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Get
set, Mr. OToole: After seven nominations and no winswell,
except for that honorary one you, famously, didnt even wantits
gonna seem positively rude of Oscar to not go home with you for Venus.
You
have a great advantage over meyouve seen the film.
I want to see it with an audience, not in a viewing room, because I believe
with all my heart that its a grown-up film. Which can offend nobody.
(laughs) Thats said with a certain amount of irony, because, as I remember,
it was a picture about a dirty old man and a sluttish young woman. Is that
what you saw?
Being
a dirty young-ish man, no. I saw a rumination on deciphering what the hell
ones life has all meant.
Certainly. And I hope, with the premise that its a dirty old
man and a sluttish young woman that it might make anyone
whos had that label put on themor who dispenses
those labels freelyto have a private, quiet little think
later on.
Much
as in My Favorite Year, its hard to see Venus and not
read your own, fabled wild man past into your character, Maurice.
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Inevitablethats part of the business of being an actor.
And Im not unlike him in a generalized sense: Were both working
actors lucky to still be working; we both love the women, and we both love a
drop of whiskey. We could get into a little trouble together.
At
74, do you still get into a little trouble?
One
could try, but people, inevitably, dont take it seriously. They might
try and help me across the road.
Notell
me that an occasional woman still flings herself at you like in Whats
New, Pussycat?
I
cantI wontbe specific.
But nothing has changed. Not for me.
Excellent!
Back to the movieswhat did you think when you first
saw the ravishing vision that was you in Lawrence of Arabia.
Id
seen myself beforethe first time was in a television film.
I was watching carefully and saw a young man go to a desk. And I had no idea
it was me! It was my first lesson of What you see isnt what others
see and what you think you see isnt what you might see and what you
see isnt, necessarily, what is there.
Then
the worlds frenzied response to your Lawrence face must have
been a trip. Even Noel Coward famously remarked, If youd been
any prettier itd have been Florence of Arabia.
Oh,
yeah. But you look in the mirror and the face that you see isnt a face,
its the meatits whatever the part calls for.
It has nothing to do with your facethats something
you work with. Then, when you see it on film, you dont know what or
who it is. You think, Oh, Christ! It takes quite a bit of time
to realize that one thing: The face is the meat. And then, vanity, at a certain
point, does go.
Tell
me it aint so.
It
has to. The surest way [to accept that] is not going to the pictures. I did,
from time to time, but, you know, [Richard] Burton never did. He couldnt
bear the sight of himself. (laughs)
Listen,
Ive read that youre no big fan of directors. True?
Hang
on, where did you get that from? There are few, but I admire good film directors.
Of all the people Ive known, Willy Wyler [for How to Steal a Million],
David Lean [Lawrence
.], and John Huston [The Bible], the
three of them were connoisseurs of acting. Not only that, but they admired
it.
And
then there was Tinto Brass for the porn-tastical disaster of Caligula.
That
was hilarious, a beauty! Dont forget that John [Guilgud] and me had
no idea what was going on. When we joined it was Gore Vidals Caligula
and, suddenly, a new director and pages of script came along. (laughs) Then
it was very obvious to me what was going on. John was just looking the other
way, because he was surrounded by
..
Hundreds
of writhing fornicators. Okay, lets wrap it: What are three things a
real movie star needs?
Endurance,
endurance, endurance.
Why
do we need movie stars?
Why
do we need gods?
What
have you learned in this life?
Nothing at all.
©
2015 Brantley Bardin. All Rights Reserved.
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