YOU TALKIN' TO ME?

FILM QUOTES POSE AS QUESTIONS. FILM STARS TRY TO COPE.

- JAMIE GRAHAM

You talkin’ to me?

I did spend a considerable amount of time in my late teens and 20s interviewing myself in front of a mirror. I remember sharing that with some drama students a few years ago, and there was a kind of collective laugh of recognition, particularly among the men. It ranged from imagining one was on Inside the Actors Studio, to something a bit more like daytime TV, you know? They always used to start off quite cordially, and I always used to end up winding myself up. I had to ditch that.

Do you have an ‘off’ switch?

My main concern is that I don’t always have an ‘on’ switch. I have friends who have a magnificent grasp of their own energy cycles. Mine’s always felt incredibly unpredictable to me. But there’s something about the irregularity of it that I’ve grown to love: when you’re feeling hollowed out, sometimes interesting ideas come that don’t when you’re in full motor mode.

So what are you afraid of?

In terms of work, there’s no point where you graduate. Nothing is ever without risk. You can turn up on any day of the week and produce something entirely mediocre. But I like that fear. I think the minute you think you’ve got onto some plane where everything you do is effortlessly brilliant, it’s probably not.

What kind of a man are you?