Interview
Andrew Scott
by Phil Willmott04/08/2005
Andrew Scott won an Olivier award last year for his performance in a the play "A Girl in a Car with a Man" Unfortunately it was in the tiny Royal Court Theatre Upstairs so very few people saw it. Fortunately you can see him give a spell binding performance as Casimir in Brian Friel's play "Aristocrats" currently in rep at the National Theatre. In the play he's a neurotic bundle of nervous energy. Face to face that engaging energy's still there but he has the kind of cute good looks that make you want to ruffle his hair.
Q: This is your first time working at the National Theatre. Is it special here?
A: Oh yes, of course like any actor, I've always wanted to work here. The resources are amazing. You have the set in the rehearsal room; there are nine previews before the press night so it's absolutely ready and you have six weeks rehearsal rather then the usual four.
Q: What did you do with the extra time?
A: It allowed us to be very thorough whilst at the same time take the early stages of rehearsal at a relaxed pace so we could enjoy the opportunity to really get to know the play, each other and our characters.
Q: It's very much a team effort.
A: Oh yes, there's often a lot of people on stage so we have to be very careful not to distract when another character should be the focus.
Q: That must be quiet difficult particularly as your character has such an idiosyncratic way of moving. He almost flits around the stage. How did you develop that?
A: I took it from his speech patterns, the jerky way he uses unfinished sentences and from the Chopin that's playing throughout the play. That has an erratic energy too.
Q: Did you know the play before you started working on it?
A: Yes, I saw it at the Gate theatre in Dublin and loved this part.
Q: You're originally from Dublin. How did you get into acting?
A: I started in youth theatre and got a part in a TV play there when I was fifteen. I started studying drama at Trinity College but it didn't work out for me. The course was very academic and I wanted to learn by getting up and doing so I tired my luck auditioning for the Abbey Theatre and they kept me on for six plays.
Q: Does working in Dublin theatre differ from acting in London?
A: There's something very enjoyable about working in your home city and I think Irish actors are very truthful. Also extremely warm and it's a very social thing. Lots of going out as a company. I think it's more difficult here when, maybe, you've got an hour's journey home.
Q: Where do you go out in London?
A: To be honest I usually just have a drink in the bar here. It's a very tiring show especially when you've a matinee too.
Q: It does look an exhausting play because you have no release. It's all about suppressing emotion. All those dark secrets and hidden misery. Your character is a fantasist. We often see him on the phone, apparently to his family in Germany, do they actually exist?
A: Everyone asks me that. I personally think they do but there's definitely something he's not telling us. Something wrong with that marriage.
Q: What next for you?
A: Id' love to play a big Shakespearean role, Hamlet, of course or Benedict in "Much Ado about Nothing". But I love new writing too.
Q: Do you get type cast as an "Oirish actor"? Do casting directors give you the chance to play non Irish parts?
A: Actually they do, I'm very lucky. But to be honest I'm not quite sure what I'll do after Aristocrats finishes.
I'm sure he'll have plenty of options.
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