Cologne City Guide:
SOMETIMES EUROPEANS ARE MUCH COOLER THAN AMERICANS

By UWE MIES


He plays eerie villains and gentle romantic lovers. The native Londoner
Alan Rickman, who started his acting career at the theatre while still
studying graphic design, is one of the most fascinating silver screen
personalities of our time. He had his big breakthrough in Hollywood in 1989
when he played the villain in DIE HARD. Instead of risking a fixed image as
a bad guy he took on character roles in modern British romances like CLOSE
MY EYES and TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY. His memorable appearance as Sheriff of
Nottingham in ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES established Rickman in the
costume movies genre where he stood out as an upstanding but shy nobleman
in SENSE AND SENSIBILITY and in leading roles in the elaborate
TV-productions MESMER and RASPUTIN. At present, the 52-year old Englishman
can be seen in theatres in the science-fiction comedy GALAXY QUEST and also
in the controversial, much discussed satire DOGMA.


QUESTION:   You aren't exactly known as a comedian. Why did you choose two
roles in comedies now, with a sci-fi comedy and a catholic satire?

RICKMAN:   In some ways, this was a return to my roots, because I grew up
in comedies. That's nothing out of the ordinary for an actor in England.
Apart from that, I'm always open for eccentric things if they are well
thought out.

QUESTION:   And so you played the down-on-his-luck actor of a science
fiction series, who gets swept away to true adventure in space.

RICKMAN:   Oh yes, the man undergoes quite some change. I don't see GALAXY
QUEST so much as a sci-fi story. Essentially, it's about people who have a
rather sad life in Los Angeles. Their careers are over and suddenly
something happens to open up new perspectives for them all. The script
carefully observes that change in particular and transcribes love of the
characters and acting in general. It's a rare opportunity for an actor to
play an actor under such favourable circumstances.

QUESTION:   Have you ever thought about playing in a series?

RICKMAN:   Yes, often. But somehow, I've avoided the trap of being bound
for such a long time to one project.

QUESTION:   But you keep going back to stage acting for longer periods.
What's the difference?

RICKMAN:   In America you have to sign a contract that binds you for seven
years to a series. Maybe, the series doesn't survie this time, maybe, it
does. In both cases you have signed. There aren't such firm ties at the
theatre.

QUESTION:   Do you like stage acting better than shooting a movie?

RICKMAN:   That's a question I can't possibly answer. In both cases you
accede to play a role. The basic differences are brought along by the
respective play or script or the working conditions, the people you'll be
working with. The love of theatre can be destroyed forever by an
unfortunate audition. And it's the same with movies.

QUESTION:   How did you come to acting? Do you like to masquerade?

RICKMAN:   There's no particular reason. You can best describe it as an
uncertain need somewhere deep inside you. And someday you get aware of it.
Just like you get aware that there are some things that will never be right
for you. Physics and mathematics were a disaster for me at school, but I
always felt confident and free during literature and art courses. I don't
know why. Maybe, it's some kind of chemistry that sets up certain decisions
for us. Then, when we have made a certain decision, any further way will be
taken consciously. You start acting to attract attention. Or because you
like to disguise yourself or hide behind a mask.

QUESTION:   Is acting rather a calling to you than a profession?

RICKMAN:   There's an acknowledged human need to tell each other stories.
No society can manage without it. Film and theatre are no different from a
marketplace in Tunisia where a story teller entertains people. And the
people sit down and listen, just like children. That's the reason I go to
the movies. I sit in a room and listen to stories. It's simply a part of
life. And I, as an actor, am a part of getting a story to the audience.

QUESTION:   Like a medium?

RICKMAN:   Yes, in a certain way. You change, adjust, to make a story find
its way to the audience. So, I'm rather some kind of filter. Because,
through me, another story will reach you than through Ralph Fiennes or
whoever else. By all means, it's mysterious, but it also has to do much
with craft and technique.

QUESTION:   Do you sometimes think about your age?

RICKMAN:   Of course, every morning, when I look into the mirror. Time
elapses, and that has some good points, too. As your age advances, you get
offered roles that you woudn't have been suited for at a younger age. A
simple example would be a father role.

QUESTION:   Your most popular roles were that of the villain in DIE HARD or
ROBIN HOOD. And the effect was even taken farther by the fact that, as an
actor, you were far too good for these roles.

RICKMAN:   First, I'd like to thank you for the compliment. Like I said
before, I don't want to have too much repetition in my work. When I get a
good screenplay, it's not important whether the particular character is a
hero, a lover or a killer. Of course, I know that roles in big studio
productions bring more recognition for the very reason that they are much
more heavily promoted than a small movie with a limited budget. But I can
say for me that I completely bring in myself, regardless of the movie's
commercial value. My career is the sum of my work, and therefore it's
always quite disconcerting for me, when only one or two of my roles are
highlighted.

QUESTION:   That's right, the array is certainly big enough. Now, we'll see
you in DOGMA as an Angel who is an alcoholic.

RICKMAN:   That's not quite right. He is a hindered alcoholic. He likes the
taste of the drinks, but he is not allowed to swallow them, because he is
an Angel. If there wasn't that rule, he probably would be an alcoholic. But
that is irrelevant. I really like this Angel.

QUESTION:   This movie is heavily controversial, to say the least.

RICKMAN:   Yes, you really have to wonder how this stuff managed to be made
into a film in America. Especially, since it's a Disney production. The
only explanation I can come up with is that the screenplay wasn't read,
because it is a rather small production. They gave their okay and got cold
feet afterwards when they saw the finished result. But hey, the Film was
finished and it made it into the theatres.

QUESTION:   What is your point of view about the hostilities towards DOGMA?

RICKMAN:   That is all utter nonsense, and everyone who has seen the movie
will confirm that. It's always the same. People who haven't even seen the
film get most agitated about it. And then they watch it and quiet down.
Because they are well aware by then that the movie is not all that far away
from practiced catholicism. And that it's essentially about the power of
faith. Which is in fact very important for every kind of religious belief.
But that is how it is with blindness and inorance. Double standards and
prejudices often discourage a healthy argument.

QUESTION:   Were there similarly vehement reactions in Europe?

RICKMAN:   I don't know for sure. So far, DOGMA is only in cinemas in
England, and there wasn't such a fuss there. I think, sometimes Europeans
are much cooler than Americans.


END

All copyrights acknowledged - translation by Un-Young Choi

Original German © Cologne City Guide