Interview with Anjelica Huston - March 9th, 2006

Promoting: These Foolish Things
Venue: Claridges Hotel
Interview type: Round table


Q: Terence Stamp seemed to be enjoying himself immensely in the film. What was it like working with him?

Angelica Huston (AH): It was great. He's an extremely surprising actor, not that he'll throw you a curve ball but he will give you a completely novel reading of something. 'Puce' might not seem such a devastatingly funny word in print, but the way he delivers it genuinely cracks you up. You can't help it. He just goes about his business as though no-one else is there, really. In the first scene as innocuous a phrase as 'Do you want a prawn?' becomes incredibly funny. I don't know how he manages to do this but his delivery is brilliant and dry and his wit is great.

Q: Was the relationship between your characters on the page or was it your idea?

AH: I think we kind of developed our screen romance a bit, it became a good idea. I don't think it was quite so obvious on the page, but I took advantage of the situation.

Q: You and (co-star) Lauren Bacall go way back, don’t you?

AH: We've been friends for a very long time. Years ago, the moment I fell in love with Lauren Bacall was when we were having dinner at my father's rented house in Rhode Island. One night, he started telling stories, and Bacall was at the bottom of the table. He started talking about Katie Hepburn, how wonderful she was, how she was a man's woman, maybe she was the best female friend he ever had - and finally, down at the end of the table this little voice said, 'But John, what about me?'. He said, 'Oh honey, you were married to Bogie, you don't count!'. She looked at him like a little bird. At the same time, she can terrify people. I think that's what makes her a great actress. She's capable of going to all sides, through all the facets. That's what we're all made up of a little bit. Give us some good lines, we come in like gangbusters, the rest of the time we're wracked with self-doubt.