"Let the villains play Michael Kiton!"

Colin Farrell - about his first family film "Dambo", Tim Berton and serious topics in children's cinema

Dambo Tim Burton was released-a family tape about a flying circus elephant, which is separated from the mother and try to make a show business star. One of the main roles in the film was performed by Colin Farrell - he plays a front -line soldier who has lost his hand in the First World War and trying to return to the destroyed peaceful life. At the request of Medusa, the journalist Jeanne met with Farrell in Los Angeles and talked with the actor about how Disney’s paintings are adjacent to the drama of Yorgos Lantimos in his filmography, whether he would return to the roles of “bad guys”, as well as that forced him to cry on the surveys of “Dambo”.

- It seems that you are characterized by films of a completely different type - for example, the series “Real Detective”, or “Widow” by Steve McQueen and “Lobster” by Yorgos Lantimos. How did Dambo appear on this list?

“Oh, I’m sure that you won’t blink your eye, as I will return to the roles of a corrupt policeman who sits on cocaine.” Of course, Dambo differs from everything that, in principle, most actors can play in their career. I remember that when I starred in the "Lobster", someone told me that such a role is not characteristic of me. But the bottom line is that this role was in principle different from all that the actors had to play, if only simply because each director is special. Yorgos Lantimos is one, and Tim Burton is the other, which means that the roles in their films will not be at all similar.

The topics that Berton raises in the Dambo is the death of relatives, the life of an orphan, the life of a widow who has lost his hand in the war - all these life topics today, it seems, raise only European authors in independent drams. The topics of cruelty, greed, separation of mothers and children are difficult topics, but thanks to the vision of Tim Berton, his giving visualization, he can include them in the film, tell the viewer about them, but not shock him and chew everything to the smallest detail. After all, the Dambo should be seen not only by adults, it should be clear to children. And it is wonderful that Berton does not close his eyes to this - he talks about serious things, but does it so that the children can understand what is being discussed, digested and learned.

And, of course, it is perfectly finally to star in the film that my children can watch! I am not saying that they will like him - I am not so stupid, I will not make anything! But I am glad that I starred in the film, which they, in principle, can watch.

- By the way, about the First World War, and your grandparents did not talk about the war? Did one of the relatives participated in it?

- No, they came across other difficulties.

- And in the Dambo and in the Lobster you had to control almost without hands. Have you trained for a long time?

- Of course, I tried to manage with one hand at home - I brushed my teeth with one hand, took off my trousers, all like that. After amputation, my hero has to retrain, but I myself know that I have a second hand. Let's take it seriously, it is important to understand - it is one thing to imagine that you have one hand, another thing is to live with it.

- Tim Burton always makes films about outsiders. He often works with the same actors - Eva Green, Danny Devito, Michael Kiton ...

- I did not feel like an outsider on the set, oddly enough, everything seemed to me familiar. It did not seem to me that I was excluded from the group. On the contrary, I did not leave the feeling that I had joined the troupe. Obviously, Michael Kiton and Danny Devito made more than one film with Tim Berton, which is fine. Their friendship and proximity to each other created an atmosphere on the set.

You are right, often, if not always, Tim Burton talks about loners, about outsiders and a sense of isolation - after all, it is familiar to all people one way or another. I also experienced this in due time. I think this is a universal topic. Interestingly, the film shows how people are cruel to Dambo-they shout at the poor baby when they see his ears for the first time, moreover, they begin to throw hot dogs at him. This is a very cruel scene in the film! But this is exactly what is happening today in schools and at workplaces. Such bulletin - real goats - and there is no doubt about it. We all know what the human power is, and sometimes it lies in the inner rod of a man who was offended and lifted in the past. And Dambo is a story about it. Dambo tells about kindness, dissimilarity, tenderness, all these are the qualities that should be cultivated by a person.

- Why do you think elephants often become heroes of such stories?

