This role is quite a departure for you - what attracted you to it?
The thing that I went for was the idea of a very romantic love story. I wanted to experience a character that was in another time. I see myself mostly as a modern actor and I shy away from period films because I don’t really know if I would be anachronistic in them. But John Madden really helped me fit the time period and it was a combination of the music and the love story and the incredible period of the Second World War.
How was filming in Cephallonia?
As soon as I landed I was very busy - it was sort of like going to camp. There were so many things I had to do and learn like how to sing, how to march, how to sing opera, how to conduct, how to play a mandolin, how to talk like an Italian. I would rehearse and then go home and lock myself away to practice all these things. I think some people may have thought I was anti-social because I was just so busy trying to get this character together in two weeks. But the Greek people were full of life and love. They were very generous in every way.
Are you nervous about the fans of the book seeing your interpretation of Captain Corelli?
In the United States, the book is not as well recognised as it is in Europe so I wasn’t familiar with how dear the characters were, and so I wasn’t nervous about it. I just hope people like what I did, quite simply.
Read our review of "Captain Corelli's Mandolin", an interview with co-stars Penélope Cruz and Christian Bale. Read a profile of director John Madden.
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