I not too long ago had the great fortune to speak to Pierce Brosnan for the DVD and Blu-ray release of Roman Polanski's Ghost. In Ghost Brosnan plays Adam Lang, a former British Prime Minister who took his country into a controversial war in Iraq and is now facing allegations of war crimes. Clearly it's tough not to draw similarities in between Lang and specific former Prime Minister who's surname begins with a B and ends in Lair. Check out the interview beneath.
Working on a Polanski film has got to be a highlight for any actor. Are you pleased with the outcome?
Pierce Brosnan: Yes, I am. I believe it is great. I feel Mr Polanski has produced a excellent political thriller. He has created thrillers prior to but by no means a political thriller, it comes out of the trap really quickly and then it slows down and picks up again…Wonderful.
How did you get involved in this one particular?
Pierce Brosnan: I was in London performing Mama Mia and my agent said 'Polanski desires to see you for this film, would you go and see him in Paris?' And I said 'yeah, I would be extremely content to go and meet this excellent director..' And we sat and had a wonderful lunch and we talked, we talked about life, we had both lost wives, him in a ghastly style, a terrible tragedy. He is a lovely man and I got on well with him. We talked about movies and we just had a wonderful time. We talked a tiny bit about the film and then weeks later I went out to Berlin to see him and start off the film. Nothing at all was ever spoken about the past or indiscretions it was just a wonderful working experience. He is a taskmaster and he rules the set, it's his set and he has his way of performing items. As he was an actor he likes to give you line readings, which is not everybody's cup of tea, but I had no qualms about it. I genuinely enjoyed the experience.
Did you believe about Tony Blair when you were playing Adam Lang?
Pierce Brosnan: Nicely, we established that it's not Tony Blair but I couldn't aid but look at Tony Blair and when you are in London he's at the Chilcot Inquiry. It was outstanding due to the fact there was Mr Tony Blair front row and centre and outside there were placards saying 'liar, liar' and 'war criminal.' I couldn't believe it and I don't know what's going on but it all appears to be dove tailing with each other with the release of our film. Perhaps there's a larger level of orchestration, perhaps something's afoot, and I don't know if it's art imitating life or life imitating art but it was a quite bizarre coincidence.
He should have been in your thoughts?
Pierce Brosnan: You know the 1st question I place to Roman was 'am I playing Tony Blair?' And he mentioned, 'no, you're not..' But on the heels of that we did a photo shoot where I had to do the photographs for the dust jacket of the book and Roman sent me 5, six distinct photographs of Tony Blair. The photographs showed Tony Blair with different expressions and photographs of Mr Tony Blair greeting numerous dignitaries. And we had this photographic session and so it appeared that all roads led to one particular man truly and so you have to hang your hat on an individual and I certainly tipped my hat to him
OK, so how did you see the character?
Pierce Brosnan: This is a man who came down from Cambridge as a rock star and is a populist. For me he is a tragic character, this man who is so misled by his very own ego, by his own lack of data and deal with on political situations, he's a puppet and he knows he's a puppet and he does his finest to kind of shroud it and now here he is in this bunker and the wolves are at the door and he doesn't have a leg to stand on. He's type of pathetic fellow who relies on his wife, there's tragic-comedy in that too.
What it is like on set with Polanski?
Pierce Brosnan: He is the star of the set – he is the director, the writer, the producer, the actor, anything and it comes from a deep passion and enthusiasm for making films and his energy was contagious. When you got more than the reality that he can have a sharp way about him at occasions, you know right after doing a scene exactly where he says 'no, no, no! What are you performing?' It's like, 'alright I've fucked up' and that's it, you kind of get on with it.
Let's speak about the other actors. Did you know Ewan?
Pierce Brosnan: We were on nodding acquaintance, Ewan and myself, and we'd observed every other about town. So I didn't truly know him but I loved his work and there is this profound accessibility and charm about the fellow and he holds the camera so well and he has such very good articulation of speech and believed and he had great heart in his performances. So I was so proud to sit with him there on that initial day of filming and the very first day of filming for me was that seven page scene on the airplane so that was a baptism of fire.
Was he a excellent collaborator?
Pierce Brosnan: He was. We didn't genuinely talk about our roles we talked a little about who we had been as characters and what we wanted. But no words have been needed actually since the power was always in my character's court. In the roles we play, I'm pretty dismissive of his character. But we got on really well and we have lots of mates in frequent – Liam (Neeson) being the primary man. So we talked about kids and life and mates we know and theatre stories. It was just a couple of actors hanging out in the back of beyond. And Olivia was a triumphant surprise – not only simply because she played the character so brilliantly but also as a lady. I hope to perform with her and indeed Ewan once more. We all got on well with each other – we knew our roles, we knew the job at hand and in the organization of Mr Roman Polanski we had been all very exhilarated by the knowledge and challenged by the time spent with him. Kim (Catrall) is lovely, too. She has a beautiful way about her. She was the only actor that I actually knew and I'm really fond of her and really like her quite significantly as a person and as an actor. So you know, we had a great time and we all had our stories to inform at the end of every single day's work.
Adam Lang is quite isolated and I wonder whether you have ever knowledgeable a hint of that sort of feeling, when you are cut off from, let's call it the actual globe?
Pierce Brosnan: If you let your self you can really feel extremely isolated inside the world of Hollywood or one's bit of fame. But I slave and endeavour not to do that. I'm a working man, a functioning actor who has had some great fortune and good results as an actor. I'm a public figure and I'm mindful of that so you try to live your life accordingly and as just as doable. I started my life as an actor to be in connection with my personal head and my heart and intellect and in the organization of my fellow guys and girls and the neighborhood I reside in. So you want to remain connected. You don't want to have that disconnect. But I know what it's like to be in a hotel room and have the press outside your window and to walk out and to be followed and observed, to be maligned by paparazzi or the Web.
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This video has clips from Dante's Peak, Laws of Attraction, and Right after The SunSet this includes nevertheless photos from PBfiles.
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