My Zinc Bed: a compelling adaptation of David Hare's acclaimed play for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔΜύTwo
Paddy Considine plays Paul Peplow
What was your reaction when you were first approached for this
production?
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I was approached like any other actor to go and read with Anthony
[Page, director]. I felt like I was ready for a new challenge. I
had acted in some similar roles and wanted to take on this one
because it is so different from anything I've ever done before. I
wanted to see if I could step out of my comfort zone, there is a
lot of dialogue and the fact that it was a play made the role very
attractive.
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What did you think of the script?
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It was very heavy but I like the way that David Hare writes, and a
lot of it is very natural to speak. So it was my job to make it
feel very natural. I understood the characters in the play and the
way they approached addiction.
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Had you seen the play on the stage before?
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No I hadn't, it was totally new territory for me.
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How would you describe the story of My Zinc Bed?
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It's a story about addiction, and a story about trying to cope with
desire. Paul has this self-destruct button that a lot of people
have. I call it a reckless gene that is sort of in-built
genetically.
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Were there any particular challenges as an actor in performing a
stage play for the screen?
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Yes, because it was always going to be interesting to be involved in
the leap from stage play to television. It's very word and
dialogue heavy and, working with the script, cast and crew made it
an interesting process.
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Tell us about your character Paul.
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Paul is a striving poet who works part time as a freelance
journalist. He has been in AA for a long time and is a recovering
alcoholic. With Paul he's always walking on a high wire because
part of his problem is dealing with relationships. Living on his
own is one of the ways in which he deals with his addiction.
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Were there any aspects of him you could particularly relate to?
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I suppose there was the odd bit. I sometimes feel like I have a
destructive gene in myself, so I can understand parts of him and
how he copes.
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What do you think David Hare was saying about addiction?
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I don't know. For me, personally, addiction is something you can
never be free of and it's something that you can control and
compress but ultimately it's always there. If you're predisposed
to it, it's something that's always going to be there.
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What was it like working with Uma and Jonathan?
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It was great and very exciting to be working with two actors that I
have a lot of admiration for. It was challenging and I think I
learned a lot working on the film.
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Have you seen many David Hare plays on the stage before? Are you a
fan?
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I rarely go to the theatre really so I haven't seen many plays at
all.
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