THE BROTHERS GRIMM
Q&A with Lena Headey		 Search all of phase9.tv






Continued from page 1

Let’s now take you to the element of a Terry Gilliam set, where you have trees that move and vines that come and cling to you. Was there a quintessential moment for you that really represented the fact that you were in this fantastical world?

HEADEY: There were actually quiet moments when I would just sit on the huge and beautiful set. I would go into a corner and gather my moment and it would just hit me where I was. As for the effects, you don’t really notice too much because you are in it. There was one sequence we shot that actually isn’t in the film anymore. We were doing this blue screen shot where we were attached to a harness, yanked 80 feet in the air and then swung around. It was not a quintessentially Gilliam moment but I kept asking myself, “What are you doing?” (Laugh).

What did they do to help you in the scenes with the wolf? Obviously it was added later CGI but did they afford you a reference point?

HEADEY: Maybe that was it. I think it was a tennis ball at first and then Terry ran off and got this prototype of the wolf’s head and stuck it on a stick. He just stood in front of me and growled and bobbed the head up and down saying the lines. It was funny. But that was as much CGI as we all did. It was all there for us.

What is your own relationship to magic and the supernatural?

HEADEY: I do think it exists. It is an endless talking point for people. I believe in the supernatural only because I have had experiences with a ghost since an early age. I have seen too much stuff to think I was crazy or it was a coincidence.

What happened?

HEADEY: I saw a ghost in the house. Me and a girlfriend went to France for a holiday and we both saw the same ghost in our rooms on separate nights. We saw this young girl ask for help. I have seen a woman walk into a wall in the village where I am from. I was in Nantucket and there was a lady and her baby in my room.

You seem to draw them out.

HEADEY: I know (laugh). I lived in a house in London that definitely had a little boy in for over two years.

As in the film, have you ever sought out an explanation?

HEADEY: I just think that some people said that ghosts just need to be acknowledged and that is why they are there. They need to be talked to. It is like an actor who hasn’t worked for a while (laugh). So I just talk to them and ask them to stop stealing. The little boy used to take my jewelry from my house and then bring them back. It was more mischievous than anything else.

So was Matt or Heath more mischievous?

HEADEY: I would say Heath was a bit more mischievous with this frenetic energy. They had their little boys’ plaything going on so I just left them alone.

At one point in the film you couldn’t. You had to kiss both of them.

HEADEY: I did. It was a tough day on set. I kissed a toad and now it was all going downhill. It is just part of the job. I know they are gorgeous boys but I don’t get all excited. It is just what I had to do. Besides the fact, I think Angelica is probably gay.

I forgot you had to kiss the frog.

HEADEY: I licked the frog.

Was that latex as well?

HEADEY: No. It was a real toad.

So you and Matt actually licked a real toad. As you are one of the only people in life I have ever met who has done that, what does it taste like? Chicken?

HEADEY: It doesn’t taste really. It is more texture. It is lumpy. It is like licking a lumpy hand.

Were there special toads they had to bring in?

HEADEY: I think there were. Some are poisonous and their secretions are poisonous. For ours, they had to wipe them down. I don’t know what comes out of it, toad sweat?

Do you practice?

HEADEY: I kept saying, “Terry, come on.” And he would respond, “Lick it.” It was fun once you did it. It grossed people out so once I did it, it was okay and then I liked grossing people out (laugh).

You were raised in Bermuda. What was your lifestyle like there?

HEADEY: I don’t really recall because I was so young. I do think it gave me my love for the ocean. I was thrown in from the moment I was born. I ran around with no clothes and no shoes and played in the water and then when I was 5, we moved to England.

Is there anyone else in your family who is in the entertainment business?

HEADEY: No, I am the black sheep (laugh). Get a proper job. People come and go and do what they do in my family. There are all sorts.

Can you talk about Prague? What did it lend to you?

HEADEY: Prague is a beautiful city and I had a great apartment there. It is almost like a Fairy Tale in itself. There are all these great clocks there and they go off every hour. Prague is very accessible and has all this money now so it is almost like Eastern Europe’s version of a little Hollywood.

The film shot for a long time. How does the mood shift on a set like that? Weather can be a factor as well; does it ever get to you?

HEADEY: We were inside most of the time. We were very lucky with the weather. Maybe I am imagining it but we had really good days. Our forest was a set so our environment was controlled. We lived in there for three months and came out with black nostrils every day (laugh).

What films of Terry Gilliam had you seen that sort of gave you the impression what you were about to step into?

HEADEY: I wasn’t that knowledgeable of what he had done but TIME BANDITS was one of my favorites. I loved TWELVE MONKEYS and THE FISHER KING. I knew those films. When I met him at the audition I realized what a crazy man he is. There is this youthful enthusiasm and beauty. He brings that to the set. He has this continual imagination as an adult that he didn’t lose as a 15 year-old. He has kept that alive and that keeps his mind going.

Question & Answer Text Copyright Buena Vista International

The Brothers Grimm – movie information
PHASE9 movie review
Q&A with Matt Damon
Q&A with Heath Ledger
Q&A with Monica Bellucci
Q&A with director Terry Gilliam

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