-If I am not mistaken, they are almost the only creatures in the wild, which truly mourn the death of creatures close to them.

- They say that whales too?

- Logical! But I think that if you don’t talk about scientific facts, the elephants are very emotional creatures, if you see them once in nature - in your herd, you will pay attention to how emotionally the rest react to it if one experiences pain. This, of course, is not very combined with their size and strength - elephants could be very cruel and dangerous animals, but in reality they are delicate and kind creatures. I think that this is exactly what attracts people in elephants, masters their attention, because it was not for nothing that in the distant past the elephants were considered sacred animals!

- Did you go to the circus as a child?

- No! Never!

- And they didn’t take the children?

- No, there are practically no circuses. When I was a child, the circus has always been something unrealistic. The very idea of ​​a circus for me was something akin to baseball or chewing gum-it was something very American, although the circus has much richer history in East European countries. Nevertheless, for me, the circus was something American, like sugar wool or attraction High Striker, where you can measure your strength with a hammer with a hammer-all this was for me something illusory. The fact that I saw only in American cinema, but I never tried it myself. So, when we began to shoot Dambo, I was so delighted - everything that I was interested in trying in childhood, which I dreamed about and that caused me curiosity, I could finally feel and try in the film by Tim Berton, and so many children's memories surpassed me. Filming in Dambo was a truly excellent experience!

- And the fact that you and the father yourself helped you cope with the children on the set? Have you brought up their screen son and daughter?

- I did not have to raise children on the site, believe me! Rather, they learned me. For example, Niko Parker ( daughter of actress Tandy Newton - approx. Medusa ) told me when I went out of the crosses on which we should stand in the frame, or went from the field of view of the camera or when I just had to close my mouth, and sometimes even told me my remarks!

- You have always been a very family person - often we talk about your sons and your family in Ireland. Is it important for you that Dambo is primarily a family film? Have you agreed to star because of this?

- If frankly, everything decided for me when I heard the phrase - Tim Burton and Dambo! My God, it sounds so beautifully, this is the perfect alliance of such a visual director and story about a character who is not just a hero, he is a legend. And then I read the script and I liked the touching story of my Holt character, which affects very serious topics. So I breathed a sigh of relief when I was told that I would get this role!

- And, finally, for the sake of diversity you do not play a bad guy!

- Yes, let Michael Keaton do this. He manages to play a villain with such an aplomb!

- Yesterday I spoke with Danny Devito, and he drew my attention to how much the topic of Dambo - the separation of my mother and child - is consonant with what is happening in the USA, where migrant children are excommunicated from mothers .

- Of course, you can draw parallels. In our film, children are separated from parents more than once-firstly, my screen children are separated from their mother because she died. And many children are faced with this every day! Secondly, my screen children are separated from my father, because my hero is sent to the front, which again experienced countless children around the world-they lost their parents after the war, and even their return from the war does not always mean that it will be possible to find a common language with a Frontovik father. The war changes almost everyone. And, of course, there is a third element - the dam is separated from his mother, the elephant Mrs. Jimbo. So you can spend many parallels, just one of them, which you are talking about, is more relevant in our time and is more often covered in the press. I do not think that Tim Burton did it intentionally, but there is this topic in Dambo - and it’s scary, of course, that this happens in our time.

- They say that Tim Burton almost built a circus in the studio for filming the film. It turns out that you practically did not work with the green screen? Was all the scenery real?

-I happened to work in my life at truly unusual film sets-whether it is the shooting of Alexander, which do not surpass anyone, or “remember everything”. But I had never entered the shooting, where I would be immediately covered by the most beautiful children's memories, where I would again feel like a little boy, where everything was curious for me. This happened only with Dambo.

