fairly relaxed person, but full of a kind of madness. His films present a world totally different from mine. I didn’t know anything about this kind of violence and these gangs. I never thought about these things, but I thought the screenplay had a great story: a woman out to avenge the death of her oldest son while also kind of castrating and sacrificing her youngest son… it’s captivating. It made me think of Goya’s paintings, very dark, very challenging, and full of violent nightmares. It was difficult for me to approach the film, there were even some characters I just couldn’t read about in the screenplay. Luckily my character doesn’t do anything physically violent, it’s all in her words and expression. I was given a lot of freedom and once Refn found what he liked in what I was doing, he took hold of it and we really got down to work. The first thing you need to make a good film is a good director.

What was your experience with Ryan Gosling like?

It was pretty normal. I’ve been doing this for twenty-five years, so I’m used to working with big stars. I found Ryan Gosling to be a very nice, charming, and natural young man. It makes sense since he’s been acting since he was twelve. He doesn’t have a huge ego. He’s managed to keep his feet on the ground.

How did the film shoot go?

It was a lot of fun. We were a really small team in a foreign country. It was a huge challenge to do the film with only three million euros. The shoot took place in Thailand, with a lot of Bangkok at night shots.

There wasn’t much dialogue in «Drive». Is it the same case in “Only God Forgives”?

My character talks the most in the new film. The story takes place in England and the actor we were supposed to have in the beginning left for another film, so Ryan Gosling offered to take the part. He’s a great actor. He doesn’t say much in the movie, but he’s still extraordinary. We shot the scenes in chronological order over seven weeks. The film has so much anxiety that it’s like a horror movie. Of his own movies, Nicolas Winding Refn’s favorite is “Bronson”, a great story about a prisoner who keeps breaking out of prisons. He has used the same cinematographer from “Bronson” for his movies.

Did you have to change your appearance for the film?

I did, and it was my idea. I thought I would have to get as far as possible away from my usual image. I ended up putting together something really aggressive. Just wearing sexy clothes ! We had a blonde wig made and used a lot of fake tanning cream. I’m sure the critics will have mixed reactions to the film!

What is it like to be a member of the Cannes jury?

Everything is decided at the last second. There are debates and discussions all throughout the festival, and at the end there is the final deliberation, which can get pretty messy. A prize at Cannes can change everything for an actor or a director, so it’s an important decision. The biggest ones are of course the Palme d’Or and the Prix du Jury. I wasn’t involved last year, but I’ve hosted the event twice, most recently three years ago.

Do you still live between Paris and London?

I do. Paris is my home base, but I’m spending more and more time in London. I did a lot of work in England over the past year. It started last year with a film shoot in London, then the film in Bangkok and one in Luxembourg before I came back to London in November to start rehearsals for Harold Pinter’s Betrayal.

Do you prefer film or theater ?

With film, the finished product is always the same; whereas in theater, it’s an hour and a half of magic that’s different every night. There is nothing more magical than theater, but it’s tough to pull off. Theater is different in France and England, too. Directors in England are very conscious of the audience, so they try to send everyone home with something to think about. I love theater but it demands a ton of energy.

Right now I still have a small role in a film and a big role in a comedy in the works, and then I’ll take a much needed break.

Do you work with several different agents?

I have a British agent, an American agent, and a French agent, who’s fantastic. His name is Laurent Grégoire and I’ve been with him from the beginning. We met while he was still living in a tiny studio on the Champs Elysées. And I have the agent in America, and one in England whom I’ve also worked with for fifteen years. When things work out well, your agent is really your best friend.

Do agents also help you find new projects?

The good ones, yes. An agent isn’t just someone who negotiates contracts, they also take care of an actor’s career.

Have you ever had any bad experiences on set?

If you’re on bad terms with the director, then everything is bad. The feeling has to be there, otherwise things just won’t work out. A lot people say De Palma is a monster, for example, while nothing could be further from the truth. I also worked with Lucian Pintilie, who has a bad reputation of being tyrannical, and things did get heated from time to time, but everything was fine in the end. Sometimes your experience on set is a nightmare, but the result is so good that you forget about it. One director I really liked working with is Pascal Bonitzer. His work captures Paris life in a such way that you might call him the French Woody Allen. Of his films I did “Petites coupures” and “Cherchez Hortense” along with Jean-Pierre Bacri. Bonitzer is an incredibly smart writer.

Interview Armelle Leturcq