Bill Nighy, for this writer, is one of Britain’s finest exports. The star of the upcoming Their Finest could easily have the title of his latest film describe what he means to his fans across the world after decades of turning in stellar work in films as varied as Still Crazy, Love Actually, the Underworld series, the Harry Potter films, Shaun of the Dead, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirate Radio, About Time and of course The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel.
He’s back on the big screen in the World War II set Their Finest and The Movie Mensch caught up with him for an exclusive interview to talk about the important film, his long career and what makes Their Finest so bloody special.
Their Finest follows a group of actors and filmmakers, who try to make a film that lifts its nation’s spirits as they are in the midst of the blitzkrieg that sends Londoners underground nightly with the horror that they never know what or who will be left standing when they return to the surface each morning.
It also stars Arterton and Sam Claflin as a pair of writer-producers that are integral to the film’s success. They recruit the legendary actor Ambrose Hilliard (Nighy) to bring some star-power to the propaganda film in hopes that it will play some small part in uplifting the spirits of a nation that is being batted down by the Germans every day.
The Movie Mensch: First of all, congratulations on another fine film. I think it’s such an important film because it covers the bombings in London during that period. It chronicles it for generations that may have forgotten, or never known. Was that one of the reasons you signed on?
Bill Nighy: Yes. It was a big reason. I was born just after the war, but my family, obviously was deeply involved in it, as was everybody else. It’s the great event in the lives of several generations. There was a very specific nostalgia for that period, which is largely from people who weren’t there, like me. It was a terrible period where you never knew who was going to wake up the next day. It went on for a long, long, grueling time. You never knew which bit of the city would still be standing. People were hungry and people were frightened — which is what made these movies so important at that time.
The Movie Mensch: So the script captured that upon the first read?
Bill Nighy: Big time. I thought the way the script was put together. I thought it did give you a real sense of what their daily lives were like and their daily concerns, as well as the bigger picture. It’s a demonstration of how people can hang together and remain compassionate during truly dangerous times, rather than be divided by strategically-invented dangerous times.
The Movie Mensch: That’s why I think it’s quite timely, actually.
Bill Nighy: I agree.
The Movie Mensch: What most tugged at your heart from this story and had you saying, “I need to be a part of this?”
Bill Nighy: My father and my mother were involved in the war, so, therefore I have a personal connection to that time. My father used to tell me many things. My father was trained as a car mechanic, so he had a reserved occupation, like we used to call it, which meant that you didn’t have to volunteer. You didn’t have to join up. You could stay out of the armed forces, but he volunteered, as many people did, because he wouldn’t have felt right not doing so. He was in the RAF (Royal Air Force). He worked on Spitfires during the Battle of Britain. My whole childhood and early life was peppered with conversations with my father about that time. We used to watch these kinds of movies with the one that we’re making in this movie.
The Movie Mensch: The thing that comes through in Their Finest is that there’s a real camaraderie among the actors making the movies. Did you all have that feeling off the set too? It sure seemed like you were all on the same page for that common goal.
Bill Nighy: It did. Some movies, some people, it’s a job. It’s a gig. There was a different feeling on this. The script was so good. It had something which everybody was drawn to. You did have a feeling that everyone that was there was very happy to be there. Amongst the actors, because we were playing a company of actors, it did kind of rub off. You have that anyway with a company of actors. Actors pretty much, contrary to the myth of actors crawling over each other’s dead bodies to get to a role, or whatever they say, it’s actually not the case.
The Movie Mensch: I am a longtime appreciator of your work. There’s so much variety. There’s humor, there’s romance, there’s post-apocalyptic, there’s period pieces. Was variety always the goal, or has it happened more organically? Is it really the spice of life for an actor?
Bill Nighy: Well, it is the spice of life. Yeah. There was no plan. There were no decisions of that kind made really. It was just a question of what came along. My agent for a long period was canny enough to realize that I was probably better if you sent me — I think they used to call it “counter-casting.” When I was young, I found it quite difficult to play straight romantic or leading roles. I didn’t take myself seriously in that way because I was quite self-conscious in that area. She’d send me out for some roles that they wouldn’t normally see me for, and, maybe, I’d get a few of them. Then, things started to roll. I’m very pleased. Right now, I’d quite like to play some regular human beings who just walk around, and talk, and play what you call “straight roles.” I’m grateful for that. It keeps it alive.
The Movie Mensch: What roles do you get most approached about?
Bill Nighy: Well, it depends on the age and background of the people. If they’re between 15 and 27, it’s Shaun of the Dead, or any of the Cornetto trilogy. Everyone 9 to 90, Pirates of the Caribbean or Love, Actually. If they’re French, it’s The Boat That Rocked, or what you call, Pirate Radio because that was huge in France. Now, of course, I am the face of the retiree, so the Marigold Hotel. Anyone over a certain age, anyone about my age, basically, that’ll be the “Indian” movies.