Well, filming in Hawaii, you know, is a blessing. It’s one of the most beautiful places on this planet. It has a very mystic energy which informs you as an actor.
You do a play, or you go on set for the first day of filming: if you don’t have nerves, and you don’t have any kind of adrenalin pushing you forward, then something is wrong.
Filming ‘Doctor Who’ is so incredibly different to ‘Spooks.’ Near to the surface, there’s quite a silly atmosphere. A lot of the times, you’re on the verge of giggles because it’s so over the top.
While we were filming ‘Munna Bhai MBBS,’ we didn’t think we were doing some kind of mainstream cinema. I only knew that I was doing a different kind of cinema.
The most memorable part of filming ‘Finesse,’ I’d have to say, was the kissing scene. It was just so odd for me.
When I’m filming, I live out of a suitcase, so everything is thrown everywhere. In real life, I’m a bit tidier.
After filming, I can’t wait to shake off all that ’50s primness. I’ll go out to a gig and dance ridiculously. I love to lose myself in music. Just letting go – it’s dead important.
I get nervous before everything – dates, filming, award shows. I just don’t want to say something stupid. But as soon as I step out on that stage, or as soon as I show up to a date, it all goes away, and I just have a great time with whoever I’m with.
Denis Villeneuve is such a wonderful filmmaker. I just feel nothing but grateful to have worked with him and to have a chance to learn his language of filming.
My parents had bought a video camera for us to film Christmases and other family events. I took it down to the beach, set up a tripod, and I would grab two other friends, and we’d take turns filming and surfing. Then, at the end of the day, I’d go home and I’d make a video for everybody to watch.
When I came back from filming the ‘Chandelier’ video, everyone was like, ‘So what’d you wear? What did the room look like? How many chandeliers were there?’ And I was like, ‘Well, I wore a blond wig, a nude leotard, the room was dirty, and there was no chandelier.’
When we’re filming, I sometimes look into the camera and wonder who’s out there, who will be watching.
In Australia, there is a very famous show called ‘Home and Away.’ I was cast on that at 15. The day I started filming, my life changed.
I’m over there filming in South Africa now, and two in five are HIV-positive now. Not many people know that.
Filming ‘It’s Not Rocket Science’ has made me realise I’m missing the part of my brain that warns me about danger because – even though the tasks are terrifying – I find it really exciting.
I’m a trumpet player, so I always carry a pocket trumpet in case there’s an opportunity to jam with the locals. I was in Guadeloupe last year filming ‘Death in Paradise,’ and I played all over the island and had the best time.
I never like to go out of character when filming starts. I fear that if I do, I might not be able to pick it up again.
When I’m filming I feel guilty about never seeing the children, but when I’ve not been working for six months I begin to think: ‘Who am I?’
I had CNN on in my hotel room every day while we were filming the pilot for ‘The Originals.’
A lot of filmmaking is an endurance contest between you and the people you’re filming. Every time that you relax, I promise you, something interesting will happen.
One time, when I was filming ‘Strong Woman Do Bong Soon,’ I had to ask my little sister to bring me something. I was filming a scene where I had to carry Park Hyung Sik and Ji Soo on my back, and my sister just had her eyes on them the whole time. She had no interest in me whatsoever.
Filming is like a house, you have to feel comfortable in it.
I took up boxing to get in shape for filming because it’s grueling – all the running, the heat, the yelling, the crying that we do.
I love ‘Call the Midwife’; it’s an absolute gem of a programme. Filming the Christmas special and then the second series felt like going back to a boarding school that you really love and is full of friends.
I feel more in touch with the world when I’m filming.
I always wear the shoes of the character a week before going on set; the idea of just putting on a new pair of shoes on the first day of filming is just horrific.
For filming, we have to wear a lot more makeup than we usually would. At night, I have to go home and take off all the makeup and take my hair out from my bun and just get out of the dancewear and everything.
I had to leave my three-year acting course at Guildhall a little early to start filming Chris Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk.’ It was an absolute dream come true.
