One to watch
PROMISING NEW BRITISH ACTOR CHARLIE COX REVEALS HOW HE WENT FROM THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY TO FENCING WITH ROBERT DE NIRO Are you from an acting family? No, I’m the only one. My parents think that my grandmother might have gone to RADA [Royal Academy of Drama and Acting] but they’re not sure. They love the fact that I act though, and I [...]
PROMISING NEW BRITISH ACTOR CHARLIE COX REVEALS HOW HE WENT
FROM THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY TO FENCING WITH ROBERT DE NIRO
Are you from an acting family?
No, I’m the only one. My parents think that my
grandmother might have gone to RADA [Royal
Academy of Drama and Acting] but they’re not
sure. They love the fact that I act though, and
I reckon my mum has been my major influence
as she’s very “drama queenie”.
Where did it all begin?
I played Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory when I was seven. Then I went to a school
that only did musicals and I never got a chance
to do anything there as I can’t sing.
So how did you get your lucky break?
Well actually, it was from a musical! I played
one of the leads in a musical at secondary school
[in Sherborne in Dorset] where a talent scout saw
me and told me to apply for drama school.
How did that get you into the big time?
It made me think about being an actor, which I hadn’t
even considered until then. I went to London to earn
some money to go to acting school. I met someone
who knew a casting director, got an audition, didn’t get
that part, but got an agent instead. Then I auditioned
for a film called Dot the I and got myself a part.
Has it been all go since then?
It’s been mad. I went to drama school for a year after
that film, as I wanted to learn my craft. But then,
I got offered the part of Lorenzo in The Merchant of
Venice which starred Al Pacino, Joseph Fiennes and
Jeremy Irons. I wasn’t going to turn that down!
Now, you’re playing the lead in a $100m film…
I can’t believe it really. I had to go through four months
of auditions to get the part of Tristan in Stardust which
was a gruelling process, but it was worth it.
Was going from a supporting to lead role tough?
In terms of fatigue, yes. I’d done long shoots
before – I filmed in Venice for five months but
I would get 10 days off at a time. However, I was
filming every day for four months for Stardust. By
the end, the car would come to pick me up early
in the morning to go to Pinewood Studios and
I would stumble from my bed to the car with my
pillow – it was the only way I got any sleep.
What was it like acting with Robert De Niro?
It was really fun. I even got to fence against him
which was a bizarre, yet wonderful, experience.
I was quite in awe of him, though, and when he
waved to me at a cast party, it made my evening!
Was making Stardust worth all the effort?
I love it and it’s been a real surprise. When we were
filming, we would do two takes for each scene; one
that was quite dark and one that was comedic. So I
had no idea how the film would turn out – it’s much
funnier than I expected.
What happens now?
I’ve just finished filming
Stone of Destiny in Scotland
with Robert Carlisle, which
will hopefully be at the
Cannes Film Festival, and
I start work on a World
War I drama called Truce
in January. There are
other projects in the
pipeline but I’m far too
superstitious to tell you
about them until I know
I’ve got the parts.
