Entertainment Tonight Interview

August 1998

He's cool. He's dapper. He's lethal. Can you belive it's Academy Award-nominee RALPH FIENNES? ET sits down with Ralph to discuss his latest film 'The Avengers.'

Entertainment Tonight: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced bringing John Steed to the screen?
Ralph Fiennes: I think one of the biggest challenges, bringing John Steed to the screen, is that lots of people who are familiar with the old series and are fans of it of course, saw it created and defined by Patrick Macnee, playing John Steed and understand that they will be circumspect as to how another actor can interpret John Steed. Also the challenge was the style. To get that particular sort of style that comedic light ironic style, I find a wonderful challenge, an enjoyable one. If you're playing it to an audience, you'd hear the laughs, you'd hear the feedback, of course repeatedly in takes, you don't hear it. You have to keep that enjoyment that you might have in selling it to an audience, a live audience, but keep it up with no response. I hope it works, but I've been a fan of the series myself so I hope it's true in essence and in sprit of the original.

ET: Now, you have a reputation as a serious actor. This is an action adventure film. It's a bit of a departure. How did that effect you? What did you do differently for 'The Avengers?'
Ralph: Well I think that it was still an acting challenge, which I took seriously, if you see what I mean in a sense...just relating to what I've just said about that style needing to be very alert, a look a moment a sentence a reaction. I give the impression that it's all effortless and thrown away, when actually we are phrasing the line and shaping it so that there's a rhythm and a phrasing that works in context with the whole film, and that the scenes between Emma and Steed have to have a lightness of touch.

ET: Physically, how did you take on the role of playing an action hero?
Ralph: Mercifully. I didn't have to pump up or put on weight or go to the gym. Steed doesn't need muscles to survive. He's go his umbrella, his wit and whatever self defense he has. I don't know what it is, but we devised something with the umbrella, you know. So, he's not a pumped up action hero, he's sort of an...in a funny way he's an anti-action hero in a sense. Everything about him would belies the fact that he can go into action and come out unscathed. He looks a bit of a dandy. Beautifully tailored suits, courteous manners and demeanor he doesn't have the hard edge of a police action hero, or something like that.

ET: The film is full of special effects. Describe what it was like to shoot one of the more challenging scenes?
Ralph: There's a scene where...well the special effects where...one of the great special effects was about a man who controls the weather. I had to walk towards a phone box and suddenly this wind starts and the whole atmosphere changes. They had these incredibly big wind machines chucking leaves and grit and twigs. There was someone behind the phone box shaking it. It was fun to see. When I saw the playback, I could see it on the monitor, you know. I walk across this English lawn and suddenly I'm hit by this wind machine hidden in the bushes and then my hair goes out of control. Then there was a sequence where we had snow effects, a lot of snow effects which were amazing to see. Now, there's a company in England called, "Snow Business" who are brilliant at creating snow effects and making a whole landscape look completely white. That was fun to see.

ET: What was it like working with Uma [Thurman?]
Ralph: Well, Uma's really smart. She's fun, she's cool, I love working with her. The majority of the scenes we have together and I hope we maybe do another one.

ET: You have that fight scene with Sean Connery. What was it like duking it out with Sean Connery?
Ralph: Well, he's so impressive to work with. He's so experienced about camera and angles and giving me tips about how to sell a punch really well, which I enjoyed you know because it was James Bond giving me tips on how to make a fight work. It was an opportunity.

ET: Tell us about the choreography in the sword fighting sequence?
Ralph: Well a lot of work went into those sequences. We had a wonderful choreographer called Bill Hobbs. He was the best I think in sword fighting. Every single move is choreographed. You can't improvise, unless maybe you're brilliant in that capacity of Fencing and you can improvise sword play. It has to be fast and every single second of it is worked out in advanced and perfected and perfected.

ET: If there is an 'Avengers Two,' how would you add to the character of John Steed?
Ralph: I just see things in my performance I'd like to improve on, just little touches, little things that I'd like to have another go at them really, just refining and refining. It's a great part a great character to play and maybe have some more fun with in wardrobe, take it a stage further.