Now an interview with Colin Firth
Source: www.speakup.com.br
Language level: Advanced
Standard: British accent
Speaker: Justin Ratcliffe
Interview
THE KING AND I
British actor Colin Firth is the star of one of the most acclaimed movies in recent years: The King’s Speech. The film, which is directed by Tom Hooper, tells the story of King George VI. Before he ascended to the throne, he was known as Prince Albert. He was destined for a life for a relative obscurity, but all that changed dramatically ally in 1936, when his older brother, King Edward VIII, abdicated in order to marry an American divorcee. Wallis Simpson, Albert –or “Bertie” –was suddenly thrust into the limelight. He suffered from a severe speech impediment and the idea of having to speak in public and make a radio broadcasts to the nation traumatised him. The film tells the story of his relationship with an Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue, who is played by Geoffrey Rush, while Helena Ronham Carter plays King George VI’s wife. Queen Elizabeth.
THE WAR
The Second World War broke out in 1939 and George VI’s task became even harder. He died in 1952, at the age of 55, and was succeeded by his daughter, the current Queen.
When Colin Firth met with the press, he was asked about his preparation for the role, but as he admitted, he hadn’t had much contact with Britain’s Royal Family.
Colin Firth
(Standard British accent)
I was at an event where Prince Charles who’s very gracious with the people he meets, was being ushered around by his private secretary and he would try his best to give as much as of his focus and his interest and he would usually know quite a lot about the people he was speaking to, but the private secretary would be making sure that he didn’t get too long with that person because there’s somebody else in line and he would make that that’s very carefully marshaled. And it was interesting to see people who are otherwise composed and would actually claim not to be impressed by royally suddenly completely transforming and becoming very, very nervous! And you realise that, if you are a member of the Royal Family, you are surrounded by people who are like that all the time and probably that’s how you see the human race!
METHOD ACTING
As Colin Firth admits, preparing for the role of a king wasn’t easy.
Colin Firth
If I were playing a cab driver, I’d probably want to hang around with a cab driver, and maybe drive a cab, and just see what it’s like. And, you know, if I was playing an astronaut, I’d try to meet one, but you don’t get to meet kings and hang around with them, and so your information is secondary: you might meet someone who knows that person. As I said, you can look at what happens when people are around Prince Charles and think, “Wow, that’s what the world looks like to you!” but you never meet a person who’s relaxed and gives you a pat on the back and says. “What’s up?” No one does that! So you try to accumulate that kind of information. There are a lot of letters, there are a lot of people who have been close to the Royal family, in one capacity or another, and we did speak to people in that position. And you read and you listen and then you just use your imagination.
THE LADY DI FACTOR
Not surprisingly, he was asked for his thoughts about the monarchy:
Colin Firth
I don’t watch them closely, so I don’t know. I mean, I find it very difficult to answer questions about the monarchy because I’m just not a royal watcher, you know, and some people are. I just don’t know anything about them, but it was… an extraordinary moment happened in England, I think, when, at the death o Princess Diana, because, obviously, it was enormous, the effect, emotionally. I mean, people really did become incredibly emotional right across the country. The Queen was criticised, the Palace were criticized for not lowering the flag; it took few days for that to happen and people were emoting all over the place here: “Catch up!” I don’t know what is happening in their real lives behind closed doors. They have the right not to exhibit it to the public, just as any one other family do. I don’t want to be photographed hugging my kids either! But it’s very interesting, somebody made a comment around that time – a columnist said, “It’s interesting about the …”because this idea of British repression has always been a stereotype, which is qualifiable anyway. I think the English are just as accurately represented by the Rolling Stones, as they are By John Major, or somebody.
THE GERMANS
I mean, the Royal Family aren’t even English anyway! Philip’s Greek, the rest of them are German, you know, they’re immigrants: we (are) all a mixed nation! But this guy said: “We seem to have gone overnight from a country that can’t talk about their emotions to a country that can’t talk about their emotions to a country that cannot stop!”
Everybody was, like, holding each other and hugging each other and suddenly it became essential to hug each other, and, you know: “Have you hugged your kids lately? Have you…how many times have you told them you love them?” and the English have turned into that!
Filming The King’s Speech
Colin Firth also talked about shooting the therapy session scenes with Geoffrey Rush.
It was like doing live theatre in a way. His energy and his humorous gave me so much for nothing. What seemed to be an immense mountain to climb was incredibly easy just because I was in the hands, not only of a director like that but I had an actor who energized me in every way I needed.
What tricks did you use to get that stammer? I don’t know!
Where you able to shed to shed it at the end of the day and?
Oh no, I got a bit confused in my own speech patterns. You know, if you do an exercise often enough, your body will train itself to do that exercise. If you shoot enough baskets you’ll probably get one, you know. If you train yourself to interfere with your brain remembers that and follows it. I spoke to the head of the British Stammering Association a couple of weeks ago and he told me that the research shows now that there’s a strong neurological component. This is not a psychological problem. There’s something happening in the brain that’s physical. I said, “Does that mean that Logue’s on the wrong track trying to get to this through a psychological process? And he said, “Well no, because the therapy helps you come to an accommodation with the problem.” “You learn not be crushed by it, not to be disabled by it. You can find a way forward. There are wonderful great actors who fought stammering.
