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搜This Is Spinal Tap这个电影搜到的~04年的采访
'Hello Martin. Martin, how nice to meet you. How are you, Martin?' All the way up the several flights of stairs to his agent's offices, I practise not calling Martin Freeman Tim. I've mentioned to a number of people today that I'm going to see him and without exception they've said, 'Who?' Then you say 'Tim from The Office' and the response is a squeal of delighted recognition. Men say, 'Yeah, I like him,' in a way that suggests they know it's perfectly safe and non-gay to say so, and women say 'ahh, Tim,' with that 'bless' cadence.
Tim, arguably the most likeable character in the most significant British sitcom since Fawlty Towers, already has an established place both in the Comedy Hall of Fame and in the national consciousness; an Everyman romantic hero for the modern age. Who didn't cheer when Tim finally roused himself from his inertia to make one last exquisitely judged bid for the love of his lady and was rewarded with a happy ending, and who can say how many latent office romances may have been nudged into life by his example?
Tim, arguably the most likeable character in the most significant British sitcom since Fawlty Towers, already has an established place both in the Comedy Hall of Fame and in the national consciousness; an Everyman romantic hero for the modern age. Who didn't cheer when Tim finally roused himself from his inertia to make one last exquisitely judged bid for the love of his lady and was rewarded with a happy ending, and who can say how many latent office romances may have been nudged into life by his example?
Freeman's performance was a masterclass in naturalism and understatement, to the extent that he didn't even hide, like Ricky Gervais or Mackenzie Crook, behind amusing facial hair or an unforgivable hairstyle. The downside of this, of course, is that for as long as he uses his own voice and his own hair, whether as himself or in another part, it's difficult not to see Tim superimposed. (Even when he played Shaftesbury in the BBC drama Charles II: The Power & the Passion, he still looked like Tim in a wig.)
'It has cast a very long shadow,' he says of The Office, 'and obviously I'm very proud of the work we all did. I do think about getting away from it, but if something else came along that was fucking brilliant, even if it was a bit like Tim, I'd probably say yes, because brilliant is very hard to come by. But obviously I don't want to be seen as that character for the rest of my life - I'd like it to be seen as one of a number of things I'm proud to have done. But then I'm proud of plays I did in front of 200 people that no one gives a shit about who wasn't there, and that doesn't negate it for me.'
'It has cast a very long shadow,' he says of The Office, 'and obviously I'm very proud of the work we all did. I do think about getting away from it, but if something else came along that was fucking brilliant, even if it was a bit like Tim, I'd probably say yes, because brilliant is very hard to come by. But obviously I don't want to be seen as that character for the rest of my life - I'd like it to be seen as one of a number of things I'm proud to have done. But then I'm proud of plays I did in front of 200 people that no one gives a shit about who wasn't there, and that doesn't negate it for me.'
Freeman, now 32, is a great deal more animated than his character, and possessed of stronger opinions, so that his frequent use of what television announcers call 'strong language from the start' comes to seem a crucial element of his self-expression. He has just returned from the Golden Globes in LA, where The Office took home Best Television Series and Gervais Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series in the Musical or Comedy category. What does this level of success mean to someone like Freeman, who spent most of his twenties as a respectably employed but unfeted stage actor?
'I did meet Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest [of This is Spinal Tap] and I was so pleased to meet them.' They're said to be great fans of The Office. Did this bring home the impact that the series has had? 'Oh, that's why this is such a mad situation for me. You think, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest, I'd cut my arm off to work with them, and suddenly I'm in a position where I might not have to cut my arm off.' He shrugs. 'On the other hand, how many people do they meet and say "Oh, I loved your show"? I mean, I heard that Paul McCartney always taped The Office, but that doesn't mean he feels the same way about me that I feel about the Beatles.' Freeman grew up conventionally enough, the youngest of five siblings, joined the Teddington Youth Theatre and went on to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Though he only came to public attention with The Office, he had appeared previously in television dramas such as I Just Want To Kiss You, Men Only and World of Pub.
