Martin Freeman on being an actor

[Carol the Dabbler]

The Guardian recently posted a two-part interview with Martin Freeman, one part in print (mostly about Sherlock) and the other as a video.

 

 

Photograph: Sarah Dunn

 

It's a testament to Martin Freeman's love of his character Watson in Sherlock that he originally turned down the role of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit to make series two. "I desperately wanted to do the film, but it clashed," he remembers. "And so I had to say goodbye to The Hobbit. I just couldn't go to New Zealand." Desperate not to lose him, The Hobbit pushed back production, and, well, we know the rest. "I have two of the most amazing jobs that exist in television and film right now. It sounds very arrogant, but it's true."

 

He continues to be amazed at the hysteria surrounding Sherlock: "We've had hordes of fans screaming and trying to film us on their iPhones while we've been on location for the third series. I've never known anything like it. For a television show to have these kinds of ratings and acclaim, it's untrue. The Office won everything in sight, but we weren't beating EastEnders [in the ratings] of a night."

 

Freeman admits that it is becoming harder to surprise the viewers. "Even we are kept in the dark about the scripts now. At the end of the last series, neither Benedict [Cumberbatch] nor I knew what was going to happen afterwards." Surely he knows Sherlock's route out of the cliffhanger now? "Oh yes, I know everything now," he says, looking a bit smug. And then he corrects himself: "Well, I know about that bit anyway."

 

Favourite box set "My missus bought me Breaking Bad for Christmas and I'm finding it as addictive as crystal meth."

Best TV comedy "Anything with Alan Partridge, so I'm enjoying Mid-Morning Matters. I also really like Rev. Few things in life make you happier than a good comedy."

Favourite childhood TV "Monty Python, The Good Life, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Fawlty Towers."

Guilty pleasure "Flog It. It's better than Cash in the Attic."

 

But my favorite part is the video, wherein Freeman talks about being an actor:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQ4gzVCSC2o&list=PLB050F50EE27A486A

 

[Julia Mae]

Great stuff!  I could listen to him talk for hours. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Agreed!  And he definitely seems to think before he opens his mouth.

 

[Alex the Dabbler]

Here's a link to a new Martin Freeman interview: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/dont-turn-on-the-people-that-i-love-a-stern-martin-freeman-reveals-he-is-more-bilbo-baggins-than-tim-from-the-office-8687472.html

 

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[Julia Mae]

Thanks, Alex, that's a nice interview.

[Alex the Dabbler]

Here is a Martin Freeman interview from a couple of months ago at the BAFTAs:

 

 

[Ruthyone]

 Here's an interview about Martin's career - http://www.scotsman.com/news/interview-martin-freeman-actor-1-472465

[Caya]

Transcript of a rather long Martin Freeman interview from Saturday Times can be found here.

[Alex the Dabbler]

Here's a link to a Guardian interview with Martin Freeman posted today:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/apr/20/martin-freeman-interview-fargo-tv-version-hobbit-sherlock-coen-brothers

[Alex the Dabbler]

Here is another Martin Freeman article about The Office on the Radio Times site:

 

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-04-17/martin-freeman-im-glad-we-didnt-ruin-the-office-with-more-series

[Carol the Dabbler]

Entertainment Weekly recently posted Martin Freeman's latest rant against the "Everyman" label, which boils down to this:

 

It sounds like a backhanded compliment, because I think, What, you don't think I'm exciting? You don't think I'm dangerous? Any pigeonhole is something to be rebelled against.

 

I can certainly sympathize with that.  Fortunately, Billy Bob Thornton seems in no hurry to pigeonhole his Fargo co-star:

 

Martin is an interesting guy. He's much more intense than people might think. He's got a lot of water under the bridge.

 

To which I will add, anyone who doesn't see Freeman's characters as intense has simply not been paying attention.

 

You can read the entire article here.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

In a new Freeman interview about Fargo, this caught my eye:

 

I like, as much as I can, to play everything, and by that I mean that I believe that within one line of dialogue you can play three different things, within one non-speaking reaction shot you can play three different things.

 

I’ve always liked to sort of do that, not to just play the one thing. I like to try and reflect the complexities of how we are in real life, which is we’re always thinking at least two things at the same time.

 

That's probably the part of Freeman's acting that astonishes me the most.  I've assumed that it was intentional, but it's interesting to have that confirmed.  It fits right in with Sir Ian McKellen's observation (on the Unexpected Journey DVD) to the effect that Freeman can have two different emotions on his face at the same time, something he had never seen done before.