Lena Headey does it her way
By Jose Martinez
Source: Venice

At the age of 28 (29 next month), British actress Lena Headey has already worked in more than 30 films. Spotted by a London casting agent in the early ’90s, Headey’s first feature outing was in Waterland (1992) with Jeremy Irons and Ethan Hawke.

Since then the striking brunette has worked on numerous films, including The Remains of the Day (1993), Mrs Dalloway (1997), and Onegin (1999), and has starred opposite some of the film industry’s best actors, including Joan Plowright, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. This month moviegoers can take in a Headey double feature: she stars in both the terrifying thriller The Cave and the fairytale action-adventure, The Brothers Grimm.

Determined to carve out a career on er terms, Headey refuses to move to Holylwood and is refreshingly forthcoming in conversation from her London home. Ask a simple question, and she’ll give you an honest answer. Headey, who looks forward to adding “filmmaker” to her resume, recently spoke with us about her two current films, the not so subtle auditioning process, and what the future holds.

Venice: How exciting is it having two films released on the same day?
Lena Headey: Exciting? I think it’s terrifying!

Why is that?
It’s not like you’re in control of anything so you have to relinquish all that fear. It’s always funny because it’s like learning in public.

Is that how you feel with each film and is it just doubled this time?
Yes. Every other film I’ve done practically has never reached the cinema. [laughs]

The Brothers Grimm was filmed two years ago. Did you always know that it was going to come out?
No. I knew, obviously that you have big names like Matt [Damon] and Heath [Ledger] and Terry [Gilliam], that it had a chance. I knew that it would.

And when you’re done filming do you try to keep tabs on when it’s coming out?
Oh no, you just let go because you never know. It’s up to those people who then take it and do whatever they want with it; morph it into however they see fit.

Does that outlook come with experience or were you always that savvy?
When I first started I always said, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God.’ Now I do my job and wait and see the final product.

Tell us about working on The Brothers Grimm. What was it like working with Terry Gilliam?
Interesting. He’s a deeply passionate human being; very demonstrative. It was all things. it was great and it was frustrating. In his case his reputation definitely precedes him. One minute you want to kiss him and the next you want to pick a fight. But it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, good and bad.

Are you a big fan of his work?
I didn’t think I knew most of his stuff but I had seen 12 Monkeys and The Fisher King, and Time Bandits was my favourite thing just because it was so unique and original at the time. You have to wonder, were there any drugs involved or am I naive? It’s all very interesting.

And what was it like working with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger?
It was a joy. Everyone keeps asking that. Most women ask, “So how was it to kiss them?” They’re just a pair of lips. I was getting paid. I was kind of like a hooker, a very lucky one. But they’re lovely and easygoing and highly professional. And they didn’t scream as much as Terry. [laughs]

This was a very big role in a very big movie. Did you have to keep auditioning for the part?
I went to Prague and met Terry and Matt and Heath and read with them and then got the offer. I guess it was the run-of-the-mill hideous auditioning.

And you figure that’s just part of the business or do you think your work should speak for itself?
No, I think you should have to [audition], I’m just very crap at it. I find it to be an immensely frustrating process because you’re in a cold room and it’s a very alien experience.

Do you ever feel that you nail an audition?
It’s a funny thing because most of the this business has to do with profile and even if you go in and nail something – which happens rarely in the audition process for me personally – you walk out and find out it has been offered to somebody else and that’s heartbreaking. And you wonder if you had attended a few more parties you might have gotten it.

You’ve done so many period pieces; do you ever tire of them?
Not really, because all the characters I played were pretty free-thinking. I’m not very good at being uptight.

Did working on those films help make you very prim and proper?
No. They say ‘cut’ and you start swearing like a [truck driver]. ‘Can somebody undo me?’