I did documentary film for a long time, and I spent a lot of time behind the camera, fervently wishing that the reality I was filming would conform to my narrative propriety. But you can’t control it.
If I have some free time, I leave Paris with some books about the cinema. If I’m not filming, I’m watching films.
Doctor Who is like any long-running series in that the cast tend to look to the star to set the general tone. Rehearsals and filming could be a lot of fun.
For ‘The Bachelor,’ I went through the entire process and was told I was chosen, and then I told my boss… It turned out that my boss was a huge fan of the show, and he was ecstatic. My promise to my firm was that I would do the filming then go back to work, and I did.
Normally when you meet a person you don’t like, you might have words with them, but then you walk away. When you’re filming a show, you can’t walk away.
Some people thought that I was crazy for declining a lot of offers while I was filming ‘SKTKS,’ but I have waited patiently because I knew I had a winning hand.
Filming TOWIE’ can be so stressful. It is in the contract everyone has to see a psychiatrist. You have to see them and get checked over before the series starts and at the end.
When I come home and I’m tired from filming all day, I expect her to be there and make sure everything is cool for me. You know, like drawing my bath and helping me into bed.
I don’t believe in objectivity. I observe the observer’s paradox every moment I’m filming. Your presence is changing everything; there’s no mistaking it. And you have a responsibility.
After filming the first season of ‘Poldark,’ I went with the cast on a trip to Iceland. We started off in Reykjavik and then went into the mountains and swam in naturally heated pools.
The beauty of film is that you can get closer than you can in theater, you know? I come from theater, and I remember feeling like I was almost cheating when I would put the camera so close to somebody’s face when I was filming them.
Spending time away from family during filming, I think, for every working mum is always difficult. But it has to be done; there’s no way round it you’ve just got to do it.
I did not give Angie a French kiss. It was something simple and lovely. She was about to go off to Mexico to finish filming ‘Original Sin’ with Antonio Banderas. I congratulated her on the Oscar win and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. It was snapped and became a big thing.
That whole experience of filming in Canada was one to remember.
I think the height of ridiculousness was when I was playing Elizabeth in ‘The Golden Age’ while preparing to start shooting ‘I’m Not There.’ I literally finished filming Elizabethan grandeur on Friday, flew to Montreal, and started being Bob Dylan on Monday.
I don’t know, I think when filming a reality show, you definitely sign up for showing the world vulnerable parts of your life and all that can be challenging.
With TV-writing, you write scenes and those scenes pretty much stay as they are when you come to filming them. Sometimes you might change things on the day because of the location or the actors’ availability issues.
The camera does not like acting. The camera is only interested in filming behaviour. So you damn well learn your lines until you know them inside out, while standing on your head!
Filming in London is brilliant.
I spent lunchtime in a grave during the filming of ‘Bloody Mama.’ When you’re younger, you feel that’s what you need to do to help you stay in character. When you get older, you become more confident and less intense about it – and you can achieve the same effect.
I started playing the guitar when we started filming the pilot to ‘Lost in Space,’ which was way back in December of 1964, and there’s a little bit in the pilot that was used in the first season where Will Robinson is sitting around some bad foam rubber rock playing and singing ‘Greensleeves.’
Anytime you’re away from your home filming, it messes with your head.
If I’m at home, I get up around 7:30. If I have time, I like to do some exercise. My current favourite is ‘hot’ yoga. If I’m filming, I will go to the office or set, and then take meetings.
I’ve adjusted to being mostly situated in Vancouver now, which I love, and to the fandom that comes along with it. At some points when we’re filming in Vancouver, there are more than 100 fans outside our scene. It’s so cool being able to be a part of something where people are so passionate.
Luckily, most days filming, for me, have involved a bit of a workout, too.
When I was filming ‘Prudence’ in Zimbabwe, I noticed the hold fundamentalist Christianity had on sub-Saharan Africa. So I thought I’d like to make a film about religion in Africa because the prosperity gospel is big business where people are desperate, poor, and sick.
