Russian directorKirill SerebrennikovtoCannesthis year with his fourth film in Competition and his first in English.
Goodness… A long time ago now!
Anyway, it got sent to me, and then I had a couple of Zoom meetings with Kirill.
Ben Whishaw inBad Behaviour.AHI Films/Everett Collection
And kind of terrifying, honestly, at the same time.
DEADLINE: What most appealed to you about this character?
WHISHAW: Well, he was many things, I guess, which is the point.
He was a kind of a shapeshifter.
He started out being a poet.
But then he became a novelist.
WHISHAW: Its quite far-reaching.
Kirill has called it a ballad.
Its a kind of poetic condensing of a lot of time.
DEADLINE: Where is Serebrennikov based?
WHISHAW: Kirill is, I believe, in Berlin.
Hes working all over Europe.
DEADLINE: Had you seen his previous films?
WHISHAW: Ive seenSummer, and its wonderful.
Hes also an amazing theater director.
He really has this incredible way of staging things.
I absolutely adored him.
Hes really an amazing guy, and an amazing director.
Is there a similar element of fiction in the film?
I mean, Limonov himself wrote a kind of auto-fiction about his life.
So, he could just be a kind of fantasist, in a way.
Thats definitely part of what the films about, I think.
We finished shooting in September 2022, so its been a while.
DEADLINE: How much research did you do into the real-life character?
WHISHAW: I did as much as I could.
I read his books.
In English translations, obviously, since I dont speak Russian.
Actually, theyre all really very interesting.
The first book he wrote is calledIts Me, Eddie.
Obviously, I read the Carrere novel, and read lots about him.
Theres now quite a lot of commentary about him.
Hes an extremely divisive figure, so theres lots of quite conflicting views on him, currently.
I read all of that, which was fascinating.
What else did I do?
I watched him a bit.
I didnt understand what he was saying, but I could feel the guy.
DEADLINE: Were there people around that knew him?
Its not that long ago, is it?
WHISHAW: Kirill met him.
Kirill knew him a tiny bit.
It felt like it had to be a kind of poetic tribute to him.
I couldnt do an impression or attempt a mimicry of him.
I felt there was a point at which I didnt need to go any further into understanding him more.
DEADLINE: What do you think he was intrigued by?
He keeps a certain amount to himself, which I respect.
I think it is a necessary thing.
So, he didnt explain himself to me.
Of course, theyre not remotely anything like each other.
Nothing like each other at all.
But yet something resonates with him.
DEADLINE: From Serebrennikovs previous films, it seems he has a rebellious streak too.
WHISHAW: Theres definitely a spirit of rebellion.
Limonov was a punk.
He was a punk poet.
And his whole life was rebellion, really.
Whatever situation he was in, he rebelled against it.
He never, ever went with the flow.
That was his nature.
He could be against literally everything.
If he was in Russia, he was against that.
If he was in the West, he was against that, too.
That was his setting, which is very interesting.
I think theres something maddening but appealing about that kind of personality.
DEADLINE: What kind of characters do you prefer to play?
Are the more complex characters the most rewarding for you?
WHISHAW: Theyre all rewarding.
I love all the people that Ive played, all the characters Ive played.
I dont have a preference.
I just try and honor what that person is, I suppose.
I know its the kind of thing of lot of actors say all the time, but its true.
You dont judge them.
Theyre doing their thing, and you dont judge them.
DEADLINE: Are you going to go to Cannes with the film?
WHISHAW: Im going to be on stage in London, but hopefully Ill get there.
DEADLINE: Whats your first memory of the Cannes festival?
WHISHAW: It was with a film calledBright Star[2009] that Jane Campion directed.
I was 28 or something, and god, it was just amazing, but also really stressful.
I have a horrifying memory of walking out of an interview because…
I dont know why; I was just a bit overwhelmed.
There ares so many famous people swanning around, and there are all these kinds of old-school glamor rules.
I think she was in mismatched sandals.
DEADLINE: And have you been back since?
I went withThe Lobsterin 2015.
DEADLINE: So, youd gotten over the overwhelmingness of it all then?
I was a bit older [laughs].
I could take it more in my stride.
DEADLINE: What tip would you give to your younger self about how to cope with Cannes?
WHISHAW: Id say, just laugh at it, enjoy it.
Its a spectacle that you cant take too seriously.
I was taking it all far too seriously, as I probably did everything back then.
I think Im a bit of a lighter person now.
Back then, I felt everything more than it needed to be felt, and took everything too personally.
So, I think Id have a break.
Take a break and go and do something fun.
DEADLINE:It sounds like youre keeping busy.
What are you doing at the moment?
WHISHAW: I just finished filming a film withIra Sachs.
Its about a photographer calledPeter Hujar, whos a really extraordinary photographer.
Well, hewas, hes passed now he died of Aids in the 80s.
And then I go back to London.
Im doing a play at the Royal Court calledBluets.
We open in May, exactly when Cannes happens.
But I think I can scoot over on the Sunday, my day off.
DEADLINE:What is it about theater that keeps you going back?
Id do a play every year if I could.
But, post-pandemic, I havent done one.
I dont know how that came to be, but it just didnt happen.
So, Im excited.
Im doing another play after that; in fact, Ive got a bunch of plays to do.
But, yeah, its important to me.
Its something I cant explain.
I think its because itslive.
Its also hard work.
You kind of dread it and love it at the same time.
The repetition is difficult, but its not reallythatdifficult.
And you dont have that with filming.
DEADLINE: Because theres only one take that makes it into a movie?
WHISHAW: Thats completely right.
I guess its about learning to be present with whatever happens every night.
