| Ioan Gruffudd's Received Grace |
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 Ioan Gruffudd is a versatile actor, able to bring humanity to diverse characters, from period dramas to comic book adaptations   Gruffudd as William Wilberforce, unveiling a very long document in British Parliament  "Amazing Grace" director Michael Apted on set  Gruffudd and Romola Garai as William and Barbara Wilberforce  Watch out for Gruffudd as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic in the upcoming "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" From acclaimed director Michael Apted ["Gorillas In The Mist," "Coal Miner's Daughter"], “Amazing Grace” follows Wilberforce’s career through his '20s and '30s, when he and fellow humanitarians such as William Pitt the Younger pushed slavery as an issue--not only in political circles but throughout the country. Gruffudd has such remarkable talent that he can transform mythic figures, as disparate as William Wilberforce and the comic book character Mr. Fantastic, into real human beings on screen. amazinggracemovie.com Q: How much research did you do for this role? IG: There are several biographies of Wilberforce and Michael had prepared a lot of background history of the time [for us]. It was during the American war of independence, and the Napoleonic wars. Britain was a very sort of debauched place, people were very drunk and there was prostitution--it was an interesting time. One of Wilberforce’s big causes was trying to reform society, the reformation of manners as well as his compassion for animals and obviously abolishing the slave trade. Q: Did you ever visit the Wilberforce House? IG: No, I hadn’t the opportunity. To be honest, I was rather ignorant of Wilberforce’s story and what he had achieved. So I learned an incredible amount myself reading the script and researching the character. Q: He seemed like a very religious man… IG: Ah yes, he was an evangelical Christian. He was always immersed in religion. As a child he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle for a period of time. He was then introduced to Methodism; he met John Wesley and became a Methodist as a young man. His mother was more of a conformist and Methodism was quite radical, and she was appalled by it so she took him back home and introduced him to high society and heads of state. He says later on in life if it had not been for his mother taking him from [Methodism] at that age he would have not been introduced to that sort of life. Then he lost his faith; he became sort of a dilettante at University, then [went on] to a religious conversion in his early 20s. This was the same time he was a member of Parliament. Q: He loved animals. IG: That was a big part of his life, and as we saw in the movie he was very compassionate with animals. Yes, it was a very noisy set, but it added to the charm of it all. I worked with animals extensively on “102 Dalmatians” many moons ago. So I was very used to the whistles and calling and having pieces of meat and biscuits in my pocket to entice them to do certain things. That scene in the kitchen when I’m in the coffin, as it were, to show the dimensions of a slave birth, they made it out of oak so it was incredibly heavy to lift [the lid] and come out. And of course we are encouraging the dogs to sniff around it and see what on earth was going on, but in one the rehearsals of course I dropped the thing on one of the dogs so they were terrified of coming towards it. They weren’t going to go there again, as much as I had biscuits and bits of meat everywhere. So it did get in the way of filming a little bit, but we got around that somehow. Q: Since you had to sing--especially "Amazing Grace"--did you work with a singing coach during filming? IG: Yes, I did. Being a Welshman I believe we as a nation can all sing, so I was confident coming to the project that I was going to be able to sing a song and be remembered for it. But I did get my old singing teacher from '95 to come and help me with the song, so it’s been more then ten years since I’ve seen him. So he was there on the day and a couple of days before it, and of course on the day of shooting I get a cold and the flu and I’ve hardly got a voice, so the passion of Wilberforce singing that song was my attempt at singing out and being heard. Q: Since you had one of Africa's greatest musicians as part of the cast, did you ask [Senegalese singer/percussionist] Youssou N’Dour for any tips--even though he played the freed slave Oloudaqh Equiano and did no singing in the film? IG: He’s got an incredible voice. So high and unique, isn’t it? Q: Did you know of his music before filming? IG: Oh yes, absolutely. He had a great hit in the U.K. “7 Seconds” with Neneh Cherry. That’s how he came into our consciousness. Q: Did anyone ever tell you you look like Jon Bon Jovi? IG: I take that as a compliment, he’s a very attractive, handsome man. No, and that’s the first time ever. I’m going to use that from now on. Q: What did you take away from the film? IG: You walk away from every experience as an actor having learned something. I did a project years ago called “Warriors” about the conflict in Bosnia, very soon after the conflict. This movie is the same. I’ve been educated myself about this great man and this movement. It’s a very humbling experience when you represent a character like this. You realize how much one can achieve in a lifetime and how brave and extraordinary these people were. And of course you reflect and realize you could be doing much more. It’s hard to stand alone. In that day and age, you dare not say anything because it's deemed seditious and that is what is happening to Wilberforce. In a time of war it was deemed seditious to even talk about anything else. |