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Valkyrie: Bill Nighy and Eddie Izzard interview

Valkyrie: Bill Nighy and Eddie Izzard interview

We caught up with LOVEFiLM favourites Bill Nighy and Eddie Izzard to talk about WWII drama and Tom Cruise vehicle, Valkyrie. Based on true events, it sees Nighy and Izzard play German Generals embroiled in a trap to kill Hitler. They gave us the lowdown on the controversy surrounding the film, how the German audience have reacted to the film and working with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars Mr Tom Cruise.

LF: Were you worried about how German audiences might react to the film?

Bill: We were concerned, because it’s one of their big stories. It’s a treasured story, although they have ambivalent feelings about the people involved, it was a big responsibility. Last night, for instance, at the German premiere – which went extremely well – there was a marvelous moment where Tom Cruise and the film received a standing ovation for three minutes. It’s very satisfying because it validates the enormous amount of work he’s put in. He really willed this film into existence and he works incredibly hard.

Eddie: The German actors who were in our cast were saying this doesn’t happen – a three minute standing ovation. We shot it the summer before, so it’s been a good long effort to get it here and it’s tracking through the roof in Germany.

I think they’re all going to go and see it. Whether they will all like it, I’m not sure, but I think they’re all going to go and see it; it’s a big international film where the Germans all go and kill Hitler.

LF: What do you think about the controversy surrounding the accents in the film?

Eddie: I don’t think it’s that controversial. Conspiracy, a famous HBO film a few years ago with Ken Branagh, was about the final solution and they all did it in English, which gave it a real immediacy. I realise there are a number of films set in different countries that have been like that, particularly in the war time.

LF: Do you think that having a British supporting cast brings a certain amount of credibility to the film?

Eddie: Brian Singer does like British actors. There were some very good British actors that were somewhat cheaper (laughs). European actors are cheaper than the American actors, even though we have to work a lot harder before we can cross the pond. We tend to have a lot of stuff under our belt before we get there.

LF: Bill, when you were playing the moment of indecision in the film, did you feel a weight of responsibility to get it just right?

Bill: Yeah I really did. I thought about it quite a lot and I was concerned. The moment in the film is historically accurate. I’m not him and I couldn’t inhabit him entirely, but I also know as a fact that he and the other men involved were incredibly courageous, over a very long period of time. He was involved in trying to do something about Adolf Hitler from about 1937, so he not only risked his own life but also the lives of his family. It must not be forgotten that he was an incredibly courageous man.

LF:What was Tom Cruise like to work with?

Bill: He was wonderful to work with. He was a dreamy guy to do business with. He’s exemplary, he’s inspirational and he was incredibly courteous and generous to everyone around him.

Eddie: With Tom’s working method, he wants to be focused, get down there and do a hard day’s work, which is what I like to do.

Helen Cowley

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