LOS ANGELES - Professionally, the laid back Morgan Freeman refuses to be a distracted romantic. With more than 40 years and 50 films under his belt, he`s learned to take the good with the bad, and move on to the next gig.
Stretching out in a Beverly Hills hotel suite chair a week before the film`s opening, Freeman does acknowledge his Lucius Fox role in Christopher Nolan`s Batman trilogy counts as one of the good stops along the way.
He`s even tempted to call The Dark Knight Rises, which opened July 20, the best of his Batman experiences. But if Freeman`s savouring the success of all three of the movies, you would never know it.
When the 78-year-old`s asked what the conclusion of the Batman series means to him, he shrugs like the response is obvious.
``It means I have to look for another job,'' says the actor.
He probably won`t be looking long after his memorable performance.
Freeman`s one of the stalwart supporting characters as the Wayne Enterprises CEO, joining Michael Caine`s Alfred the butler and Gary Oldman, who`s back as Police Commissioner Gordon.
New are Tom Hardy, portraying the evil villain Bane, and Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, the Catwoman jewel thief. They join Marion Cotillard, who plays rich environmentalist Miranda Tate and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a Gotham beat cop on a mission.
In the film, Christian Bale`s Batman returns from hiding to confront Bane, who is poised to detonate a nuclear bomb in Gotham City. Catwoman is on the fringes of the Bane terrorist gang, but conflicted. Tate is trying to be helpful, while the beat cop gets involved more than expected.
As usual, Freeman and Caine add substance to the proceedings as the confidants to Bruce Wayne.
``We`ve come up with the idea that sums us up,'' says Freeman of their separate roles. ``Alfred is the heart and soul of Bruce Wayne and I am the brains of Batman.''
He also sees Lucius and Alfred as the human faces defining Bruce Wayne in a superhero universe.
``I think that is the crux of what keeps us interested in Batman,'' Freeman says. ``Bruce Wayne has frailties that get him into trouble, and Lucius and Alfred pull for him, not because we know he`s going to prevail, but because he might not.''
Nolan says that both actors serve an even greater thespian purpose in The Dark Knight Rises (as they did in the previous Caped Crusader films 2008`s The Dark Knight and 2005`s Batman Begins).
``They provide a depth and credibility to every scene they are in,'' says the director and co-writer of all three Batman movies.
Freeman returns the compliment by describing Nolan as a calm but certain voice of reason on set.
``Chris is so grounded, so quiet, but authoritative in subtle ways,'' Freeman says. ``I`ve worked with big directors who have these gig names that overwhelm them, and they fly off the handle.
``Chris knows what he wants, and he understands how to get actors to deliver it to him.''
In the end, the veteran says that the acting assignment is straightforward, even if the film happens to be a much anticipated special-effects epic.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario