Ewan McGregor Makes Loving Look Easy in 'Salmon Fishing'

Ewan McGregor Makes Loving Look Easy in 'Salmon Fishing' By Jenelle Riley March 7, 2012 Photo by Blake Gardner Ewan McGregor has always been in love with love. Perhaps it's one of the reasons he's so excellent at portraying people in a deep state of devotion onscreen. In films such as "Moulin Rouge!," "Big Fish," and "I Love You Phillip Morris," the actor has made love at first sight seem believable, coming off as a romantic rather than a stalker. His likable optimism is a rare gift that is on display again in his new film, "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen." In director Lasse Hallstrm's latest, McGregor plays Dr. Alfred Jones, a serious scientist who is approached by Emily Blunt's easygoing Harriet Chetwode-Talbot, a consultant to a sheik interested in bringing fly-fishing to Yemen. What seems like an impossible task becomes a cause for the pair, who find themselves falling for each other despite that Alfred is married and Harriet has a military boyfriend missing in action. Though he's done his time in dramatic roles, from his breakthroughs in "Shallow Grave" and "Trainspotting" to starring opposite recent Oscar winner Christopher Plummer in "Beginners," McGregor also excels at romantic comedies, and it's a genre he adores. "Since I was a kid, I loved watching old black-and-white romantic movies," he says. He cites among his favorites "It Happened One Night," starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert as a wisecracking journalist and a spoiled heiress stuck on a road trip together. "Salmon Fishing" shares some qualities with that movie, though it seems McGregor has more of the Colbert role in this case. "You're right, he does have that similar arc," McGregor says with a laugh. "He starts off being very unhappy and locked up emotionally and sexually and socially. He's not comfortable in the world, and he takes himself very, very seriously as a scientist. So we see him peeling off the layers of that until he's a happy, relaxed man. It's a nice journey to take."Back Stage: You play besotted better than any actor I can think of; what's the key to hitting that emotion? Ewan McGregor: I don't know. You don't try to play besotted, you know, you're trying to tell the story of the script. And I am interested in films that are concerned with romance and falling in love, because I think it's one of the most powerful emotions that we feel as human beings, and I'm fascinated by it. I think it's an important emotion that we feel, and it drives a lot of the decisions that we make and the way we live our lives, so I think it's really interesting. I don't tire of exploring it. Back Stage: "Salmon Fishing" does offer up some new twists on the genre. For starters, when the film begins, they're both involved with other people. McGregor: I really like the element of them being involved with other people. I think it's a very real love story in that situation, that there are these obstacles. Fred is in an unhappy marriage, and it's interesting to look at. In the book it describes it very nicely, how she proposes to him at university, and he's so scared that he just says yes. He doesn't know what else to do. And the fact that Emily's character has fallen in love with a soldier missing in action; it's very complicated and not the usual romantic comedy situation. I think it makes it real, and I'm glad to see they've held on to that through the edit. I was worried they might try to pull back on those obstacles, but they haven't, which is great.Back Stage: There's a great turning point in the film where he receives a text from his wife and you expect him to go back to her, but he doesn't. McGregor: I noticed [while seeing the film] last night they've changed the text. When we shot it, and in the script, she says, "Fred, don't leave me," and he texts back, "I'm so sorry." They've changed the text to "I'm so sorry, Mary, it's for the best." Which is a note from a producerI can hear it. You know what I mean? It's something that definitely came from some film producer, not the director, and certainly not the actors. I thought it was nicer before, but anyway, it's not the end of the world. Back Stage: Do you find things like that happen a lot? McGregor: It's always happening in films, yes. Just in case somebody doesn't understand, they have to really spell it out. We always have those battles. Back Stage: Is that difficult for you, or is it something you don't think about? McGregor: Luckily, I'm not involved in it because I'm not directing; I'm just the actor, so most of that stuff happens in postproduction. When you're shooting a film there's often that kind of discussion, and it's always a case of sort of dumbing it down, I always feel. Just to make sure nobody's left in the dark, which is why we have so many movies that explain themselves as they go along now. Great cinema, the great movies of our time, don't do that, and they imbue the audience with a certain intelligence and a kind of ambiguity sometimes where you're left to make your own mind up. Two people don't always see the same film in the same way. I made a film with David Mackenzie last year called "Perfect Sense," and that's definitely the case in that. I've had all kinds of different responses from people who have seen it. And I love that about it. That's how we look at paintings, you know, there's nobody there explaining what we should see or shouldn't see or what we should feel or shouldn't feel. That's what's satisfying about any form of art, is our own interpretation of it. But the business side of the movie business will always interfere and demean that a little bit. Back Stage: One film that didn't find a big audience on release is "The Men Who Stare at Goats." It was a very offbeat film; do you think that's a case where it would have done better if there had been more interference? McGregor: No, I don't think there was anything in the film that made it popular or unpopular. Very often, it's just about how a film is released and the campaign and there's no science to it. There's no game plan you can look up on the Internet and know how to release a film. There was only one discussion about the film, and that was the ending, whether he runs through the wall or not. I felt we shouldn't see him go through the wall; we should freeze-frame just before he hits the wall. I think it would have been a sort of smarter ending. Again, we would have been left up to our own idea whether he made it or not. That's how it was in the script, as I recall. Back Stage: Another wonderful movie that sort of slipped under the radar initially is "I Love You Phillip Morris." Is it disappointing when these great films don't reach a wide audience right away? McGregor: No, I don't have any issues with that. My job is to make the film as best I can, and whether it's seen by lots of people or not lots of people, it doesn't really change the experience of watching the film. Lots of times people come up to me to speak about films that weren't seen by lots of people. One example is a film called "Stay" that I made, that gets brought up a lot. You wouldn't want to change them, because that's the way they are, and that's the director's vision for the movie, and you can't argue with that. You want people to see your films because you put your heart and soul into them, but I don't follow the release figures and the opening weekendit's not my business to worry about that. Ewan McGregor with Jim Carrey in "I Love You Phillip Morris". (Roadside Attractions) Back Stage: You've had great chemistry onscreen with everyone from Nicole Kidman to Jim Carrey. What's the secret to making that chemistry work? McGregor: It has nothing to do with me, really. I don't ever consider whether you've got chemistry or not when you're on set; you're just playing a part, and you're playing with the actor who's been cast in the other part. You often get on well or, very rarely in my experience, you don't. But it doesn't really matter; it doesn't alter what we do. Your job is to play the part convincingly. I've been very lucky, and I'm a very happy soul at work; I really like what I do, and I like to act with other actors. So it kind of lends itself to getting along with people, I suppose. Very rarely, maybe once or twice, have I had a problem with somebody. But it didn't matter to the film. Back Stage: What do you do if you're having a hard time working with someone? McGregor: Act. Back Stage: You trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama; did they teach you a specific style of acting there? McGregor: Not really. We touched on all different kinds of stuff. There's no Guildhall style of acting, really, they just expose you to as many different kinds of things as possible. There were a lot of movement classes, and you worked with different kinds of directors. We did some work with a director who was a Method-based actor, but it didn't suit me, really. I don't know how anyone's got the time to stop and think about all those things when they're acting. I'm much more of an instinctive actor, and I feed off the other actors, and I like them to feed off me. I always think acting is about what's going on between two or more people, not just about what's happening on my face or what my intentions are. It's more of a shared experience when I do it. Back Stage: What would you say has been your most difficult role? McGregor: I don't really struggle with it. I've always found it rather easy, and I don't complicate it for myself. They all present different challenges, but on the whole I find it quite an easy job.Outtakes Recent films include "Haywire," "The Ghost Writer," and "Angels & Demons."His uncle, Denis Lawson, played Rebel Alliance pilot Wedge Antilles in the original "Star Wars" trilogy; McGregor would go on to play Obi-Wan Kenobi in the three prequels.Stage work includes playing Sky Masterson in the 2005 London production of "Guys & Dolls" and Iago in a 2007 production of "Othello" at the Donmar WarehouseSpy Games Back Stage first spoke to Ewan McGregor in 2004, when he was promoting the Tim Burton flick "Big Fish." At the time, there was an online movement to make McGregor the next James Bond. Asked if he would be interested, he replied, "I think like everything else, you'd have to think and deal with it if it came up. They haven't spoken to me about it; there's been no dialogue. It could be a blast to make those films; there's no question about that. We'll just have to see."Some reports have emerged since then that McGregor was offered the role of Bond in 2006's "Casino Royale" but turned it down. "No," McGregor says. "Good rumor, though." He admits, however, to being approached about the part. "I think they spoke to lots of British actors when they were looking for the next Bond, and they certainly spoke to me. But it wasn't something that I pursued, and it wasn't ever a situation where they offered me the part and I turned it down, no." As for an article in The Daily Mirror saying he turned down the part out of fear of being typecast, McGregor laughs. "No, no. I've been making films for 20 years; I think it would be hard to be typecast now." Ewan McGregor Makes Loving Look Easy in 'Salmon Fishing' By Jenelle Riley March 7, 2012 PHOTO CREDIT Blake Gardner Ewan McGregor has always been in love with love. Perhaps it's one of the reasons he's so excellent at portraying people in a deep state of devotion onscreen. In films such as "Moulin Rouge!," "Big Fish," and "I Love You Phillip Morris," the actor has made love at first sight seem believable, coming off as a romantic rather than a stalker. His likable optimism is a rare gift that is on display again in his new film, "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen." In director Lasse Hallstrm's latest, McGregor plays Dr. Alfred Jones, a serious scientist who is approached by Emily Blunt's easygoing Harriet Chetwode-Talbot, a consultant to a sheik interested in bringing fly-fishing to Yemen. What seems like an impossible task becomes a cause for the pair, who find themselves falling for each other despite that Alfred is married and Harriet has a military boyfriend missing in action. Though he's done his time in dramatic roles, from his breakthroughs in "Shallow Grave" and "Trainspotting" to starring opposite recent Oscar winner Christopher Plummer in "Beginners," McGregor also excels at romantic comedies, and it's a genre he adores. "Since I was a kid, I loved watching old black-and-white romantic movies," he says. He cites among his favorites "It Happened One Night," starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert as a wisecracking journalist and a spoiled heiress stuck on a road trip together. "Salmon Fishing" shares some qualities with that movie, though it seems McGregor has more of the Colbert role in this case. "You're right, he does have that similar arc," McGregor says with a laugh. "He starts off being very unhappy and locked up emotionally and sexually and socially. He's not comfortable in the world, and he takes himself very, very seriously as a scientist. So we see him peeling off the layers of that until he's a happy, relaxed man. It's a nice journey to take."Back Stage: You play besotted better than any actor I can think of; what's the key to hitting that emotion? Ewan McGregor: I don't know. You don't try to play besotted, you know, you're trying to tell the story of the script. And I am interested in films that are concerned with romance and falling in love, because I think it's one of the most powerful emotions that we feel as human beings, and I'm fascinated by it. I think it's an important emotion that we feel, and it drives a lot of the decisions that we make and the way we live our lives, so I think it's really interesting. I don't tire of exploring it. Back Stage: "Salmon Fishing" does offer up some new twists on the genre. For starters, when the film begins, they're both involved with other people. McGregor: I really like the element of them being involved with other people. I think it's a very real love story in that situation, that there are these obstacles. Fred is in an unhappy marriage, and it's interesting to look at. In the book it describes it very nicely, how she proposes to him at university, and he's so scared that he just says yes. He doesn't know what else to do. And the fact that Emily's character has fallen in love with a soldier missing in action; it's very complicated and not the usual romantic comedy situation. I think it makes it real, and I'm glad to see they've held on to that through the edit. I was worried they might try to pull back on those obstacles, but they haven't, which is great.Back Stage: There's a great turning point in the film where he receives a text from his wife and you expect him to go back to her, but he doesn't. McGregor: I noticed [while seeing the film] last night they've changed the text. When we shot it, and in the script, she says, "Fred, don't leave me," and he texts back, "I'm so sorry." They've changed the text to "I'm so sorry, Mary, it's for the best." Which is a note from a producerI can hear it. You know what I mean? It's something that definitely came from some film producer, not the director, and certainly not the actors. I thought it was nicer before, but anyway, it's not the end of the world. Back Stage: Do you find things like that happen a lot? McGregor: It's always happening in films, yes. Just in case somebody doesn't understand, they have to really spell it out. We always have those battles. Back Stage: Is that difficult for you, or is it something you don't think about? McGregor: Luckily, I'm not involved in it because I'm not directing; I'm just the actor, so most of that stuff happens in postproduction. When you're shooting a film there's often that kind of discussion, and it's always a case of sort of dumbing it down, I always feel. Just to make sure nobody's left in the dark, which is why we have so many movies that explain themselves as they go along now. Great cinema, the great movies of our time, don't do that, and they imbue the audience with a certain intelligence and a kind of ambiguity sometimes where you're left to make your own mind up. Two people don't always see the same film in the same way. I made a film with David Mackenzie last year called "Perfect Sense," and that's definitely the case in that. I've had all kinds of different responses from people who have seen it. And I love that about it. That's how we look at paintings, you know, there's nobody there explaining what we should see or shouldn't see or what we should feel or shouldn't feel. That's what's satisfying about any form of art, is our own interpretation of it. But the business side