'I did meet Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest [of This is Spinal Tap] and I was so pleased to meet them.' They're said to be great fans of The Office. Did this bring home the impact that the series has had? 'Oh, that's why this is such a mad situation for me. You think, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest, I'd cut my arm off to work with them, and suddenly I'm in a position where I might not have to cut my arm off.' He shrugs. 'On the other hand, how many people do they meet and say "Oh, I loved your show"? I mean, I heard that Paul McCartney always taped The Office, but that doesn't mean he feels the same way about me that I feel about the Beatles.' Freeman grew up conventionally enough, the youngest of five siblings, joined the Teddington Youth Theatre and went on to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Though he only came to public attention with The Office, he had appeared previously in television dramas such as I Just Want To Kiss You, Men Only and World of Pub.
He lives quietly in London with his long-term girlfriend, the actor Amanda Abbington, and his extensive record collection, and you will never see him at celebrity parties. You will also never see him on the Tube. 'I just had to stop using it in the end,' he says apologetically, as if such diva-like behaviour has regrettably been forced on him by circumstance. 'It's just become too difficult.'
Given that he now has his pick of scripts, admirers might wonder what he sees in Simon Nye's sitcom Hardware, the second series of which is about to go out on ITV1. It's a far more traditional, canned-laughter series set in a DIY shop, with plenty of slapstick and jokes at the expense of students, in which Freeman stars as the put-upon Mike, alongside Peter Serafinowicz. Despite lukewarm reviews for the first series, Hardware was nominated this year for a British Comedy Award in the Best New TV Comedy category.
Given that he now has his pick of scripts, admirers might wonder what he sees in Simon Nye's sitcom Hardware, the second series of which is about to go out on ITV1. It's a far more traditional, canned-laughter series set in a DIY shop, with plenty of slapstick and jokes at the expense of students, in which Freeman stars as the put-upon Mike, alongside Peter Serafinowicz. Despite lukewarm reviews for the first series, Hardware was nominated this year for a British Comedy Award in the Best New TV Comedy category.
'I can only go by my own taste,' he says, in response to my tentative suggestion that Hardware is a long way from The Office in terms of quality. 'There are people who wonder why I did it, and it's hard not to sound chippy, but it made me laugh. People might think that there's something boring about it because it's a much more traditional ITV studio sitcom, but for me it was pure affection for the show - I can say I know why I did it and that's what matters. There's this misunderstanding, too - because it didn't get as much attention - but far more people watch Hardware than ever saw The Office, just by dint of it being on ITV. We talk about "the country" loving The Office but really we mean journalists and other actors. What "the country" loves is things like My Family - the country doesn't really give a shit about The Office. '
In April, Freeman begins filming the new cinema adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, directed by Garth Jennings, in which he plays Arthur Dent to Bill Nighy's Slartibartfast (they recently worked together on Richard Curtis's Love Actually).
In April, Freeman begins filming the new cinema adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, directed by Garth Jennings, in which he plays Arthur Dent to Bill Nighy's Slartibartfast (they recently worked together on Richard Curtis's Love Actually).
'We had the books at home when I was a kid and I'd always liked it without being mental about it, which I think is probably the best way to approach the film, because it means I'm not deferring to it too much,' he says. 'I think it's a good story rather than the thing I've been waiting all my life to play.'
Later in the year there's another film, Confetti, which he can't talk about because much is not finalised, and he's keen to work on more large-scale dramas in the Charles II vein. 'It wasn't just about the wigs and the tights, as if that legitimises you as an actor. I try very hard not to be flattered or bamboozled by money into doing anything, I turned stuff down when I was signing on if I didn't think it was something I'd be proud of. But if it's a good script and a good story, then by Christ, bring on the wigs!'
END
Later in the year there's another film, Confetti, which he can't talk about because much is not finalised, and he's keen to work on more large-scale dramas in the Charles II vein. 'It wasn't just about the wigs and the tights, as if that legitimises you as an actor. I try very hard not to be flattered or bamboozled by money into doing anything, I turned stuff down when I was signing on if I didn't think it was something I'd be proud of. But if it's a good script and a good story, then by Christ, bring on the wigs!'
END
