Ever since he played the dishevelled Spike in Richard Curtis 1999 smash hit, Notting Hill, Rhys Ifans has been known to Hollywood. Yet even he must be surprised by the sheer quality of those hes worked with everyone from Michel Gondry (Human Nature) to Lasse Hallström (The Shipping News), Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) and Roger Michell (Enduring Love). Having recently reunited with Curtis for his Pirate Radio comedy The Boat That Rocked, Ifans now adds the much-admired Noah Baumbach to his roster of collaborators.
Written and directed by Baumbach, Greenberg sees Ifans play Ivan, a long-time friend to Ben Stillers restless 40 year-old Roger Greenberg, who returns to LA after a fifteen-year absence. Below, Ifans discusses the role, as well as his part as Xenophilius Lovegood in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and his lead role as real-life drug smuggler Howard Marks in an adaptation of his autobiography Mr. Nice.
Q: Was it nice to play Ivan, a quieter character, after some of your more extravagant roles?
A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Really good. It was different and really rewarding. It was just a different thing again.
Q: What made you want to take the role?
A: Well, I loved Squid and the Whale. I loved Noahs work. I love how forensic his writing is. Its a rich narrative and very rich characters, in a theatrical way. Very complex adult dynamics in these peoples lives, which I found interesting. A really good use of cinema as a language. And I thought, All these things are really interesting I want to do the film. I cant think of a better reason really. Thats a good one!
Q: Was it hard work to make his dialogue work?
A: Yeah, well it wasnt hard work to make the lines work. Why its good writing is that they have an inner melody, I find. Its a certain kind of natural rhythm. A very delicate place to act from, which was rewarding.
Q: You used to be in a band, like your character. Was that intriguing to you?
A: Yeah, again, being around those stories what can happen, and what doesnt happen, to bands. It was a familiar world to me.
Q: How was it meeting Ben Stiller? Had you met before?
A: No, actually, we hadnt. We sat down two weeks before we started shooting and it just kinda worked. It was really fantastic working with him. To make an audience believe that two guys were friends ten years ago is an interesting place to go. It was difficult and challenging but ultimately rewarding.
Q: What about the idea of playing an ex-pat in Los Angeles?
A: I think that adds to Ivans feeling of isolation in Los Angeles. I think pretty much everyone in Los Angeles is a long way from home. Its a town populated by people from a long way from home. Its a great place to work.
Q: Have you lived there much?
A: Only when Ive filmed something. I love going there, man.
Q: Your personal style is not unlike Ivans. Does it mean this was more natural than your role in, say, Vanity Fair?
A: Well, yes, of course it was! Of course! But its nice playing close to you. The clothes of Ivan
we spent as much time deliberating over what Ivan would wear as anything else. In Vanity Fair, it was quite straightforward. This was what they wore. But Ivan was a more involving, creative input as an actor. Its so close, you go Am I wearing these because they fit me or because theyre an old pair belonging to the character that may be too big or too small? The jacket I have in it, I imagined was something I had when I was a student with Bens character. Its something he wont let go of. Stuff like that that all day makes it more interesting for an actor.
Q: Noah says he wanted you for the part because you have a genuine sweetness. Do you know what he was thinking about?
A: No! Im genuinely touched that he thinks Im genuinely sweet! Ill give him my phone number, shall I? Well, hes genuinely a fucking genius director, I think.
Q: How does it work, balancing independent films with the big movies that youve done?
A: I never think, Big movie! Little movie! Im not accountant. I just read scripts. Im really quite stupid. Im the dumbest blonde youll meet in a while!
Q: Youre in the final Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. How was it?
A: Magic! It was fantastic. Its like a badge of honour. Its like having a stripe on your arm. I didnt expect it, but I was really proud to be in a huge national
industry in itself. Being on the set was incredible. I felt like a kid whod got the golden ticket. Then you bump into all these other British actors that you havent seen for ages, and everyone has got long beards! Its really cool.
Q: So is it a different approach from doing something like Greenberg?
A: No, you just do what is required or what is given to you in the writing. Just be truthful and whatever. Make it as interesting as possible for yourself and the people you work with. Its no different. I really dont feel its different. Different graphic equalisation but its the same response to every piece of material from a place of truth. So I really dont find it at all different. To read a bedtime story to a child or to do a Shakespeare soliloquy require as much skill and sensitivity and understanding of language.