of the movie business will always interfere and demean that a little bit. Back Stage: One film that didn't find a big audience on release is "The Men Who Stare at Goats." It was a very offbeat film; do you think that's a case where it would have done better if there had been more interference? McGregor: No, I don't think there was anything in the film that made it popular or unpopular. Very often, it's just about how a film is released and the campaign and there's no science to it. There's no game plan you can look up on the Internet and know how to release a film. There was only one discussion about the film, and that was the ending, whether he runs through the wall or not. I felt we shouldn't see him go through the wall; we should freeze-frame just before he hits the wall. I think it would have been a sort of smarter ending. Again, we would have been left up to our own idea whether he made it or not. That's how it was in the script, as I recall. Back Stage: Another wonderful movie that sort of slipped under the radar initially is "I Love You Phillip Morris." Is it disappointing when these great films don't reach a wide audience right away? McGregor: No, I don't have any issues with that. My job is to make the film as best I can, and whether it's seen by lots of people or not lots of people, it doesn't really change the experience of watching the film. Lots of times people come up to me to speak about films that weren't seen by lots of people. One example is a film called "Stay" that I made, that gets brought up a lot. You wouldn't want to change them, because that's the way they are, and that's the director's vision for the movie, and you can't argue with that. You want people to see your films because you put your heart and soul into them, but I don't follow the release figures and the opening weekendit's not my business to worry about that. Ewan McGregor with Jim Carrey in "I Love You Phillip Morris". (Roadside Attractions) Back Stage: You've had great chemistry onscreen with everyone from Nicole Kidman to Jim Carrey. What's the secret to making that chemistry work? McGregor: It has nothing to do with me, really. I don't ever consider whether you've got chemistry or not when you're on set; you're just playing a part, and you're playing with the actor who's been cast in the other part. You often get on well or, very rarely in my experience, you don't. But it doesn't really matter; it doesn't alter what we do. Your job is to play the part convincingly. I've been very lucky, and I'm a very happy soul at work; I really like what I do, and I like to act with other actors. So it kind of lends itself to getting along with people, I suppose. Very rarely, maybe once or twice, have I had a problem with somebody. But it didn't matter to the film. Back Stage: What do you do if you're having a hard time working with someone? McGregor: Act. Back Stage: You trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama; did they teach you a specific style of acting there? McGregor: Not really. We touched on all different kinds of stuff. There's no Guildhall style of acting, really, they just expose you to as many different kinds of things as possible. There were a lot of movement classes, and you worked with different kinds of directors. We did some work with a director who was a Method-based actor, but it didn't suit me, really. I don't know how anyone's got the time to stop and think about all those things when they're acting. I'm much more of an instinctive actor, and I feed off the other actors, and I like them to feed off me. I always think acting is about what's going on between two or more people, not just about what's happening on my face or what my intentions are. It's more of a shared experience when I do it. Back Stage: What would you say has been your most difficult role? McGregor: I don't really struggle with it. I've always found it rather easy, and I don't complicate it for myself. They all present different challenges, but on the whole I find it quite an easy job.Outtakes Recent films include "Haywire," "The Ghost Writer," and "Angels & Demons."His uncle, Denis Lawson, played Rebel Alliance pilot Wedge Antilles in the original "Star Wars" trilogy; McGregor would go on to play Obi-Wan Kenobi in the three prequels.Stage work includes playing Sky Masterson in the 2005 London production of "Guys & Dolls" and Iago in a 2007 production of "Othello" at the Donmar WarehouseSpy Games Back Stage first spoke to Ewan McGregor in 2004, when he was promoting the Tim Burton flick "Big Fish." At the time, there was an online movement to make McGregor the next James Bond. Asked if he would be interested, he replied, "I think like everything else, you'd have to think and deal with it if it came up. They haven't spoken to me about it; there's been no dialogue. It could be a blast to make those films; there's no question about that. We'll just have to see."Some reports have emerged since then that McGregor was offered the role of Bond in 2006's "Casino Royale" but turned it down. "No," McGregor says. "Good rumor, though." He admits, however, to being approached about the part. "I think they spoke to lots of British actors when they were looking for the next Bond, and they certainly spoke to me. But it wasn't something that I pursued, and it wasn't ever a situation where they offered me the part and I turned it down, no." As for an article in The Daily Mirror saying he turned down the part out of fear of being typecast, McGregor laughs. "No, no. I've been making films for 20 years; I think it would be hard to be typecast now."