When I went to Tim Berton to shoot his Dreamland attraction park, which, according to the plot of the film, is owned by the character of Michael Kiton, I was stupid! Everything was so huge and present, real attractions were rebuilt-sometimes in a height of 80 meters, it smelled of pop-root everywhere, lights flashed, on the set of 400 actors, horses, eight rare Ford cars, which were produced at the beginning of the 20th century, plus 40 juggles, acrobats and knitters of knives. Imagine, I go and see all this. Of course, I thought: "What the hell?" “But to be honest, my eyes were immediately in my wet place.” It was so beautiful that it was difficult not to feel sympathetic and not to let a mean male tear! Of course, after a couple of days I began to get used to it and did not go with my mouth open, saying: “Someone pinch me! I do not believe that all this does not really happen! "

- They say that you agreed to this role also because you love riding very much?

- I can’t say that this is the main reason, but I really love horseback riding and I was lucky that in the cinema I have more than once managed to work with horses. What is more pleasant, I was allowed to perform many tricks myself, but I really love it!

- Are you satisfied with your career now?

-Now I probably even more than ever enjoy my work on television and in the cinema, but at the same time I want to spend less and less time away from home. It used to be different. But such life, you understand. I am satisfied with my work, but often my “contentment” jumps from 46% to 59%, and then to 73% and falls to 13%. And then bam-and again 76%, but for some time passes, and I am again 24%again. So everything is mixed. I really love what I do in life and I like that I have the opportunity to earn a living with this matter, I will not even downplay my happiness and will not complain about my fate!

- Dambo believed that he could fly if he had a magic feather. And what was such a magic pen in your career for you?

- Don't know. Maybe my eyebrows? Or ears? Although you know, probably this is my curiosity. Everything is interesting to me now and today I am much more curious than ever in my career!

- Have you never burned out and your interest in work has not disappeared?

- It happened of course. I began to lose interest in work for a long time, but I tried to analyze everything and even moved, so that the balance was restored! It seems to me that today, more than ever, I am interested in learning about new projects and stories. It's funny, but the older I become, the more lively I feel.

- Before our interview, I talked a little with your children - we talked about my favorite directors, and your sons said that both love Tim Berton and Stephen Spielberg.

- Yes, they were obsessed with them! But it's so cute!

- And what qualities you are looking for in the directors?

- I have no clear answer to this question. But I really often shoot in a particular film simply because this or that person directs him. It seems to me that I was lucky-there is no one single reason why I work with one or another director, well, if she, I would expect that every director will have precisely this quality, and then I, as an actor of a crane!

All the directors were different, there were those with whom I worked for six weeks on the set and for all this time we could talk three times with strength. And this is normal, I believe that if I do something wrong, they will definitely tell me about it. And there are directors with whom we have close relationships, for whom I can sit in a small room with other actors for three weeks and rehearse each replica. And this is also great! Yes, it tires, but I like it.

But I will tell you, there is still one quality that helps me in work. This is a clear vision. Burton Tima can upset some things, and yet he does not lose his vision of his picture, he knows exactly what he wants to achieve, however, like Yorgos Lantimos and Martin McDon (“Three Billboards on the Border of Ebbing, Missouri”), although the latter has not so much visual understanding as language and behavior.

- And how do you instill in your children a love of cinema?

- I try to show them such films as “Alien” and “Back to the Future”, as well as cartoons - for example, “The History of toys”. I try to show the old cartoons: “Lady and the tramp” and “The Book of the Jungle”. It seems to me that I managed to instill in them a love of cinema. The cinema is of great importance in our lives, by the way, I allowed my 9-year-old son to see the first “stranger” recently! He now wants to see the “radiance”, but I did not allow, I think that, firstly, there are too many bloody scenes for a small child, and secondly, psychologically this is a very difficult film. The one turns into the hero of Jack Nicholson is terrible! So I think to wait a couple of years before introducing them to Stephen King!

But cinema is fine, and a passion for it needs to be developed: my children love films very much, and what I like when it comes to the movie - it is not so important who you are. Cinema accepts everyone, this is an impartial creature that accepts everyone with open arms.

Jeanne jury