Martin Freeman
Arthur Dent Speaks Guide
I have liked Martin Freeman ever since I saw his
semi-scandalous role in the love-comedy Love Actually. Remember,
Martin Freeman was the guy that had to do the porn style test shoots [lucky
bastard]. Well, it seems that Freeman has a ton to say about his role in
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy during an interview with LatinoReview.
Here is a snippet from that interview:
How did you approach playing Arthur?
MF: Well, I approached playing him with a bit of trepidation,
really, because I'd grown up with the television series very much in my
mind, with Simon Jones. I'm not like Simon Jones particularly either. I'm
not the same sort of person. In my mind I thought, 'How can I do that?'
I had to take that out. So I just kind of played Arthur the way that I saw
him.
How is that?
MF: His planet is about to be blown up, and so I just played
it as real and as funnily as possible, all the while knowing that you're
in a comedy. You've got to kind of know what you're in. So it's slightly
heightened with humor. The humor is definitely there, but I thought that
the stakes had to be genuine because he's a man whose day starts badly,
and within 10 minutes of the film, his planet's gone. So all of his reference
points, every single thing that he's ever known or thought he knew or will
ever know has gone.
When filming the movie, was there extra pressure because of the
enormous fan base?
MF: I suppose there was theoretical pressure, but in all
honesty, and I don't particularly go on the Internet, and I don't particularly
go to Forbidden Planet and check out the vibe of the sci-fi world, because
that's not the life that I live. But I was aware that there was something
there, that they'd obviously want it to be done well. I knew that was something
that fans obviously cared about and cared about passionately, but we can
only do what we can do, the best and the most honest interpretation of the
story that we can do.
Of course, once you're at work, you're getting up a six o'clock in the morning and you're too much in the mode of going to work to really worry about, '”Hang on. Will Derek in Milton Kings be affected by this portrayal?” And he probably will be. So we were mindful that we wanted to be respectful of that audience because they're important. They've kind of kept this story alive and they've been champions of Douglas and champion of the story for 25, almost 30 years. But ultimately they're not the majority of the people who we want to see the film either. The majority of the world doesn't know “Hitchhiker's Guide” and so we can't obviously just make a film for the hardcore fans. There's got to be something about that's inclusive for an audience that doesn't know. So, Christ, hopefully we've done it.
What do you think is the Douglas Adams tone?
MF: I suppose a bit of irreverence, wryness and silliness
really. I like the fact that he doesn't censor himself with his ideas and
where his ideas go. Things like the Babel Fish, a fish that you put in your
ear and it translates every language in the galaxy. And in space what you
really need is a towel of all things. I kind of like that. It's silly and
it's kind of schoolboy silly in the very best way.
For the entire interview from Martin Freeman, head
over to LatinoReview.
For the trailers, tons of clips, movie stills, and synopsis, go to The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Movie Page. |
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