Brenda Blethyn Interview, Introducing the Dwights

MoviesOnline caught up with actress Brenda Blethyn at the Los Angeles press day for her new film, "Introducing the Dwights.” Acclaimed when it premiered at this year’s Sundance film festival (under the title "Clubland”), "Introducing the Dwights” is a charming, feel-good alternative to this year’s summer blockbusters. The Australian comedy features a tour-de-force performance from two-time Academy Award nominee Blethyn as a mother who tries to come between her son and his coming of age.

Tim’s mom, Jean (Brenda Blethyn), is a bawdy and risqué comedienne still hoping to make it big. His brother Mark (Richard Wilson) helps their mother rehearse for shows. Together, they inhabit a non-traditional household where chaos is the norm, the music is always on, and Jean’s larger-than-life personality takes center stage. When Tim (Khan Chittenden) meets and falls for Jill (Emma Booth), his home becomes a combat zone as his mother fears this new girl, whose name she refuses to remember, will "break up” the unique family unit she’s tried so hard to keep together. In this quirky and oftentimes touching tale, Tim must learn to manage the emotions of the women of his life without losing himself in the process.

The film’s director, Cherie Nowlan, explains how this project came about: "Keith Thompson wrote this beautiful screenplay and Rosemary Blight, the producer, sent it to me and I really loved it. I love the coming of age story of the boy and his mother. I thought it was unusual. It was very honest and it made me blush and made me laugh and made me cry. I thought if the script could do that then maybe there is a good chance the film could get the same reaction. And then they broke the news to me that Keith had written it with Brenda in mind. She’s my favorite actress. I’ve been obsessed with her since ‘Secrets and Lies.” So that was the hook for me.’”

Nowlan appreciated the productive relationship Blethyn developed with the young cast: "I think the biggest gift she gave them was not treating them as if they were inexperienced. She just treated them as she would any actor and therefore they learned from just being with her, being in the room acting with her. It was like being in a master class. She’s just such a brilliant writer and improviser. She was wonderful with them.”

Brenda Blethyn is one of Britain’s most celebrated actors in film, television and theatre. She’s been nominated twice for an Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award as well as several major award nominations for films such as "Secrets and Lies,” "Little Voice,” "Saving Grace,” and "Pride and Prejudice.” Brenda is a fabulous person and we really appreciated her time. Here’s what she had to tell us about her latest film:

Q: What attracted you to this project?

BRENDA BLETHYN: I loved it, but at the time I didn’t know it was written with me in mind. I just loved it. I loved the freshness and honesty of it. And it seemed to me this had to come from a real place because it was so acutely observed, and this boy embarrassed on his journey of discovery and also embarrassed by his parents, who are entertainers. I thought it was funny and I loved the role. And I said, Yes, please, straightaway. It was only afterwards that I found out he had written it with me in mind, so I said, why? And apparently he’d grown up only about 20 miles from where I grew up in England and he’d seen a film I’d made 16 years before called "Secrets and Lies,” and it was set in the county of Kent in England close to where he lived and close to where I lived. And all the little nuances in it resonated with him and I think that’s where his interest in me started. And it’s loosely based on his relationship with his own mother and she was an entertainer on that kind of circuit in Kent and those are the sort of places that I would perhaps go to as a kid and see all these weird and wonderful acts. I wasn’t allowed in. I’d just peep through the door and watch. There was one act called the Singing Coon (Coon is an old slang for black people).Can you imagine that? I’m not kidding you. Isn’t that dreadful? It was a man in black tarp (blackface) and the Singing Coon, my god, he’d be locked up for that!

Q: What was it like working with the young actors? Did you have anything to say to them? Any advice?

BRENDA BLETHYN: I said, "Don’t hit me!” (Laughs) Gosh, I don’t know. I think they were inspiring. The freshness they brought to the table was enviable. And the more work you do, you think, oh god, and I’m rethinking this. I’m not playing safe. I don’t think I did. You can’t help thinking that when you see this fresh talent before you. And no matter what I batted to them they batted right back. So we got a good few volleys going and they were great.

We became mates on the first day. And also it gets rid of any inhibitions so you can try things out without fear of looking foolish. It’s okay to get things wrong. It’s all right, and Cherie made sure that we could try things out without feeling silly if it went wrong, and that’s a great atmosphere to work in because it makes for creativity.

We went off to do some research at one of these clubs on the outskirts of Sydney. It was quite a big club with lots of slot machines and variety acts. It was well attended with hundreds of people in there. And we went to the desk and because there is gambling you have to have ID and I didn’t have ID with me. I had never been somewhere in Australia before. And we said to the desk that I haven’t got ID and she said you can’t come in then. Then Keith said to her, "This is Brenda Blethyn,” and he said, "I don’t care who she is, she’s not coming in without ID.” And we said, "We’ve come here to do some research.” And then he was chatting to his mate something about football and I piped up that my team was the same as his team, coincidently, but it wasn’t my team, it was my partner’s team, and he let me in!

Q: Was it difficult going up on stage doing the comedic bits?

BRENDA BLETHYN: Yeah, it is because it’s kind of confusing. I’m more a stage actor than I am a film actor, but you only know me from films, but most of my career has been in theater. And it was kind of confusing being up on stage because I’m not doing theater, hang on, this is film. And of course we did the routine, first of all, for this big audience, and thank goodness they laughed, but then with the technicalities of filming, once we start filming and I do the routine they had to be absolutely quiet. It had to be silent, otherwise the soundtracks would overlap. So I did it about three times, and responding as if they were laughing. And then we reversed it, and I had to mime now, and do the same thing, but now they are all laughing. There was a man playing the machines at the back and he wandered in and he was watching all this. And he had a few beers and after the camera was on me, he said, "Blimey, she’s funnier when she keeps her mouth shut!” [Laughs]

There was one of my jokes in there and one of Keith’s and one of my sister’s, so it was kind of fun doing that, but when I made a mistake we could cut and go again, but when you are up there for real and you’ve got people heckling from every corner, and you’ve got to deal with that kind of banter, it must be terrifying.

We had one girl go the other day with not a single laugh. It was embarrassing, as Jean is in certain scenes, and your heart goes out for them, and then you start fake laughing.

Q: Can you talk about YOUR ROLE IN the new movie "AtonemenT”?

BRENDA BLETHYN: From what I know I just play a tiny cameo role in it, and I was really happy to do that for Joe Wright, the director who did "Pride and Prejudice.” And of course it’s with Keira again, and it’s a beautiful, beautiful story of the terrible regrets you feel when you’ve done something you shouldn’t have and you’ve never made amends. That’s the way the book is. You are atoning for that. And Sarah Greenwood designed the film and she did a beautiful job. Again, she did "Pride and Prejudice.” She created a beautiful setting for the piece and I saw a little bit of it cut together before I left there, and Keira looked absolutely wonderful in it and I’ve always liked her work as a girl. Keira is a very bright girl, and in this she’s a woman. And I thought the change was remarkable. And it’s opening the Venice Film Festival.

Q: HOW DID YOU WORK OUT THe CHEMISTRY WITH your son?

BRENDA BLETHYN: We were very, very comfortable with each other, all three of us, and comfortable with our discomfort with his dad as well. And in this initial process we tried to think what it’s like in normal times in this household. It worked really well and how you can say things without offense and just talk to somebody without censoring what you are saying. And all that developed and we were totally and completely easy with each other. And I think that’s what families are like, and we had the benefit of that rehearsal time. And with Cherie making it all happen, and I can’t even say how that comes about, but it just worked. It just came together.

"Introducing the Dwights” opens in theaters in Los Angeles and New York on July 4th.