Is it refreshing to get a modern-day role?
Of course, it’s incredibly satisfying. I think I only felt the satisfaction once or twice. But it’s like any job and I think people see this as a job you can’t fuck up at and, of course, you can. It’s all about creating. I just find it interesting, the running commentary on what everybody is doing. It’s easy to make something that’s dreadful and put in a bad performance. Sometimes you’re just not connected to everything in a way that you should be. It’s like a science, I think that the more you do it, and where you are in your real life, you just have to open yourself up, and that can be really hard.

In The Brothers Grimm it’s great watching these fairytale characters come to life but your character is a very strong-willed woman. Was that enjoyable to play?
I loved it. I find it incredibly refreshing because when you read those big Hollywood numbers, and there are two great actors already attached, and Terry Gilliam is there, and you think please let the female be someone vaguely interesting with some balls. So when I read it I got very excited.

How different was it shooting The Cave? It looks like it would be more physically demanding?
Well, The Cave is The Cave. It’s an hour’s worth of complete film nonsense in the best sense. You go and switch off and you just hopefully have a laugh. With The Brothers Grimm there was more craft involved but they were both pretty physical. There was a lot of running around. I just think that The Cave got tiresome after a while, being in the water for so long. I just wanted one day where I could go home dry.

Does it surprise you that you’ve already made more than 30 films?
It does because I don’t really think about it. When I’m not working I just live my life and I forget.

Do you always know in between jobs that you’re going to work?
No! Oh my God! I haven’t worked in eight months. I don’t take anything for granted, not for a second. I’m thinking of going back to school to get a plumbing degree. But I’ve been reading stuff, some things I haven’t got, and some things I’m not interested in. And after a while you think I might as well hang onto something I really like.

What is it that you look for in a role?
It depends if I’m broke… you always look for something that is exciting. I find ‘challenging’ a really strange word because I don’t think it challenges you. I think it’s thrilling when you find something that you fall in love with, but it happens very rarely for me.

At this stage in your career do you look to option material for yourself?
All the time, but it’s impossible because you’re competing with studios and they can just buy out a bookshop. And I’ve gone and called someone and found out the rights have been bought for five years and I can’t compete with that. I have $2,000 to beg with and as good as the author’s intentions are, they’ll say, “I’m going to take the $150,000 from them.”

Did you ever think about moving to Los Angeles in order to land bigger roles?
No! As Frank said, ‘My way!’ I think you can go there for a bit of time and meet people and hopefully get a bit of a buzz and then see what happens. I think it’s hard to go and live somewhere like L.A. where there’s not a community you can walk around in like London or New York. It’s quite an isolated place I feel.

What do you like best about acting?
I think it’s liberating if you have the right material, although sometimes it falls short because some material is desperately awful. And even when you think something has the potential to be great it can be disappointing when you get on-set and it’s not what you thought. But there’s something liberating about it. And then it can be as dull as watching paint dry and nobody talks about that, but other times it’s a thrill.

What is your biggest ambition?
To direct is what I’d love to do. These last fifteen years have been my schooling, and working with filmmakers has been such a great education.

Do you think you’d be a screamer on-set as a director?
No, I think i can relate really well to my actors.

Does yelling actually ever motivate you?
It depends on what kind of scene you’re doing, if you’re trying to open your heart to somebody or be emotionally vulnerable, then no. It makes me want to zip off and hit somebody. But if you’re battling or running or doing something that requires adrenaline, then it can be a good tool.

Who are your favourite actors?
I used to go to the movies very rarely but as I got more interested in the science of it all and how people relate and how your background totally colours everything… I think Kate Winslet is brilliant. I think she never lets you down. And Paddy Considine I absolutely love. I think Shane Meadows is a great filmmaker. And Samantha Morton I think it great. I really admire a lot of my contemporaries if I can call them that. They’re great character actors.

If it were offered, would you be interested in The Cave 2?
No. I’ve done that. I have that experience. I feel going back would be wrong.

What would you hope audiences take away from seeing a film of yours?
I think it’s personal for me. I just hope that the performance always moves people, but you don’t really have control. If people cut you differently [in editing] then you’re either made to look better or worse. When I’m a filmmaker I”ll be able to answer that question.