From Out Of The Shadows
Country Life UK|February 27, 2019

The actor on the knock-on effect of Maurice and the tedium of upper-crust roles.

Jack Watkins
From Out Of The Shadows

A FILM critic recently wrote that, when Maurice, the Merchant-Ivory cinema adaptation of E. M. Forster’s Edwardian tale of a coming-of-age homosexual Cambridge undergraduate, was first released in 1987, the world wasn’t ready for it. ‘Well, the UK wasn’t ready for it,’ corrects its star James Wilby.

‘It went down fantastically well in the USA and ran for a year in Paris. My co-lead Hugh Grant and I shared Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. Japan lapped it up. We did all right over here. The film wasn’t slammed, but Margaret Thatcher had just brought out Clause 28 and there was a semi-resurgence of homophobia.’

RADA-trained Mr Wilby admits that his first big-screen lead role owed much to his co-star. ‘We’d been in a film called Privileged a few years before. Julian Sands [George Emerson in Merchant- Ivory’s A Room With A View, in which Mr Wilby was a ‘party guest’] was to play Maurice, but pulled out. I knew Hugh had been cast so I phoned him up. The night before my audition, we went through every scene together, which was a massive advantage. Normally, you go into an audition completely dry.

‘Making the film was a fantastic experience,’ he goes on. ‘James Ivory is the kind of director who embraces actors. What often happens when the leading actor and director are both male is that there is competition between them on set because the main actor is generally who you see the film through. But James simply isn’t like that— he’s only interested in finding what you can bring to the part.’

この記事は Country Life UK の February 27, 2019 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Country Life UK の February 27, 2019 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

COUNTRY LIFE UKのその他の記事すべて表示
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
Country Life UK

Kitchen garden cook - Apples

'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'

time-read
2 分  |
October 23, 2024
The original Mr Rochester
Country Life UK

The original Mr Rochester

Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre

time-read
5 分  |
October 23, 2024
Get it write
Country Life UK

Get it write

Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution

time-read
6 分  |
October 23, 2024
'Sloes hath ben my food'
Country Life UK

'Sloes hath ben my food'

A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright

time-read
3 分  |
October 23, 2024
Souvenirs of greatness
Country Life UK

Souvenirs of greatness

FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.

time-read
3 分  |
October 23, 2024
Plants for plants' sake
Country Life UK

Plants for plants' sake

The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson

time-read
7 分  |
October 23, 2024
Capturing the castle
Country Life UK

Capturing the castle

Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker

time-read
6 分  |
October 23, 2024
Nature's own cathedral
Country Life UK

Nature's own cathedral

Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods

time-read
5 分  |
October 23, 2024
All that money could buy
Country Life UK

All that money could buy

A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages

time-read
8 分  |
October 23, 2024
In with the old
Country Life UK

In with the old

Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery

time-read
5 分  |
October 23, 2024