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 30 August 2008 17:06 BST

The Cesc Fabregas of UK cinema

Tuesday, 09 Oct 2007 14:49
Like father, like son: Jim Broadbent and Matthew Beard in And When Did You Last See Your Father
For many Hollywood actors, being likened to the greats of their trade – Olivier, Brando, Gabo, Bernhardt et al – is one of the highest tributes that they can be paid.

But for homegrown UK talent it seems; footballing analogies often work best. So when InTheNews asked Anand Tucker how he felt when given the opportunity to direct And When Did You Last See Your Father, he immediately thinks of last year's World Cup.

"It saved my life," he admits, referring to his exit from the movie adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy over 'creative differences'.

"[But] I got to watch the World Cup which was rather fantastic. I saw every single game, that's the great thing about being unemployed."

In And When Did You Last See Your Father, based on the memoirs of Blake Morrison, Tucker is blessed with a stellar cast featuring Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth and Juliet Stevenson.

Broadbent plays the eponymous Arthur Morrison, whose illness forces his son Blake (Firth) to confront the many unresolved issues he has with his father.



But it is his unearthing of 18-year-old movie newcomer Matthew Beard that the film's director Tucker appears most enthusiastic about.

"To continue a footballing metaphor, I felt a bit like Arsene Wenger when he would have first spotted Cesc Fabregas, seriously," he said.

"When I saw the audition tapes that came back from Yorkshire with Matthew on it literally, on four seconds in, I could see he was the one. I never had a moment's worry about it; I thought he was perfect, that he could do it. And he did."

Matthew, who plays the teenage Blake, claims his friends are blase about his first big screen role, despite being likened to Arsenal's midfield wonderkid.

"I think they're a bit confused, because I didn't really tell them much about it," he shrugs.

"It's not really their sort of film; there are no guns or Jessica Alba. But now, because I'm on the poster, they're taking a bit more interest."

For the teenage actor, having to make his film debut alongside English greats such as Broadbent – who won an Oscar for Iris in 2001 – and Firth, was a "terrifying" experience.

"I'd had the rehearsal day, so my first day on set wasn't my first day with Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth otherwise that probably would have been a step too far and I might have exploded.

"So we had the rehearsal day, and they could have made it really hard for me by having big star egos and not talking to me because I'm just a no one. They didn't have to be so nice. If you are Jim Broadbent or someone why would you want to discuss a character with someone who doesn't really have a clue what they're doing.

"But they did, we all sat round in that ridiculously posh club, wherever it was, and chatted about the book and the script. They sort of treated me as an equal, which made everything really easy because it meant I could ask questions and not be scared that I was going to be shouted down. They made it really easy."



Firth admits his busy schedule restricted him in his preparation for his portrayal of the adult Blake reminiscing about his formative adolescent years with his father.

"My preparation basically involved getting on a plane from New York and arriving just in time to shoot," the 47-year-old said. "It was one on those things that was a bit on the hoof, I'd lived with the idea of it for quite a long time. [Anand and I] must have met a few months before, I'd known the book for a good ten years; and a lifetime of having a Dad.

"I think the issues in this film are so wired into absolutely all of us, that I don't really think you have to look that far, really, to find bits of your life that overlap. Even if the details are not the same. My father really couldn't be more different from Arthur Morrison, but I still have issues – or had them."

It had to be asked though, if Matthew is the Cesc Fabregas of And When Did You Last See Your Father, does that make Firth the Patrick Vieira?

"I'm Tony Adams," is his reply.

Matthew ChampionEnd of story


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