I recently had the pleasure of working with one of Britain most hard working and talented actors, Andrew Tiernan, on Jason Croot’s new film Le Fear, Le Sequel. He was kind enough to give Frost an interview, and it’s a stunner.
You are in “Prisoners Wives” the new BBC Drama, what was it like working on that?
All credit to the Production as they took a risk with me, as usually I’m the Bad guy, so this time I’m on the other side of the law playing DS Hunter who is investigating the murder that Gemma’s (Emma Rigby) husband Steve (Jonas Armstrong) has been accused of. The Directors and Producers wanted an edge to this guy and they knew I could bring that to the role, which was great for me. I had to get my head into Cop mode, as I haven’t done that for a very long time, in fact since “Prime Suspect” when I was a young copper with Helen Mirren and Tom Bell. Hopefully I’ve done a good job. But that was easy as Julie Geary’s writing is fantastic.
You played Ephialtes, in Zack Snyder’s “300”, how did you manage to put in such a good performance under all of that prosthetic?
It’s great because you don’t get recognized. I have always tried to transform myself for each role. The prosthetics was like a mask that I could manipulate with my facial muscles, but I had to exaggerate my expressions to move the inch thick prosthetic. I enjoy mask work, so that wasn’t the hardest thing for me to do. When you’re trying to transform yourself without the use of prosthetics, that is the challenge. I’ve fluctuated my weight and appearance over the years to fit the roles, I was influenced by Robert De Niro when he put a ton of weight on for “Raging Bull,” but it’s quite a dangerous thing to do and not everyone in the business appreciates it, some have thought that I’ve just let myself go, so I doubt I’ll be putting on the pounds again anytime soon, unless it is under prosthetics.
You are a successful Actor, but still do your own projects, why?
It’s all about the work. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to have some kind of control over my work at some point. What people forget is that it’s the Writer and Producers who are in control we can only perform what is written on the page. And when we’re not doing those jobs, we’re waiting around for work, it can send most Actors insane, so I try to keep myself busy between jobs.
Tell us about the short film you’ve recently directed; “Flush”:
“Flush” came about after the writer; Kevin O’Donohoe, told me about an experience he had with some Estate Agents. One of the estate agents asked to use the toilet in his flat and was in there for an unexpectedly long time and managed to stink the place out. He thought that the guy had done it deliberately, so he decided to get his own back and came up with this very funny little script. We made it Independently, I got Shona McWilliams and Simon Balfour in to help me produce it. We’ve just finished Post-Production and we’ve entered it into some film festivals, we’re very excited about it. We’re planning to do some Feature Films later in the year with the same Production Team and a new script by Kevin called “UK18” a Political Drama set in the near future.
How did you get started as an actor?
I was into films from an early age and would visit the local cinema on my own, The Grove. I’d watch all the Ray Harryhausen adventures and then I managed to see some of Peter Bogdanovich’s films, such as “Paper Moon” and “What’s up Doc?”. So I suppose the bug started there, and eventually I decided it was something I wanted to do as a Career. I started working at the Midlands Art Centre after joining the Youth Theatre there, then ended up at the Drama Centre London.
Who/what is your inspirations?
If you’d asked me a few years ago, I would have said De Niro and Scorsese, but I think really it is people like Powell and Pressburger, Nicholas Roeg, Lindsay Anderson and Ken Russell who inspire me, and always have. I also have an admiration for Polanski’s films, one of the very first films I remember seeing was “Repulsion” when it was screened on television and it freaked me right out.
What is your favourite film?
At the moment, I would have to say it’s Ken Russell’s “The Boy Friend”. It was such a shock when he passed away, but I had managed to finally get the film on DVD the week before his passing. And it’s just as wonderfully spectacular as when I first watched it, what a genius. But there are so many films that I love, that I have a top 40 in my head every week. Though there are certain ones that always top the list and not necessarily everyone’s favourites.
How has the industry changed for Actors?
Since I joined the industry rather a lot has changed. When I first started there was a lot more opportunities and a lot more Drama was made for TV. But also there was a lot more Theatre Companies, we thought cuts were bad back then, but now it’s unbelievable. But on a positive note, technology has improved such that Artists can develop and produce their own independent work a lot easier than back then. And it’s possible for that work to be seen in different markets.
What are your opinions on reality TV?
Unfortunately, I think that it’s had a knock on effect in our industry and not just the fact that there’s not enough Drama being produced, but reality TV is very cheap for the Networks to produce and people seem to want to watch it. It’s a very sad time, as I think that when we look back at this period, we will think, where were the great British TV Drama Writers that we used to produce like Alan Bleasdale, Dennis Potter or Peter McDougall? The Networks should really pump more of the money they make from this cheap stuff into quality writing and drama, instead of squeezing the budgets. But we as Artists can’t rely on them anymore, we have to do it ourselves if we have a story to tell and find our own ways to distribute it.
What do you think of celebrity culture? What harm does it do?
Recently I was having a conversation with a Young Actor and we were chatting about the business and I mentioned that I’d worked with Simon Callow, the renowned Theatre Actor and Writer. He must have misheard me, as suddenly he shrieked in excitement “You know Simon Cowell!?!” I can forgive him for not knowing who Simon Callow is, but that reaction to the possibility that I could introduce him to Simon Cowell was deeply concerning. And I am seeing it more and more. Actors who manage to get themselves roles on Productions and the next step for them is a Celebrity Dance Show or the Jungle one. Shows where you have swallow things in order to gain more celebrity status. How ironic is that!? I think what this culture of celebrity has done has made some people very ignorant and obsessed with materialistic things. I think what will happen is when people think back to the noughties, no one will be remembered for any kind of Art or Music, the era will be remembered for the Wars that took place and the Banking Crisis. And just for the record, I don’t know Simon Cowell.
What next?
We are going to change things.
Links:
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0862907/
Official Website: http://web.mac.com/andytiernan/Andrew_Tiernan
Flush FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/Flush2012
Photo credit; Marac Kolodzinski
