Q. The X-Men is always topical because of the theme it embraces.
But particularly with the climate over the past couple of years,
is it more relevant than ever, this film, because it's about
tolerance?
A: Oh yeah, I totally think so. But in a way, the message
has been the same for decades, although, I suppose, in this
film I think it's about trying to understand other people's
cultures and not just thinking they are wrong because they're
different. A lot of our leaders could do with thinking about
that, I guess.
Q. What did you first think when you looked in the mirror
and saw yourself as this character? And was there a temptation
to ham it up, because I think you pitched it perfectly?
A: Well, it kind of changed quite a lot before we started
shooting, but the first time I saw it, I was horrified, because
it had taken eight hours and I thought I was going to have to
fly back from New York with the make-up on, because it
took so long and they weren't going to do it again.
It took me a long time to get used to it, because I felt 'why
did they want me to be in this film', because it could be anyone
underneath this thing.
But then, as it got more refined and I began to get used to
it, I worried about trying to act through all this make-up,
but Cher's done it for years! But then you just sort of trust
it. What really helped me was the movement.
I worked with this guy called Terry Nottery, who had been an
acrobat with Cirque Du Soleil, so I had a sort of a movement
that was quite big in terms of the way he made gestures, so
once I felt confident in that, I felt ok about it.
The great thing about him, though, is that when you see him
at the start and he's really violent, and then as the film goes
on, you see he's a kind of sensitive and shy little mutant,
so it was nice to have that contrast in the character. And eventually,
you have to trust that it's all coming through.
