My Last Five Girlfriends - Brendan Patricks and Naomie Harris interview
Interview by Rob Carnevale
BRENDAN Patricks and Naomie Harris talk about playing a couple who fall in and out of love in quirky new British rom-com My Last Five Girlfriends.
Brendan also discusses what it’s like to be hailed as ‘the new Hugh Grant’ and to be grilled by Michael Sheen, while Naomi compares British movie-making to some of her Hollywood experiences.
Q. What appealed to you about My Last Five Girlfriends?
Naomie Harris: I really liked the fact that it was an alternative rom-com. Rather than the typical American version, which is like ‘how is this girl going to get together with this boy?’ or vice versa… and then once they do it ends happily ever after one thinks. But I liked the idea [with this] of looking at what happens when two people actually come together and have difficulties in making the relationship work. It’s more of a realistic relationship, so I was really excited by that. I also really loved my character, Gemma, because she’s a bit of a psycho and I kind of like playing complex, psycho characters!
Q. And Brendan?
Brendan Patricks: For me, I’d never read anything like it. I’m a big fan of observational comedy, like Seinfeld… I love Jerry Seinfeld. I’d never read a romantic comedy that sort of looked at relationships in such minute detail and really analysed them to such a philosophical level. I found that fascinating… an Amelie from a male perspective.
Q. How close is Duncan to you in real-life?
Brendan Patricks: Well, I’m quite self-analytical. I just go into great depth on my own, thinking ‘did I say the right thing there’? But I think he’s far more than me. He spends a lot of time inside his mind. I don’t think I could retreat inside my mind. He seems to have a wealth of information in there he could go through and audit, to try and get to the bottom of it. I’m not sure I could do that.
Q. You’re both playing flawed characters who are both culpable in the collapse of their relationship. Was that part of the challenge? And was it fun to tackle?
Brendan Patricks: I thought it was really fun to play that… particularly with Naomi’s character, Gemma. He loves her so much that he’s so eager… but that sort of pushes her away I think. But I found that interesting to play and look into because that’s not often covered – the guy being too eager. It’s usually Matthew McConaughey walking around going: “Hey, I’m OK.”
Naomie Harris: Yeah and it’s a typical kind of British thing to show the multi-faceted nature of personalities. We have good, we have bad and we have messed up. I think it’s much more interesting to show the complexity of a character, rather than having a one-dimensional person.
Q. And audiences are becoming more embracing of that with films like (500) Days of Summer…
Naomie Harris: Absolutely… yes.
Q. There are several scenes that are animated or involving puppets… What’s it like watching those back, as I’d imagine you’d have no idea what they were going to look like when you’re filming?
Naomie Harris: It’s really fun because I had no idea what any of it was going to look like, so it’s really exciting for me.
Brendan Patricks: On Naomie’s first day, I remember this really well… I had no idea what the director [Julian Kemp] wanted to do, and I had no idea what it was going to like. At one point, there’s this theme park ride that takes place in the character’s mind, and Naomie’s character is one of those things that goes up and then drops… so he gets on this ride, which represents Gemma, and each section is [the machine] going up and how their relationship is building up [for its fall]. So, on Naomie’s first day we were basically doing that and Julian was saying: “So, lie on the floor and then you jump up straight, do the scene, and then jump up in the air!” We were like: “What the…?!” But then you watch the scene and it makes sense.
Q. Were you aware of the novel, Essays in Love?
Brendan Patricks: I wasn’t aware of it but I read it as soon as I got the movie. It’s interesting because a lot of my friends then went: “Oh, that’s my favourite book!” I love the novel. It’s not as funny as the film. It’s one relationship from beginning to end in philosophical essays and it’s fascinating. You read all this stuff that you think is unique to you in a relationship and then you realise that it’s experienced by everyone. I thought it was a very faithful adaptation of those ideas in the book, just spread across five girlfriends as opposed to one.
Q. What was it like being grilled by Michael Sheen?
Brendan Patricks: It was quite scary because I’m a big fan of Michael Sheen. He only had a day and he’s friends with the director – they went to drama school together. He’d just got back from Underworld 3, so he looked enormous! He was ripped! And he’s a mega-star now, so I was quite intimidated. But he was very nice… very nice, and very nice to work with and friendly. So I was quite relieved.
Q. Were you on-set for Johnny Ball’s cameo?
Brendan Patricks: Yes, I was. Johnny Ball is a really nice man and he lives in an amazing house full of mathematical equipment. He’s also a really nice guy. In fact, he actually gave me a book called Mathemagic – magic and maths [laughs]!
Q. That’s one of the great things about the film and Julian’s direction, he does throw in a number of surprises… Have you seen it with audiences and, if so, what’s been your most pleasing or surprising reaction to it?
Brendan Patricks: My thrill with that was when we went to Tribeca [in New York] last year. That was bizarre because we had two or three screenings over the week and they all sold out two weeks before. There were people queuing for returns round the block. I found that… it just thrilled me. They had to add all these extra screenings and stuff. So, I got to see it a few times with them. I’ve always thought…
I mean when I first came up to London I remember going up to the Empire Leicester Square all the time and watching films and I remember thinking: “Right, this is why I want to be an actor…” You watch Paul Newman and one minute he’d made you laugh, then he’d make you cry and you go: “This is what I want to do. I want to do that for someone like me.” I can’t pick a moment in the film, but if someone laughed at one point while I was watching it I thought: “That’s amazing.” Even if it was just one person I was able to think to myself that I’d done the thing that I wanted to do. So, that was exciting.
Q. There will be inevitable comparisons with Hugh Grant. How do you feel about those?
Brendan Patricks: Sure, sure… But I think he’s a genius, so that’s very nice to hear that. I think we’re quite different. But he’s always been a hero of mine. I think he’s very funny and I think he’s a brilliant actor. So, I’m happy to be in the same sentence as him, even if it’s “Hugh Grant is much better than Brendan Patricks…” That’s a happy day for me [laughs]!
Q. You’ve worked in Hollywood as well as in Britain. Are you going to continue doing both?
Naomie Harris: Definitely. My home is here… everyone thinks I’ve moved to the States. But I’ve always lived here, so that’s where my heart is really. I think making British movies is a very different experience to making American movies, so I love to mix and match.
Q. And having been part of such a big franchise like Pirates of the Caribbean, what was that like? And will you be setting sail with them for the fourth film? *Naomie Harris: [Smiles] I don’t think I’ll be back for the fourth, no! When you’re making a big budget movie you feel like a very small cog in a very big wheel. You feel like it’s all happening over there and it’s happening to you, and then you do your little bit, and then kind of go home. But with something like My Last Five Girlfriends… sometimes there were as few as eight of us on-set during filming, so it felt very much like a family. We were all contributing and we all had our say, and so when you see the finished product it feels much more like your baby. You’ve really contributed and I enjoy that experience a lot more because it’s more creative. It’s also more satisfying as well.
Q. What’s next for you?
Naomie Harris: I have Blood & Oil coming out at the end of the month and then I have a film called The First Grader coming out later in the year.
Q. That’s based on a true story, isn’t it?
Naomie Harris: It is, that’s right. It’s a beautiful film.
Q. And Brendan?
Brendan Patricks: I’m currently filming Julian Fellowes’ new costume drama for ITV called Downton Abbey. It’s set in 1912 in a country house, and it’s really fun. I only got the gig two weeks ago, so this is very, very exciting. After that, I’m doing another British comedy about a man who has a lot of luck suddenly. It’s with a first-time feature director, David Willing, which I’m really excited about.