This Much Is True

It could be scary in Mexico City. Our hairdresser Aldo — six foot four and camp as a row of tents — was held up at gunpoint, forced into a taxi then taken outside the city and threatened until he went back to his hotel safe and handed over everything he had. It was highly unusual to shoot a big budget Hollywood movie there for obvious reasons, but it definitely gave the film its strong, exotic flavour and an edge. I loved the people of Mexico. I particularly loved my driver. For Romeo + Juliet I was assigned my own car and chauffeur — I am not always afforded that luxury; it depends how big your part is. I always think drivers are among the most important people on the set, because they’re the first ones you meet in the morning and their attitude to you can make a difference to your day. My driver, Gilberto Pulido Chavez, was heavenly. I loved him; I hope I see him again.

Everyone’s favourite on set was Pete Postlethwaite, who played Father Lawrence.^[21] It’s a difficult part, long and rambling, and you’re never quite sure where his morality is, but Pete was magnificent. He and Leonardo became great friends. Pete insisted on text study, which wasn’t Leo’s favourite thing but, through Pete’s influence, he became a much better Romeo. They had a beautiful relationship. That’s one of my most poignant memories of that experience. Pete died too young in 2011; I honour his memory.

I didn’t know that it was going to be a great film, but it is. I never watch myself until the films are long over; then, perhaps only years and years later. It’s partly self-preservation, because when you watch yourself, you’re only conscious of the mistakes. Other people don’t see those things; they see the whole scene — the whole film — of which you are but a part. When I watch things that I’m in, I only see myself — the untruths, the fluffs, the double chin. It’s not an accurate response.

When I did eventually watch Romeo + Juliet, I felt unusually satisfied. Even Alec Guinness, who was hard to please, told me, ‘I thought you gave a good performance.’ Baz helped me a lot with the part; the Nurse’s bawdy humour and garrulousness is easy to portray, but she is utterly devoted to Juliet; she was her wet nurse and their bond of trust runs very deep. The Nurse is also deeply pragmatic. She gives Juliet what she sees as solid advice: be practical — the families don’t get on; forget Romeo, don’t mess about with him — you can’t do that; go for a nice boy… take Paris! Now he’s a gorgeous fella — if you go with him you’ll be fine. The Nurse doesn’t have the sensitivity in her soul to see how passionately Juliet is involved, and so she doesn’t recognise its importance.

The Nurse loves Juliet with all her heart, but in the end she lets her down.

Alas, alas! Help, help! my lady’s dead!

O, well-a-day, that ever I was born!

And thus the play’s most comic character turns the love story into a tragedy. Forget the leads, it is character actors who are the true engines of plot.

Would You Like to Go to Disney World?

I’ve done several big cartoon features — or ‘animation features’, as they like to call them now — for Disney and DreamWorks. I enjoy animation because of the detail and art involved in creating a character’s voice.

Mulan was made in Orlando, Florida. Of course, I had to audition for the part (that of the Matchmaker) in California. You go to the Disney lot in Burbank, which is much cleaner than some of the studios. Every street on the lot is named after a Disney character — clearly Mickey Mouse is the foundation of their fortunes.

At the audition, you’re shown several drawings of the character you’re attempting to voice. I love that part of it: it’s creative because you’re digging into your repertoire, trying to find the sound which will match the picture. It can take hours, or you can hit on it very quickly.

I was flown down to Disney World Florida to record the Matchmaker. (It was not the first time in my career I had played a matchmaker.) The animation people are totally swept up into the Disney fantasy. And they were sure I’d love a tour of Disney World before we started recording. I’m not one for theme parks, and definitely not one for queuing. I couldn’t believe the long lines of people so desperate to see a mock-up of the Eiffel Tower that they were prepared to queue for two hours or more.

I explained as politely as I could that there was nothing I’d like less. Puzzled, they said, ‘But, wouldn’t you like to see EPCOT? It’s the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. It’s a technical, interesting, knowledgeable place, like an encyclopaedia of the whole world.’ ‘How ghastly!’ I replied tersely. They thought I was joking. They just couldn’t believe I didn’t want to go. But when they said we wouldn’t need to queue because I’d be with them, and we could go straight to the front of the line, I decided to give it a whirl.