Q: Can you talk about your involvement in the recent Bansky movie?
A: I just do the commentary, the voiceover. Well
what can I say? Shes 8 years-old. Its amazing, the body of work that an 8 year-old girl has. How she climbs the buildings I do not know! Shes this big, and really angry!
Q: What was your experience of playing drug dealer Howard Marks, in Mr. Nice?
A: Fantastic. It was brilliant to play him. I know him. Ive been a friend for ten years.
Q: How did you get to know him?
A: Well, hes Welsh, and was put in prison in America. And thats amazing! Then the Super Furry Animals got him to be on their first album, and we went and met him. He came to a gig in Pontypridd just after he came out of prison and theres this footage of me and him backstage at this gig, shaking hands. Hes going Im going to write a book about my experiences. And I said, Listen, man, if you write the book, let me play you in a film! And thirteen years later it happened. So, again, it was a very rewarding film to do.
Q: Did he come on set?
A: Yeah, he came on set. But again he wasnt at all precious about how he was portrayed. He trusted me and Bernard [Rose] implicitly and was really supportive right the way through. So it was a good experience. And Bernard Rose is just an amazing man to work with. Another energy. I loved working with him.
Q: Are there any other real-life characters youd like to play?
A: Id like to play Rasputin. I dont know why. Sometimes you see a character in history
you watch the History Channel and you see a really bad documentary about them, and then you just feel its your duty to make a good film about them to save them!
Q: Did that feel the same with Howard Marks, though?
A: There was a bit of that, absolutely. But more so his story is an amazing story. Hes lived and is living an incredibly different life to something thats out of all our experiences. So theres that as well, coupled with
I guess every great English actress wants to play Queen Elizabeth. We didnt have Queen Elizabeth she was forced upon us! So weve had to make do with Howard Marks!
Q: He was like a gentleman drug-dealer, really
A: Yeah, a very educated, learned man.
Q: Do you think youre a local hero back home in Wales?
A: No, when I go home, you just go home! Theres no ticker-tape parade!
Q: Are you friends with other Welsh celebrities, like Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey?
A: Oh, yeah. They all live on our street. Theyre in the darts team. Its like Stella Street! Ive met Tom Jones but I dont know him socially. Im good friends with Ioan Gruffudd and Matthew Rhys, as were the same age group, but theres no Welsh film community. Its such a small niche and to generate any sort of film culture or industry is very difficult nigh on impossible.
Q: Do people in the US know much about Wales?
A: Occasionally in America, people think youre from just outside from Switzerland. But thats America!
Q: Did things change after you made Twin Town? Are you a local hero?
A: In Wales? Oh, people are genuinely proud. But not all the time. No. People are genuinely proud, but as far as local hero, the local hero is the midwife, or the local hero is the vet, or the local hero is the doctor, or the local hero is the schoolteacher. Im too far away from home to be local. There is pride, but Im treated the same every time I go home. Theyve known me longer than
you have.
Q: Do you reflect on your past successes?
A: No. Not at all. I look forward. I dont think back. Q: How have you survived all the tabloid attention you get in the UK?
A: I just ignore it, or I dont buy them. It really doesnt affect me whatsoever. I dont operate in that universe. Ive far better things to do than worry about that!
Q: What music do you play?
A: The Peth, the band Im in, have just finished a new album. That will be out next year. The Peth it means The Thing in Welsh. And its a monstrous thing! Weve released one album, last year, called The Golden Mile. We supported Oasis this year, at the Millennium stadium. And then the new album, Crystal Peth, will be out next year. And its fucking brilliant!
Q: So youre the reason Oasis broke up?
A: Id like to think so! I got the blame for The Beatles too!
Q: So how was it to play before Oasis?
A: It was mind-blowingly exciting. Granted, we were on very early so there were only 8000 people there but it was a proper crowd. All fun was to be had by all. It was a champagne moment. Yeah, man. Proper champagne moment. Full on.
Greenberg is available on Blu-ray and DVD on 4 October from Universal Pictures UK