Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Cassandras Traum
Interview with Hayley Atwell
Hayley Atwell
Haley Atwell can consider herself lucky. Fresh out of drama school and already taking part in a Film by Woody Allen. Famous actresses like Sigourney Weaver started their careers this way - not that this has to mean anything. The newcomer grew up in West London and always wanted to act. Trainded at the Guildhall School of Drama she appeared in several TV-films and also had a bit part in a Pringles-Commercial.
When OutNow.CH met her in Venice during the festival she obviously wasn't the main act. Her male counterparts Ewan McGregor and Colin Farell took on that responsibility. Not to mention the director of Cassandra's Dream, the movie the whole fuzz was made all about: the great Woody Allen.
» Das Interview in deutscher Sprache
With colleagues in Venedig
OutNow.CH (ON): Not many actresses receive their first job on a film by Woody Allen. Was it a bit of a relief for you to get to kick-start your career like this?
Hayley Atwell (HA): I wouldn't use the word relief. I came out of drama school less than a year ago. I've done some theater and a little bit of television and that was the way that I wanted to continue with. So it came very unexpected. It was overwhelming, but it didn't feel that I was chasing it.
ON: How did Woody Allen choose you?
HA: I was told he came to London to put a lot of girls on tape. He wasn't there though when I spoke a couple of lines and my name on camera. And I didn't know anything about the character or the story. I walked out thinking this was a very bizarre audition. A couple of weeks later I was flown to New York to meet him in person. It lasted for half an hour and I just had to talk about myself really.
ON: Did you know what sort of girl the character you played was by then?
Somebody has to do it!
HA: He gave me the script so I could take it to the hotel room. But everything was very secretive. I had to give it back the next day. So I learned that it was not a particularly nice character, quite shallow and naïve, that uses seduction to get what she wants, which I find to be quite vulgar. But I thought she would be quote fun to play.
ON: Did you know of any other cast members at the time?
HA: Once they said that I've got the part they told me that Ewan McGregor and Colin Farell would play the two men.
ON: How is Woody Allen on set?
HA: He is very funny. Very dry though. It takes a while to dock onto his humour. It takes a little courage to laugh at things he says because you're not really sure if he wanted you to laugh. Yesterday for instance, here in Venice, when they were about to call Woody and the cast into the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema he asked: "Do I have time to get a turkey sandwich?" and all the security and the press people got very nervous al of a sudden. It's little things like that which are brilliant.
Talking to the master
ON: What a did a master like Woody Allen teach you?
HA: He taught me about stillness, and the importance of simplicity , to be aware of the smallest movements. There was one scene where he told me that I was doing something very strange with my mouth and every time I did it he couldn't use the take because it is taking up the whole scene and it distracted.
ON: Is it intimidating for an actress to work with Woody Allen?
HA: Yes. But it's not him as a person, it's his extraordinary abilities as a writer and director that is intimidating. He's approachable and he is shy. That makes him far more welcoming. So I was terrified at my first meeting but then I realized he was very easy to interact with.
ON: How was it to work with Colin and Ewan?
HA: It was great because they were just as nervous as I was. But we were all treated the same. There was no sense of hierarchy. There wasn't anything glamorous about
ON: Did you have a favorite Woody Allen movie before working on this film?
HA: Yes. Hannah and her Sisters.
In Cassandra's Dream
ON: What's your opinion the story of Cassandra's Dream?
HA: It's very harsh. It's bleak. It's very stylized in terms of the language It shows how when someone becomes too ambitious or to greedy everything spirals out of control.
ON: Don't you think this film is similar to Match Point?
HA: Yes. It's a cousin of Match Point. I didn't feel like I was on a Hannah and her Sisters-set. I didn't have as much dialogue as I thought before I went to the audition.
ON: What attracts you to acting in theatre?
HA: It's much more immediate and raw, and also terrifying. It feels like a church. There's something very holy about it. With very little you can create an imaginary world and transport to an audience without any tricks or special effects. All lies in the power of you and other people connecting.
ON: I guess this is your first visit to a film festival with red carpet and all. How is your experience?
In Red on Red
HA: It's mad. It's completely crazy. I'm here with my best friend, and she has probably a better time than I have, purely because for me it is work. I have to learn where to go, what is expected and the etiquette. My best friend is rubbish at films and acting which is great because it demystifies everything since she wouldn't know who Harvey Weinstein is and what it means if he stays next to you. It's glamorous but glamour isn't real.
