1999 Gangster No. 1 On set interview by Virtuetv.com

Gangster No. 1 on set interview w/Malcolm by Virtuetv.com1999

Why did you want to do this film?

Well, I loved the script and that’s the number one thing “do you like the script?” I loved the script, I think it’s brilliant. Paul McGuigan came to see me in California, in Los Angeles. I talked to him and it was obvious I wanted to do the film, from just talking to Paul. You have to be able to trust and get along with the director and he’s very talented. Of course Norma Heyman – Norma I’ve known, she’s a great producer. It’s a great family.

What sort of man is the Gangster you play?

He’s a very strange man, a little psychotic perhaps. No, he’s just somebody who has had to survive in a world that perhaps we just don’t understand...a criminal kind of world. He’s been at the top a long time and I think that there’s too many betrayals, too many things that have built up over the years and he’s ready to snap. It’s the rise and the fall. As you know Paul Bettany plays gangster as a younger man. So it’s his rise through and how he gets the top job and then the disintegration.

What is it like to play a character that is played by two different actors?

As I started first he’s really got to play like me I think, but there’s a little bit of both. He came to observe me the first week so he could pick up a few little things. We didn’t want to do anything too obvious, just the odd little thing here and there.

How do you keep your acting interesting for the audience?

I really don’t know what the answer is to that. I just have great fun when I work. I think that’s really the m ain object to me is too have fun. If I didn’t really have fun I wouldn’t do it. I think all the work that I’ve done recently I’ve really enjoyed it. Even the stuff that’s not good. Even stuff that doesn’t come out as good as you hope. When you are shooting it you can always have a good time. I think that is really important, especially on this film. Not only have we had a good time off the set and stuff. But the stuff is so good! You just get the feeling you are making a remarkable piece.
Whether people will want to see it…I don’t know. Whether it will be successful…I don’t know. But do I think it is a remarkable piece? Yes. I very rarely get this feeling. I had it obviously with Clockwork Orange and here, O Lucky Man! Some of the films I’ve done in my other life – in the past. But rarely have I felt it recently and this one I feel without a question is an extraordinary experience.